Weekend ski trip to France from the UK

The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00,
returned borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught
the 18:10 flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than
normal meant we didn’t get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise
in the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from
green to black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs
from the Croix de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7
Laux was overall larger with about 140km of piste (very large
considering it appears to be unknown in the UK). The resort has a
handful of black pistes, but unfortunately the best looking of these was
closed the day we were there. It had rained the previous day and the
pistes had been bashed overnight so they were smooth and very firm. Both
resorts offer excellent views over the Isere valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during
the afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was
warm and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty
of snow, which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the
resort. The snow was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79€ per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come
though on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I
estimate we spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldn’t have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights – 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after
fresh snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux
- hint get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to
Lyon only carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the
checkin queue at Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas
you normally walk straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger
flight scheduled at about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future.
After BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed
the Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as
well as next winter!

John


john elgy wrote:

The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00,
returned borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught
the 18:10 flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than
normal meant we didn’t get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise
in the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from
green to black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs
from the Croix de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7
Laux was overall larger with about 140km of piste (very large
considering it appears to be unknown in the UK). The resort has a
handful of black pistes, but unfortunately the best looking of these was
closed the day we were there. It had rained the previous day and the
pistes had been bashed overnight so they were smooth and very firm. Both
resorts offer excellent views over the Isere valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during
the afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was
warm and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty
of snow, which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the
resort. The snow was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79€ per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come
though on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I
estimate we spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldn’t have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights – 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after
fresh snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux
- hint get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to
Lyon only carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the
checkin queue at Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas
you normally walk straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger
flight scheduled at about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John

john elgy wrote:
I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future.
After BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed
the Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as
well as next winter!

That's bad luck!

Les 7 Laux is 20 minutes from my house. Here is a bit more information
about the ski area which was founded by Aime Paquet, a very good friend
of my father in law

http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wik.../Les-Sept-Laux

and here is some more beta on Chamrousse

http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wik...ome/Chamrousse

On Wed 07 Mar '07 at 21:32 john elgy wrote:

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future. After
BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed the
Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as well as next
winter!

FlyBE seem to fly to Chambery though...



A.

John


john elgy wrote:

The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00, returned
borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught the 18:10
flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than normal meant we
didnt get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise in
the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from green to
black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs from the Croix
de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7 Laux was overall
larger with about 140km of piste (very large considering it appears to be
unknown in the UK). The resort has a handful of black pistes, but
unfortunately the best looking of these was closed the day we were there. It
had rained the previous day and the pistes had been bashed overnight so they
were smooth and very firm. Both resorts offer excellent views over the Isere
valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during the
afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was warm
and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty of snow,
which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the resort. The snow
was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79 per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come though
on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I estimate we
spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldnt have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after fresh
snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux - hint
get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to Lyon only
carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the checkin queue at
Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas you normally walk
straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger flight scheduled at
about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John



--
Alun Evans
IOS Software Engineer, cisco Systems.
http://www.cisco.com/go/ipv6/

Hmm....not bad. My preference is something like:-

6:30am friday Easyjet from Luton to Geneva (Luton seems to have more to
Geneva than anywhere else) arriving 9:10am (cost from about £10ish)
Hire car Geneva (swiss side, Budget or Europcar - NO Protection Plus or
ski-racks you get diddled!) drive to Chamonix get kit in Chamonix (Sport2000
or anywhere) and ski from midday at Flegere/Brevant)
Overnight at Bellevue Lodge Vallorcine (bunkhouse about £10/night)
ski full day sat/sun/mon anywhere in Cham valley
monday night flight back, departing 21:50pm (about £20ish)

3.5 days skiing on the real cheap for 2 days off work but shhhhh don't tell
everyone!

John

"Alun Evans" wrote in message
...


On Wed 07 Mar '07 at 21:32 john elgy wrote:

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future.
After
BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed the
Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as well as
next
winter!

FlyBE seem to fly to Chambery though...



A.

John


john elgy wrote:

The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00,
returned
borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught the
18:10
flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than normal meant
we
didnt get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise
in
the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from green
to
black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs from the
Croix
de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7 Laux was
overall
larger with about 140km of piste (very large considering it appears to
be
unknown in the UK). The resort has a handful of black pistes, but
unfortunately the best looking of these was closed the day we were
there. It
had rained the previous day and the pistes had been bashed overnight so
they
were smooth and very firm. Both resorts offer excellent views over the
Isere
valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during
the
afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was
warm
and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty of
snow,
which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the resort. The
snow
was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79 per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come
though
on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I estimate
we
spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldnt have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after
fresh
snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux -
hint
get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to Lyon only
carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the checkin queue at
Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas you normally walk
straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger flight scheduled at
about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John



--
Alun Evans
IOS Software Engineer, cisco Systems.
http://www.cisco.com/go/ipv6/

Alun Evans wrote:

On Wed 07 Mar '07 at 21:32 john elgy wrote:

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future. After
BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed the
Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as well as next
winter!


FlyBE seem to fly to Chambery though...



Yes FlyBe do go to Chambery - on a Saturday morning and return on Sunday
Lunch time and then not during the summer at all. For the last couple of
summers I have flown out to Lyon on a Friday night spent 3 or 4 days
doing Via Ferrata and returned in the evening after taking only one or
two days off work. FlyBE are also about 5 times more expensive than BA.
(We seem to get thousands of airmiles a year just for shopping at a
certain supermarket).

We were very lucky in having a cheep and more importantly convenient
flight available to enable good weekends away without time off work or
my son having to take time off school. We will really miss it.

The thought of driving to out of the way airports like Stanstead on a
Friday night fills me with horror. It will take longer to get to the
airport than get to the alps.

In the future it looks as if now need to change in Paris!

John



A.


John


john elgy wrote:


The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00, returned
borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught the 18:10
flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than normal meant we
didnt get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise in
the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from green to
black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs from the Croix
de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7 Laux was overall
larger with about 140km of piste (very large considering it appears to be
unknown in the UK). The resort has a handful of black pistes, but
unfortunately the best looking of these was closed the day we were there. It
had rained the previous day and the pistes had been bashed overnight so they
were smooth and very firm. Both resorts offer excellent views over the Isere
valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during the
afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was warm
and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty of snow,
which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the resort. The snow
was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79 per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come though
on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I estimate we
spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldnt have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after fresh
snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux - hint
get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to Lyon only
carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the checkin queue at
Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas you normally walk
straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger flight scheduled at
about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John

JR wrote:

Hmm....not bad. My preference is something like:-

6:30am friday Easyjet from Luton to Geneva (Luton seems to have more to
Geneva than anywhere else) arriving 9:10am (cost from about £10ish)

Looks good, but I thought aiport departure tax alone was £10! What is
the airline? Do they also fly during the summer?

Hire car Geneva (swiss side, Budget or Europcar - NO Protection Plus or
ski-racks you get diddled!) drive to Chamonix get kit in Chamonix (Sport2000
or anywhere) and ski from midday at Flegere/Brevant)
Overnight at Bellevue Lodge Vallorcine (bunkhouse about £10/night)
ski full day sat/sun/mon anywhere in Cham valley
monday night flight back, departing 21:50pm (about £20ish)

3.5 days skiing on the real cheap for 2 days off work but shhhhh don't tell
everyone!


I was trying to avoid any time off work at all.

John

"Alun Evans" wrote in message
...


On Wed 07 Mar '07 at 21:32 john elgy wrote:

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future.
After
BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed the
Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as well as
next
winter!

FlyBE seem to fly to Chambery though...



A.


John


john elgy wrote:


The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00,
returned
borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught the
18:10
flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than normal meant
we
didnt get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and specialise
in
the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from green
to
black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs from the
Croix
de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7 Laux was
overall
larger with about 140km of piste (very large considering it appears to
be
unknown in the UK). The resort has a handful of black pistes, but
unfortunately the best looking of these was closed the day we were
there. It
had rained the previous day and the pistes had been bashed overnight so
they
were smooth and very firm. Both resorts offer excellent views over the
Isere
valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during
the
afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was
warm
and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty of
snow,
which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the resort. The
snow
was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79 per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come
though
on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I estimate
we
spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldnt have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after
fresh
snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux -
hint
get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to Lyon only
carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the checkin queue at
Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas you normally walk
straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger flight scheduled at
about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John


--
Alun Evans
IOS Software Engineer, cisco Systems.
http://www.cisco.com/go/ipv6/

Yes, forgot the Gordon-Brown-tax. as I said (RTP!) flights are Easyjet. I
prefer to fly from Bristol as I live in Gloucester, but there aren't many
Bristol flights and the morning one is too late to make a 1/2 days skiing
and the return flight is too early to ski a full day at the end. hence you
need 2 extra nights accom and 2 extra 1/2 days off work.

Luton is a good couple of hours drive from here, but they have flights to
Geneva almost hourly. It just means a 3am start which is ok once in a while
and you are back around mid-night on the return day because you gain the
hour.

John

"john elgy" wrote in message
...
JR wrote:

Hmm....not bad. My preference is something like:-

6:30am friday Easyjet from Luton to Geneva (Luton seems to have more to
Geneva than anywhere else) arriving 9:10am (cost from about £10ish)

Looks good, but I thought aiport departure tax alone was £10! What is the
airline? Do they also fly during the summer?

Hire car Geneva (swiss side, Budget or Europcar - NO Protection Plus or
ski-racks you get diddled!) drive to Chamonix get kit in Chamonix
(Sport2000 or anywhere) and ski from midday at Flegere/Brevant)
Overnight at Bellevue Lodge Vallorcine (bunkhouse about £10/night)
ski full day sat/sun/mon anywhere in Cham valley
monday night flight back, departing 21:50pm (about £20ish)

3.5 days skiing on the real cheap for 2 days off work but shhhhh don't
tell everyone!


I was trying to avoid any time off work at all.

John

"Alun Evans" wrote in message
...


On Wed 07 Mar '07 at 21:32 john elgy wrote:

I have just noticed that this trip will not be possible in the future.
After
BA transfered its European operation to FlyBE, FlyBE have closed the
Birmingham to Lyon route. And so goes my plans for the summer as well as
next
winter!

FlyBE seem to fly to Chambery though...



A.


John


john elgy wrote:


The Itinerary:

Friday 2/3/7: left Birmingham at 19:00 and flew to Lyon with British
Airways. Picked up a hire car at Lyon airport and drove to a hotel in
Crolles near Grenoble which we used as a base. We arrived at hotel
about
midnight.

Saturday 3/3/7: skied in Chamrousse, near Grenoble

Sunday 4/3/7: Skied in Les Sept Laux, near to Grenoble until 13:00,
returned
borrowed ski jacket to owner then drove to Lyon airport; caught the
18:10
flight home. Slight flight delay and a slower flight than normal meant
we
didnt get home until after 20:00.

The resorts:

These were surprisingly good and interesting, with no lift queues. Both
resorts have sufficient skiing for a day or two at a time and
specialise in
the day trade from Grenoble. They have a good range of levels from
green to
black. Chamrousse had a smaller vertical range, but the runs from the
Croix
de Chamrousse were of good quality and very quiet. Les 7 Laux was
overall
larger with about 140km of piste (very large considering it appears to
be
unknown in the UK). The resort has a handful of black pistes, but
unfortunately the best looking of these was closed the day we were
there. It
had rained the previous day and the pistes had been bashed overnight so
they
were smooth and very firm. Both resorts offer excellent views over the
Isere
valley.

The snow and weather:

Saturday started foggy and with small showers. These cleared up during
the
afternoon and we were blessed with a fine end to the day. Sunday was
warm
and sunny. It had snowed on the Friday so both resorts had plenty of
snow,
which was a little soft, with puddles at the bottom of the resort. The
snow
was starting to go at 1400m in Les7Laux.

Approximate costs:

Parking at Birmingham airport £25
Return flights (Unfortunately BA no longer do this route) £53 x 3
Car hire (2 days) £57
Hotel (for a triple room 79 per night) £105
Fuel, tolls etc (guessed) £50

Lift passes ski hire, food etc.: I cannot recall (They haven't come
though
on the bank account yet), but less than most resorts. Overall I
estimate we
spent about £150 per head for the weekend.

Problems:

The main problem was queues. Having used a search engine to find the
cheapest car hire at Lyon airport we shouldnt have been surprised to
find a huge queue there from earlier flights 50 minutes in total -
hint go to one of the other companies. Because it was a fine day after
fresh
snowfall the queue for ski hire was another 40 minutes in Les7Laux -
hint
get there at 08:30 or bring your own gear. Since the flight to Lyon
only
carries about 50 passengers I was very surprised at the checkin queue
at
Lyon airport; this was also close to an hour, whereas you normally walk
straight up to the desk. BA had another much larger flight scheduled at
about the same time.

Was it worth it:

Yes

John


--
Alun Evans
IOS Software Engineer, cisco Systems.
http://www.cisco.com/go/ipv6/

Last Easter weekend - Thursday morning flight Cov - Lyon with Thomson
arrived in Les Menuires 11 ish am - took own gear so skied half a day
Thursday. Flight back Monday lunchtime. Hotel is about £100 per night
half board for 2. Flights were £50 each - Car hire about £100.

This Easter we fly from Liverpool to Grenoble Thursday night and will
stay in Moutiers that night (39 euros for the room). We drive up to
Les Menuires first thing having recharged our ski passes online and
paying £15 each way for our own skis get straight on the slopes. Hotel
same price per night - did I mention the jacuzzi & sauna? Flight back
Tuesday night so we will ski Tuesday also - 5 days skiing for one days
holiday for Mr PSC. Flights this year £38.00 each. Car Hire about
£120. That works out at about £310 each half board for just one days
less skiing than a weeks holiday!

Unusual that we have found a hotel that does not insist on Sat - Sat
bookings. Les Menuires - excellent access to Three Valleys and Val
Thorens for high altitude skiing in late season - apres ski cheap and
cheerful on the sunny terrace of the Hotel Skillt - look at the
mountains not behind you!

Like the sound of the Chamonix (we learnt to ski at La Tour!) trip and
bunking in Vallorcine but Geneva flights are very expensive form oop
north.

Chamrousse and Les Sept Eaux too low down for late season - did
consider Les Deux Alpes but do love the 3V in particular St Martin de
Belleville. However at Easter we are willing to forego picture
postcard pretty for higher altitude ugly Les Menuires. Less than 4
weeks to go - can't wait!

This Easter we fly from Liverpool to Grenoble Thursday night and will
stay in Moutiers that night (39 euros for the room). We drive up to
Les Menuires first thing having recharged our ski passes online and
paying £15 each way for our own skis get straight on the slopes. Hotel
same price per night - did I mention the jacuzzi & sauna? Flight back
Tuesday night so we will ski Tuesday also - 5 days skiing for one days
holiday for Mr PSC. Flights this year £38.00 each. Car Hire about
£120. That works out at about £310 each half board for just one days
less skiing than a weeks holiday!

How come everyone elase can get cheep airfares, but me. By the time they
have added in: departure tax, airport service charge, charges for
baggage, skis etc the price always seems to exceed £50. How far in
advance do you have to book to get these fares?

We are off to Les Arcs for Easter. Drive overnight Thursday and come
back the 15th; 9 days skiing. The travel cost for 5 of us are about £300


Unusual that we have found a hotel that does not insist on Sat - Sat
bookings. Les Menuires - excellent access to Three Valleys and Val
Thorens for high altitude skiing in late season - apres ski cheap and
cheerful on the sunny terrace of the Hotel Skillt - look at the
mountains not behind you!

Like the sound of the Chamonix (we learnt to ski at La Tour!) trip and
bunking in Vallorcine but Geneva flights are very expensive form oop
north.

Chamrousse and Les Sept Eaux too low down for late season - did
consider Les Deux Alpes but do love the 3V in particular St Martin de
Belleville. However at Easter we are willing to forego picture
postcard pretty for higher altitude ugly Les Menuires. Less than 4
weeks to go - can't wait!

I like Les Menuires, it is the mountains that I like to look at and la
Masse is some of the best skiing in the 3V. The resort is just somewhere
to eat, drink and sleep. Chamrousse and les Sept Laux are a bit low for
Easter, but IMHO a good last minute choice in the height of th eseason.

John