Chamonix advice and ideas please

[WaggyTailsWetNoses]

DD14 has just come back from a school ski trip where she had the time of her life and declared the tiny resort we’ve been to before ‘a bit shite’ (cheers, poppet). She loved being in a big resort with long runs.

We are looking to book accommodation for next February half term and Chamonix sprung to mind as a much larger alternative. But I’ve never been and don’t really understand the locations, ski area etc.

Where is a good location to book near the main ski area? Before we’ve always just parked the car and not used it for a week!

Can anyone recommend a good ski school? Especially for DS who can ski but is dyspraxia and can’t really join a group. DD want to snowboard and will heed to do group lessons.

Is there a good location for cross country skiing? DS and I want to try!

Which slopes are best for, say, a 45 year old women who has had so many lessons she should be on the Olympic team, but has never quite made it off green runs without a lot of drama?

Are there other activities too? I’d love to, for example, do a Husky ride. Are all the restaurants chockablock all the time?

Sorry if these are silly questions. I chat quite imagine a resort bigger than our old favourite!

Chamonix doesn't spring to my mind when you set out your requirements and ability levels. It's very big and separated into different ski areas. I'm sure Snowheads might have some better suggestions for you as the wealth of knowledge is amazing. But for my part if you like France I would say maybe Alp d'Huez or the three valleys, Les Menuires perhaps? These have x country options. Switzerland has loads of choice for cross country as well as downhill.
No idea about husky rides sorry.

Is there a reason why you've decided on Chamonix? The skiing is great but it's not a single resort - it's many smaller resorts connected by buses. It's pretty difficult to stay anywhere close to the slopes so your day will almost certainly involve a bus. And buses with skis and poles and ski boots aren't particularly fun. Even less fun with kids. Chamonix town centre itself is lovely though - a proper town unlike most purpose built resorts.

But I don't think I'd go back, especially not now with kids. We go in Easter so tend to stick to the big, high French resorts but at half term you probably have more choices - Flaine might fit the bill. Ugly resort but good skiing for all levels and they do husky rides, cross country and paraskiing etc. Austria worth a look too - as much as we always go to France these days, the couple of times I went to Austria, it was so much fun. Had a day in Salzburg on the way too which was great.

What was your old favourite and where did she go? Far easier to advise if we know where you've each liked.

Lapland is what springs to mind if you want husky rides. Not sure they're really a thing in the usual European resorts. But the ski areas tend to be fairly small from what I've read.

Chamonix is not high enough to be reliable for crosscountry or snow at resort level.

Defo not chamonix for all the reasons outlined above. You need a high resort / glacier such as avoriaz, tignes etc. They're also much better connected with long runs.

Courchevel 1650 might suit you better as I believe you can cross country ski just outside the village on the way up to 1850-
Plenty of near slope accommodation too.

Not Chamonix for the reasons previous posters have mentioned. When we were looking for a resort to fit kids; a friend who cross-country skied; and keen skiers, we picked Tignes.

Alpe D'huez was also mentioned by a PP - that's quite a good resort for non-skiers or people who like to mix up skiing with other activities- it has an outdoor heated swimming pool and it's included in the cost of the list pass (although don't know if that's changed with the massive increases in energy prices).

Tignes is my absolute favourite resort. We've been loads and, turns out, there's loads for non skiers https://en.tignes.net/activities/winter

Alpe D'Huez a good suggestion too. The Bergiers end is a big bowl which is great for beginners but easy for non beginners to get up higher.

So.. Chamonix is not a park and drop resort.. not so great for a beginner snowboarder who will want wide steep blues and will not be travelling long distances in her first week. Cross country routes are long and flat and not so easy to find equipment hire and instructors..

Husky rides are hard to find and even harder to book.. we live in the alps and tried a few times...in the end.. when my brother came to visit I tried harder and booked.. it was wilder and more terrifying than I had ever imagined.. but we have unforgettable memories!!

Depending on where your 'usual' resort is and where the great long runs of your DD's trip was (all relative and depends on snow conditions..) Val Thorens or Avoriaz might fit your bill..

I first skied 27 years ago and have yet to fulfill my dream of doing a different activity every day.. I LOVE XC, Randonée and Snowboarding.. but not downhill.. it is hard to find a resort that does all.

Your requirements aside.. I LOVE St Gervais Les Bains.. in the right snow conditions.. with the right instructors... might suit you.. not a mega resort though...

We were in St Gervais and Cham last week. We love Cham, go there winter and summer as it’s a proper town with lots to do. We wouldn’t go there without a car however. We’re experienced skiers.
St Gervais is a lovely small town but very low altitude and often rainy, although we got loadsa snow last week! We tend to drive round to Les Contamines which is beautiful with very nice skiing. Ski area is reasonably extensive. St Gervais links up to Megeve too. If you take the car you can access the whole Chamonix valley or if flying it’s a short hop on the bus down from Geneva.

Plus there’s always Courmayeur if you’re wanting Mont Blanc, but a different sort of experience. Often sunny and a nice town.

Thank you. These are really helpful suggestions. So, I’ve discounted Chamonix. I’ve only been to one other resort, which is tiny. But DH family has a chalet there so it’s easy ( free) and no car needed. Mostly red runs so great for DH and DD, not so much for me and DS (particularly me, I really am a talentless skier). I can see why DD wants something bigger.

I think we will look at Tignes, Val Thorens and Avoriaz. And a couple of other suggestions.

We go to Chatel a lot in summer but never in winter. Might that work for us?

Chatel might work yes because it's connected to avoriaz with the portes du soleil area which is huge. However Chatel itself isn't that high up so may want to check the snow conditions

Chamonix is such a pain to navigate and involves lots of buses. It's a pretty large town. I have been everywhere and it's my least favourite. Three valleys if you have the spends or Avoriaz, which I personally love for ease and variety of skiing- but not so glam etc. if you are an extremely good skier ( walking up before lifts open to get fresh snow etc) and need a variety of off piste - couloir etc, then go to Chamonix. Otherwise don't bother

La plagne could be good. Wide, cruisy blues. Dh seems to find enough steeper stuff to keep him happy. You can take the massive cable car over to les arcs

Chatel is fantastic. No worries about snow at half term. Even when conditions were sparse and tough in Jan, Plaine Dranse still had just about enough snow. Not sure about XC there though.

The XC pistes in Chatel are the last to be groomed and the first to disappear when conditions are not great but Morgins is a 10 minute drive away and there are some nice XC pistes there however, the reds back into Châtel can be a little unfriemdly.. you might be better off in Avoriaz or in Morzine and taking the Prodains into Avoriaz.. Mint Snowboarding offer great classes, there is some XC routes a quite a good altitude there too and you are in the centre of Les Portes de Soleil so can offer something for everyone.

Speak to a company like Skiline, they can help

Chucking in a recommendation for Les Arcs here. DH is a nervous skier and loved the wide cruisey blues there, so it would work for you. Lots of the runs are very long, so it would suit your DD (many of the blues are long, so would work for you both).

We used Evolution 2 in 1800 and found them to be excellent. They have a maximum group size of 8, which is why we went with them. DS1 had 6 in his group, and DS2 had 4 in his! The meet point is only ski in/ski out from certain points of 1800, but they also have schools in 1950 and 2000 if you stayed there. They also do private and snowboard lessons for each of your DC.

However, for you, I'd recommend staying in 1800 as you'd have instant access to the Mille8 green run, which is a reasonably long green and has a dedicated gondola. Perfect for warming yourself up on before you head to the blues further up. Being in 1800 also gives you easy access to Peisey Vallandry to the right and the 1950/2000 bowl to the left. Peisey Vallandry is a nervous skiers paradise, with very gentle blues. The 1950/2000 bowl is also somewhere with super gentle blues. Both areas also have a good amount of reds that your DD could stretch her wings on if she preferred. Most runs end up at the same spot anyway, so you could meet her at a designated point.

1800 is the biggest of the villages, with a bowling alley, swimming pool etc. Plus La Folie Douce! Both 1800 and 2000 have a Luge if you fancied that.

I don't know about cross-country skiing, but I did see people snow shoeing. There's also a zipline from the top if you're a daredevil.

Being in a large resort means lots of restaurants scattered about. We never struggled at lunchtime to find somewhere to sit and eat. We predominantly ate at Pizz'Attitude in 1800 (fab pizza) or at Meli's Snacks in 1950. For a lunchtime beer, we sat on the patio of the Irish bar next to Meli's and took our Meli's food to go. The pub doesn't care. There were people eating takeaway food inside, too. The restaurants in 1950 weren't particularly busy either. We liked going to 1950 for the sheer novelty of skiing through the street, directly to our lunch stop.

We parked our car up on the day we arrived and didn't use it again until we left. Les Arcs is a huge resort, but you get about on skis and lifts.

Does it have to be France?

Lots of Italian resorts tick lots of your boxes. As an added plus very young kids' lift passes are often free or heavily discounted. Lots of beginner terrain, brilliant food and also off slope diversions as the Italians generally see their mountains in a more holistic way IME, ie, they dont necessarily just go to burn down slopes for 6 hours every day.

Via lattea could be good, Cortina is lovely but spread out and might not suit your adventurous teen very well unless you have a car. Corvara/ Selva/ Ortisei could fit the bill. Alpe de Siusi is kind to blue run skiers and linked to a huge area. Drei Zinnen is German speaking and german oriented and you need a car but again a nice big area.

Radiodread only France because it’s where we’ve always been (DFIL had a chalet there) and I speak good French so can take lessons in French etc. But we love Italy and I’d happily consider an Italian resort ( DH is fluent in Italian and DD is learning, so it might be a nice opportunity for them). TBH I probably prefer non-ski activities like snowshoe walking, so it might suit us better. Can you drive to the resorts you mentioned?

For the resorts in western Italy (Via Lattea, etc), yes, a doable drive from coquelles. About 10 hours although the half term week next year coincides with huge swathes of France, Italy, Germany, NL... Everywhere, including the roads, and the slopes, is going to be really busy. This is providing you've got the 10-17 Feb week..

Dolomites resorts of Cortina/ Alpe Di Siusis/ Drei Zinnen is a bit further and I wouldn't personally drive there. It's a good 13 hrs from coquelles. More if you have to stop and faff around with snow chains IE if you haven't got winter tyres on. I'd fly there unless you have your own gear to transport. Milan Malpensa is usually cheapest airport by far, if not the closest.

Another option if driving is La Thuile. That is usually quiet because it has a limited number of resort beds. You could stay further down in Pre st Didier and there is the option of Courmayeur for off slope diversions. A great spa nearby but they don't accept children. Im also not totally sure how la Thuile would be for x country and snow shoeing as it is quite exposed.