J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by PertyB

Can anyone recommend super warm mitts? My budget is unlimited...will pay what it takes for warm fingers, though in reality I think there is no such thing as guaranteed warmth. I already wear glove liners, and dispensed with full gloves last season in favour of mitts with inbuilt fingers. They were better, but I still seek the holy grail! I'd rather not have those funny little rectangular handwarmers as I'm bound to lose them. Any suggestions?
Ta
Perty

Buying your own boots is one of the best investments you can make IF YOU BUY THE RIGHT BOOTS!

I spent many a week wearing my old boots with painful feet at the end of the day and after tough conditions they were even worse. Then last season, when I was skiing virtually every day for the whole season. I went to see Armando (see link) who is orthopaedically trained. Bingo!-looked at my feet, fitted me with new boots and told me to ski on em for 2-3 days before returning for adjustments. They were great from day one, and even better once I had the custom footbed. Unlike nearly everyone I know, I never loosen on lifts, for lunch or whenever I get the chance. Best advice I can give is:
1. Buy them on the first or second day of a holiday-you CANNOT tell if they really fit by marching round the lounge for a couple of hours before you leave on holiday.
2. A good fitter will make you wear them unadjusted for a couple of days and then tell you to come back.
3. Ask in resort who is the local "boot man"-who do the instructors go to? Don't just visit the smart shop on the high street in Courchevel.
4. If you do go to Courchevel and can make the trip-get over to see Armando. He's a bit tucked away, looks like Lurch from the Addams family and wears a white coat, but everyone I know who went to him last season was utterly delighted.
(And-no- I'm not on commission!)

http://armandopodo.com/EN/

Time to drive to Tignes from Lyons-probably about 2.5-3 hours. There are flights to Chambery which get you about an hour closer, but I'm not sure how many airlines go there apart from charter flights for package holidays.
Happy travels!

I was based in Reberty 2000, about 1.5 miles up the road from the main bit of Les Menuires. It's the new attractive bit of the resort but a bit like a chalet version of a Barratt Homes estate stuck on the side of the mountain. One (good) pub/restaurant within a t shirt dash of the chalet. Nightlife negligible, but was too knackered (and too old!) to party the night away. Skiing in Les Menuires is great, and I loved the empty pistes above St Martin.

Spent last season in the 3V, based in Les Menuires, as well as having skiied a few weeks from Courchevel and Meribel itself on occasion.
Meribel was my least fave place apart from the Mont Vallon end of the valley. Trouble is the pistes are overskiied, too many struggling beginners on the tricky, often icey crowded blues down to the main village and Mottaret. It was always the place to ski through. The lifts are possibly some of the oldest and slowest in the 3V as well.
Pistes were dire and sooo soggy by the end of March compared with the other 2 valleys. Am sure the nightlife is great-if you like partying with Tarquin and Sophie all night long.
In summary, a bit like Birmingham-the only good thing about it are the roads out!

Hi-I'm not advertising anything, so in that sense I have no vested interest. But try this for size. St Martin de Belleville-the undiscovered gem in the Trois Vallees. This is by far the most attractive resort in the area, a real town with town hall, market square, baroque church, and attractive restaurants. Accommodation tends to be in chalets and appartments, all built to blend in with the local architecture. (If you're after Alpine charm avoid Val Thorens). It's at 1400m so there is plenty of snow. Lifts that get you up into some of the best and most uncrowded pistes in the area, but with 600km of runs for the more ambitious amongst you. Having spent a season in the 3 valleys, this is the place I would go back to if I went there for a holiday.
If you want alpine charm, forget Tignes-far too modern, and in January can get very cold and windy. My first ever ski trip was Les Deux Alps-and I would never go back. I've never been to Chamonix, but I agree with the advice that novices would find it less acceptable.

Hi, VT is great for snow, a good range of skiing and nightlife. HOWEVER, please bear in mind that in January it is possibly the coldest place in France to go skiing. Having worked as a guide in the 3 valleys and Les Menuires just down the road, it was a place to avoid for much of January. Is is significantly colder than any of the other resorts in the area with added wind whistling off the glaciers. If it was snowing, as well as being cold, there was absolutely no tree line skiing. Having said that, the runs just over the back in the Orelle valley are fab, with virtually no queues.
Have skiied in Risoul many years ago. It would be a long way by bus, nightlife limited, but probably good for intermediates.