J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by chaletinthemountains

Hi Gemma
Chamonix and Les Houches are about 1hr from Geneva. Would be happy to help you with accommodation.

I would guess our places (the ones on http://www.chaletinthemountains.com) are probably going to be a bit big for you as they both accommodate 8 persons.

If you want something smaller, my wife also runs an agency and has a few apartments on her books. Have a look on http://www.chamonixselfcatered.com .... if anything looks interesting then pls contact her directly at helen@chamonixselfcatered.com or 00 33 619 124584

As for prices for ski passes, there are a few options:

Les Houches
?106,30 for a 4 day pass
This ticket gives full access to the Les Houches Ski area

Mont Blanc Unlimited
?166,00 for a 4 day pass
This ticket cover all the main ski areas of the Chamonix Valley, (Les Houches, Brevent, Fegere, Grands Montet and Domaine de Balme), plus Courmayeur (which is in Italy, just through the Mont Blanc tunnel) and the l'Aiguille du Midi lift which goes up to 3800m and gives access to the Vallee Blanche/Mer de Glace 20km off piste descent on a glacier!) Have a look at http://www.chaletinthemountains.com/ski%20areas.htm if you want to know more about thes ski areas.

SkiPass Mont Blanc
minimum 5 days ?225
This covers the same as Mont Blanc Unilimited pass, plus Passy, St-Gervais, Les Contamines, Combloux, Cordon, Mégève, Praz sur Arly. But dont both with this pass if your coming on a short stay, you'll never have enough time to get your money's worth!!!

Hope this helps!

Pretty much the same story in Chamonix! Its been raining all day today at the valley floor level and snowing on the slopes!

But the good news is that the temp has been gradually falling all day. Local forecast is saying we'll be subzero by this evening with snow down to the valley floor, and the same continuing for tomorrow as well!!

And you can certainly add Chamonix to that list ... but i'm biased as i'm based there!!

But seriously, I think March is a really good time to go skiing. Its after half term and before Easter, so the resorts are not crowded and the lifts rarely have queues. There is a good chance of blue sky and sunny weather and, if the last few seasons are anything to go by, the snow conditions are great.

On the accommodation front its not peak season, so there's greater availability and accommodation providers are generally much more likely to offer discounts or flexible check-ins/check-outs. Usually a mid-week check-in/out means you can take advantage of the bargain seat prices offered by budget airlines. That can save you a fortune!!!

Chamonix put out a press release yesterday announcing the opening of the ski areas this Saturday (16Dec)

http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/docs/OUVERTURE_SKI_CHAMONIX__16_DEC_2006.PDF

Its in French, but basically its saying the Grands Montets or Domaine du Balm (which are two of highest of the main ski areas in the Chamonix Valley) will be open from Saturday, plus the Pistes du Savoy (which is one of the beginner slopes in the base of the Valley). And they are making the Pistes du Savoy are free of charge this weekend! Nice touch!!

So its only a partial opening, which is normal for the start of the season, but at least it means we can hit the slopes! Which is good .... if only because we have our first clients arriving this Saturday!!!!

At the moment the Aiguille du Midi lift is open, and the other lifts / ski areas are all in preparation ready to open as soon as they can!

Here's a link to some webcams so you can see the conditions up the hill http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/webcams.php

Finally the snow has arrived in the Chamonix Valley. And, wow, it dumped in style!!

Here are a few photos of our garden I took this morning. We live at about 925m altitude and most of the skiing here is over 1800m, so imagine how much there is up the hill!!

http://www.chaletinthemountains.com/snowreport.htm

Very very nice!

Dont Panic!

Local forecast for Chamonix tomorrow: precipitation - continuous and moderate in the morning - showers in the afternoon - rain-snow limit towards 2000 m, dropping towards 1300 m at night - expected snowfall towards 1800 m : 20-30 cm.

Its coming. Plus its supposed to get colder towards the weekend.

NICE!!!

Back in October, a wyly old farmer-type neighbour of mine whose family has been in the Chamonix region for many generations told me that we should expect a warm start to the winter because there was only one layer of skin on his onions!!!! At the time i thought, Onions?? is that what old french men call them??? But seems he was an astute old bugger and his prediction was bang on the money.

But dont fear, the snow is coming. Its been raining all day today and its snowing up above 2000m. More disturbances are predicted as the week progresses and temperatures should drop = snow is coming!!! And remember last season? Took a while to come, but when it did, it was magic (and of you dont remember http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/951.page)

Jetwife, your name seems familiar. Did you stay with us last season?