Ski,Alps, first timer, eaisy

[CYCLOPATH]

I don't know if you know, but always come off the motorway to eat and drink and get gasoil, it is so much cheaper, but also so much friendlier.
A bit like the UK.

 

[larrylamb]

Great thread!

@CYCLOPATH how did you get on? I'm thinking of taking my daughter to the Alps at Easter to get a couple of days late season skiing?

Any recommendations for guaranteed late season snow would be appreciated. The nearer the better to Calais.

I'm going to allow four nights i.e. 1 day travelling there, 2 days skiing and 1 day travelling back. Should be doable?

Not sure. One day to get there from North Yorks is pushing it, busy schedule.

 

[Aidy P]

Thanks @CYCLOPATH for the tips.

Yep...should have mentioned the schedule was from London @larrylamb...that's where I'm leaving the wife for a few days.

 

[CYCLOPATH]

Our round trip, from WestDorset was about 1200 miles in all , if I remember correctly.
I would happily have taken a fortnight, but time would not allow.
Have fun

 

[Aidy P]

I can only spare 4 days. A friend drives to Chamonix in 10 hours each year from Calais. Going to have research closest highest resorts and then work it back from there. We get the new van early March and I've got it into my head that I want to start with a 'silly trip'

 

[CYCLOPATH]

I can relate to that Aidy, I have a friend who drives down for a long week end.
Google said venosc is 8 3/4 hrs from Calais.
It is not far from the Autoroute.
Orelle is about the same time.
And autoroute driving is much eaisier than motorways over here,
Especially with cruise controll

 

[fred]

I can only spare 4 days. A friend drives to Chamonix in 10 hours each year from Calais. Going to have research closest highest resorts and then work it back from there. We get the new van early March and I've got it into my head that I want to start with a 'silly trip'

Choose 3-4 spots and decide the day before you travel when you know where the snow will be. Chamonix, Tignes, Venosc all good

 

[ibis64]

I am thinking of doing a similar trip with my 10 and 14 year old so have been looking at previous threads on here on places to stay, below are some useful links to sites (with full facilities), some have been previously mentioned on here by Fred in Les Deux Alps, that site gets very good reviews also Samoens and Chatel.

Theres also an interesting article worth reading on aires but thats mostly geared for motorhomes who dont potentially need drying and washing facilities, but still good info.

As Fred mentioned worth taking a view on the snow conditions nearer the time but in the last few years spring skiing has been excellent so much so that resorts could have stayed open.

Driving down is as most people have said is about 9 hours depending on traffic and its very easy. If you were going to travel at half term then thats a different story better travelling overnight if you can and arriving early morning in the resort. Also dont leave to come back on change over day morning as roads out of some of the resorts can be grid locked (at half term). Dont forget to factor in the cost of tolls, if you have time you can pull off and use supermarkets for Diesel but travelling down I just use Autoroute services.

Links below:
a couple of links:
http://www.campinglescale.com/winter-1.html
http://www.camping-randa.ch/wint_e.htm
http://www.champ-du-moulin.com/
http://www.camping-bourgsaintmaurice.com/en/winter/prices-campsite-winter-caravanning-park-les-arcs
http://www.camping-samoens.com/
http://www.azzurracamper.com/en/
http://www.oustalet.com/
http://www.plandufernuy.com/gb2.html

Magazine article:

http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/a...olidays-in-your-motorhome#rvlMATvI7O1vRTp4.99

Hope that helps
Ian

 

[Aidy P]

Thanks everyone for the advice and all the links. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[CYCLOPATH]

Just thaught,
I found it useful to change the units on my dash display to km
Then the cruise control can be set in km, which makes it eaisier to keep to the speed limit without endlessly converting.
We came across a few speed camera vans on the motorway

 

[ToulonTom]

You can either wild camp in the car park at the telecabine or use to local campsite.

Thanks greenfintry - do you have experience of the campsite here? Hookup, hot water etc. Any extra info gratefully received

 

[sbmcd]

We are just back from La Plagne (not in van) lots and lots of snow at the moment but slopes are very busy as French kids are on holiday, best avoid if you can see http://about-france.com/mobi/france-holidays-m.htm

 

[Hotel California]

We are just back from La Plagne (not in van) lots and lots of snow at the moment but slopes are very busy as French kids are on holiday, best avoid if you can see http://about-france.com/mobi/france-holidays-m.htm

The past week almost every country had school holliday , some years it is spread and not so busy .
Went snowboarding two - three times a year until about ten years ago usualy eight to ten freinds in a appartment , party - eating out - apres ski......from the money spent in one week there we go now a month away....
Do find it brave some of you go camping in the Cali in the snow , guess it makes it cheaper not have to hire a hotel/appartment.
Do love the mountains ....

 

[Aidy P]

Just back from Morillon in Le Grand Massif (not in the van). Geneva airport was hell as it was half term and the slopes were packed (joys of having kids). We were lucky with the snow but it was still thin in Morillon and you could only ski to the base station and not down into the village. Still hand a great time and had my 6 & 8 yr olds skiing on powder for the first time.

My wife met a couple who were staying at the site in Samoen and recommended it. If the snow sticks around this might be a good option otherwise thinking higher will be better when I take the van at Easter for the trip.

Anyone any experience of higher campsites near to resorts?

I noticed there were a lot of signs saying you needed snow chains. Is this a legal requirement? With 4motion and winter tyres I was hoping not to have to buy them for Easter.

 

[briwy]

I noticed there were a lot of signs saying you needed snow chains. Is this a legal requirement? With 4motion and winter tyres I was hoping not to have to buy them for Easter.

I'm not sure about it being a legal requirement but last year our village in the Pyrenees was cut off for a while with snow. When the road was finally opened the police were organising convoys down the mountain. Only vehicles with chains were allowed down so it's probably worth investing.
We have 4Motion with snow tyres but would certainly have struggled without chains. My avatar shows what we were up against.

 

[ibis64]

From my experience in the Alps if the weather is bad enough for snow chains then usually the Gendarmes will be stopping cars and asking for you to fit them to continue you journey. Prior to the Cali I had a Volvo XC 60 AWD with winetr tyres on and was stopped on a few occasions but once they knew it was AWD they just waived me through. I did however have chains ready to put on. One thing to bear in mind for Spring Skiing its generally a good deal warmer so the roads will be clear, also roads are generally cleared pretty quick after a heavy snowfall. I bought a set of Thule chains and nearly had to use them in Scotland last week so they are handy.HTH

 

[Ewan]

I'm just back from Flaine during last week's half term, further up the valley from Samoens and Morillon. (Also not in the van). In spite of over a metre of snow falling during the week the road clearing operation overnight was very impressive. The road was kept open all week.

Not exactly sure what the rules are for snow chains (hardly any cars had them on) but I spied a layby on the road up to Flaine where drivers need to put snow chains on - presumably when alerted by signs, lights or whatever.

 

[Aidy P]

I'm just back from Flaine during last week's half term, further up the valley from Samoens and Morillon. (Also not in the van). In spite of over a metre of snow falling during the week the road clearing operation overnight was very impressive. The road was kept open all week.

Not exactly sure what the rules are for snow chains (hardly any cars had them on) but I spied a layby on the road up to Flaine where drivers need to put snow chains on - presumably when alerted by signs, lights or whatever.

Thanks Ewan. We skied in Flaine on Thursday last week. Lovely snow but crikey it was busy!

 

[fred]

I noticed there were a lot of signs saying you needed snow chains. Is this a legal requirement? With 4motion and winter tyres I was hoping not to have to buy them for Easter.

When you need chains, you need chains. You really don't want to be in a 3 tonne van sliding sideways off a mountain road.

 

[Aidy P]

When you need chains, you need chains. You really don't want to be in a 3 tonne van sliding sideways off a mountain road.

Good point @fred. Next question... Which brand of chains is best?

 

[Aidy P]

Has anyone stayed her in Samoen please?

http://www.camping-samoens.com/

 

[briwy]

Good point @fred. Next question... Which brand of chains is best?

We have some of these, easy to put on and work fine. I guess any of the well known makes would be OK. Some are very expensive if you only use them occasionally.

Got ours in France a few years ago.
https://www.centralepneus.be/chaine-neige/maggi-group/xs-9/

 

[ToulonTom]

Just back from skiing last week in Les Deux Alpes and happy to share a few notes if anyone is interested?
We camped in Le champ du Moulin down in the valley next to Venosc. It's a 5 min walk to the cable car in the morning that takes you right up to the resort and is included in L2A ski pass. The camp site is excellent and there are nice, clean and warm toilet/shower/washing up facilities and areas to dry your clothes overnight. Drinking water and chemical toilet disposal as well. There's also a sauna, a little shop, fresh bread/pain au chocolate each morning and a restaurant, but for us (low season) you have to book these in advance. Washing machine and dryer also available (for a fee).
Elec hook up on all pitches. Level ground, quiet site etc, all very nice. And the guys running it are really friendly and I'm pretty sure speak good English.
Cost was about 30 euros/night all in, but for the hot showers and drying rooms it was definitely worth that.

Things we learned about our first cold camping experience (being in Toulon has made us soft...):
The Cali Cozy was excellent and did make a big difference, although maybe an outer cover as well would have been useful for when the temps dropped below freezing. The comfortz leisure insulated external windscreen cover was also excellent.
I bought a small oil filled electric radiator from Amazon for about £25 and this was left on low all day while we were out and on high at night, with the van heater on and set to 1 through the night. I was happier burning the electricity I'd already paid for on hook up than the diesel in my tank, and the rad did most of the work with the heater cutting in when it got really cold and being used for hot blasts when required. Van was toasty warm at all times.
The awning and tent combo is even more important in the cold and/or wet as we were using both beds so there was no room for lots of extra stuff in the van while we were living in it. We have had a Base Seconds tent right from the start and it is completely indispensable for us - it has all the bags, boxes, stoves, food, laundry bags etc etc, just like a spare room to the van and it would be impossible to do it without this extra space.
Getting up for a pee in the night when it's below freezing is emotional.
A good Rab down jacket is worth its weight in gold in many situations like these.
Kids eating in the van = lots of crumbs etc on the floor/seats; a hand-held vac might be useful, or a hand brush (I always keep one in the van to clear out sand). Roll on spring when we can eat outside and not worry about what gets dropped.

Can't think of any more 'lessons learned' but happy to answer questions if there are any.
Snow in resort was patchy but L2A has a glacier and snow a little higher up was excellent. No need for chains when staying down in Venosc.
Looking forward to going back at the start of the next ski season.

 

[Aidy P]

Has anyone stayed her in Samoen please?

http://www.camping-samoens.com/

Just back from Samoen. We checked the webcam on route and decided there was enough snow (it was white and there were skiers!) This campsite was supberb. Great location. Ski hire shop and storage opposite site gave 50% discount. Round the corner on the way to the cable car was a bakers and coffee shop which was perfect for breakfast. Great access to Le Grand Massif. Nice bars and restaurants a 5-10min walk from the site.

Did the drive from North London in 12.5 hours which could have been less but we did a detour through Switzerland for a 'scenic route' via Geneva. Note to self...shortest route on satnav not wise!

On the way back we left the site at 5pm and stayed at an aire by the river in Louhan to reduce the last days driving. Lovely little town.

Four days...three nights... with two days skiing trip to the Alps was great fun. Bit mad but we (friend, our daughters and I) loved it.