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[Travel] Anyone been/going skiing this year ?
- Thread starter WATFORD zero
- Start date
Borovets.
RandyWanger
Je suis rôti de boeuf
2nd year in a row I won't be going. Travel seems such a faff at the moment for various reasons. Stay safe everyone who's out there or going.
Kalimantan Gull
Well-known member
Me too. Well I'm no expert on these things but I'll let you know what the snow feels like when my face slams into it at speed
Me too. Well I'm no expert on these things but I'll let you know what the snow feels like when my face slams into it at speed
Please do, I will be doing very similar.
Just to add to this that my son spent last weekend in Val Thorens and tested positive yesterday!
I understand France is more relaxed with Covid rules than Austria. It will be interesting to compare the two at the end of the season, if this is at all possible. Anecdotal evidence suggests more are getting infected in France.
- Jul 10, 2003
- 26,027
- Thread starter
- #68
Far more chalets in France, where Austria tends to be mostly hotels. From my experience there is far more close contact/mixing in chalets.
Finally agreed on date in mid March, just need to decide how many and where to
Far more chalets in France, where Austria tends to be mostly hotels. From my experience there is far more close contact/mixing in chalets.
Finally agreed on date in mid March, just need to decide how many and where to
Fair point. I agree chalets are more risky; I refused to book one with my ski group. More contact and mixing but also hotel staff will enforce the various Covid protocols more than individuals in chalets. I prefer hotels and guest houses to chalets s it’s a good angle for me to get my way.
NorthstandRacoon
Well-known member
how weird, I was going to start a similar thread.
Yes, I'm currently skiing this week in Meribel. Just had two days of v good snow, but visibility up top is v bad so I had my midweek break day today.
Am back out tomorrow where it's meant to be clearing up but scarily mild. Annoying as it would be perfect to ski after the two days worth of snow!
Will head up to Val Thorens tomorrow to keep up high and better conditions. Overall though, the snow is excellent! Lots of drinking and eating rich food also.
Meribel is lovely but v expensive.
Yes, I'm currently skiing this week in Meribel. Just had two days of v good snow, but visibility up top is v bad so I had my midweek break day today.
Am back out tomorrow where it's meant to be clearing up but scarily mild. Annoying as it would be perfect to ski after the two days worth of snow!
Will head up to Val Thorens tomorrow to keep up high and better conditions. Overall though, the snow is excellent! Lots of drinking and eating rich food also.
Meribel is lovely but v expensive.
- Jul 10, 2003
- 26,027
- Thread starter
- #71
I actually prefer chalets. When the kids were small, we always went with Crystal as they specialised in kids. You would choose the resort, but leave the chalet up to them, and they would put 3/4 families in a chalet with similar aged kids and mine always loved it. They got picked up, taken to ski school and given lunch while me and Mrs Wz did the mad stuff, and then we would pick them up and ski as a family in the afternoon. They used to have an early dinner and go off to a 'kids club' with games and videos whilst the adults had a more leisurely dinner, normally followed by more drinks and parlour games. (We learnt so many really good/funny/stupid games over the years).
We have stayed in hotels when in Italy and Austria, but never found them as social, and even I find the Austrian hotels fascination with huge quantities of every type of meat at every single meal a bit much
My kids are now mid twenties and we still tend to favour chalets, but find a bigger chalet of about thirty people normally splits into a younger bunch that go straight out to the bars after dinner, and the old ones who stay drinking and playing games. I am, unsurprisingly in the latter
- Jul 10, 2003
- 26,027
- Thread starter
- #73
NorthstandRacoon;1017752 3 said:
We tend to stay in Meribel when we've done the three valleys and although expensive, it's not as bad as Courchevel
There's a great run between Meribel and Courchevel called Grand Couloir. I did it with my son about 8/9 years ago and sadly don't think I'll manage it again at my age and with my knees, but if you like a bit of adrenalin.
Enjoy the rest of your week
Pre pandemic did you prefer chalets and meeting loads of new Brits, or something more private for your group?
I don't mind either, but I'm more sociable and confident in new situations than Mrs.W, so family ski holidays are to hotels.
Lads and ski clinic holidays tend to be meet lots of strangers, I love it, with very memorable stuff on and off the slopes.
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I actually prefer chalets. When the kids were small, we always went with Crystal as they specialised in kids. You would choose the resort, but leave the chalet up to them, and they would put 3/4 families in a chalet with similar aged kids and mine always loved it. They got picked up, taken to ski school and given lunch while me and Mrs Wz did the mad stuff, and then we would pick them up and ski as a family in the afternoon. They used to have an early dinner and go off to a 'kids club' with games and videos whilst the adults had a more leisurely dinner, normally followed by more drinks and parlour games. (We learnt so many really good/funny/stupid games over the years).
We have stayed in hotels when in Italy and Austria, but never found them as social, and even I find the Austrian hotels fascination with huge quantities of every type of meat at every single meal a bit much
My kids are now mid twenties and we still tend to favour chalets, but find a bigger chalet of about thirty people normally splits into a younger bunch that go straight out to the bars after dinner, and the old ones who stay drinking and playing games. I am, unsurprisingly in the latter
I’ve only ever stayed in private chalets which were occupied by just the group I’m with; these sound quite different to the larger multi-group chalets you guys are suggesting and which might be more preferable. Incidentally these were often booked through Chrystal as well.
The reason I like hotels/guest houses is that there’s more life to them, ie other people, bar, restaurant etc but I can go to my room and escape everyone and everything if I so choose. In the private chalet I’m stuck with just my mates and even if I went to my room I never felt I had any distance from them. I consider myself a reasonably sociable and am happy to mix and meet new people but also like my privacy; I find hotels facilitate this best for me.
[MENTION=396]WATFORD zero[/MENTION], don’t forget the potatoes which go with all the meat! Meat and two veg in Austria is meat and potatoes and some more potatoes!
All this chat I’m starting to miss the mountains and starting to think maybe I can get another trip in before the season’s out.
Blues Guitarist
Well-known member
We tend to stay in Meribel when we've done the three valleys and although expensive, it's not as bad as Courchevel
There's a great run between Meribel and Courchevel called Grand Couloir. I did it with my son about 8/9 years ago and sadly don't think I'll manage it again at my age and with my knees, but if you like a bit of adrenalin.
Enjoy the rest of your week
Skiing down the ‘path’ from Saulire to the start of the Grand Couloir is enough to make me **** myself. One slip and you’re dead. If you’ve done it, chapeu.
Been to the three valleys 5 times, I think, but never stayed in Meribel. 2 in Courchevel 1850, 2 in La Tania and 1 in Val T. Is La Folie Douce still pumping?
I have been down the Grand Couloir but I walked along the ridge bit; I’m a boarder and there’s no way I was going to attempt that. I remember a lot of edging and stopping etc. I can get down most things, but not always very fast or in a straight line, and sometimes not always upright.
- Jul 10, 2003
- 26,027
- Thread starter
- #80
It's that zipwire at Val Thorens that you'd never get me on in a month of Sundays