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La plagne at half term is hell!
The lift queues are horrendous .
At least last week you could (mainly) go two to a lift/bubble to avoid others though the queues were still a bit of a mini scrum at times. As soon as it gets busy, all the distancing is abandoned.
There seemed to be more people speeding/buzzing on the easier stuff this year as well. A couple of highish profile fatalities in the past fortnight or so - at Flaine and La Rosiere both 'family oriented' resorts.
I'm expecting the queues to be bad and I don't mind them. I'm not that fussed about getting Covid again as I only got over it a few weeks ago and thankfully no lasting issues.
Any tips for which lifts don't get too crowded? I know the main ones to avoid. Cheers
covid update : so now 3 out of the 5 of us that went to morzine have developed covid. Mild symptoms so far.....
Are the French border control making any checks at Swiss/French border? Flying to Geneva tomorrow and booked on a shared transfer to Morzine
Are the French border control making any checks at Swiss/French border? Flying to Geneva tomorrow and booked on a shared transfer to Morzine
They didnt when we went through last thursday and again last monday
I drove from France to Geneva airport and back yesterday morning to drop my wife off and didn’t get stopped or checked at all.
Got my covid QR code scanned today on one of the lifts in ADH.
covid update : so now 3 out of the 5 of us that went to morzine have developed covid. Mild symptoms so far…..
Fingers crossed you all get off lightly with it.
another Covid update - we all got pinged by track and trace yesterday. Of the 8 that went to Montegenvre, 2 have tested positive.
Wouldn't be surprised if they caught it in the chaos of the Turin airport passport queue
Anyone hopeful that France might reduce the entry restrictions on testing before entry? I can’t see it myself.
Me neither. I looked at their rules for amber countries and they still require it.
News from Brussels:
EU countries have agreed to make it easier for anyone with an EU Covid-19 certificate to travel within the bloc without having to face any further restrictions such as tests or quarantine.
That would mean those with an EU Covid certificate, which proves vaccination, recovery or a negative test would be allowed to travel freely within the EU or Schengen zone without the need for extra tests or quarantine, even if they were coming from a country with high Covid infection rates.
The recommendation is set to come into force on February 1st, but it is non-binding so individual EU countries would be free to impose whatever travel restrictions they wish if they feel the need.
Above stolen from snowheads. Not quite sure if it makes any difference to us except possibly making transitions through 2 shengen countries easier.
This will be the first time I’ve visited there in Feb half term. I expect lift queues to be a pain right??
I once went at Belgian/Dutch half term. (it was definitely not UK half term as I actively avoid that and I dont think it was French).
The Plagne-Bellecote bowl is to be avoided at peak times - first thing, last thing and just after lunch.
Unfortunately you need to go through it to link the map up, so pick your areas each day to minimise the number of times you go there.
So excited, booked la Tania for early march! Self drive, airBnB, No snow since march 2020, I can not wait!
What @ajaydoubleyou said (although I was there UK February half term) queues were 30-40 minutes. I HATE queuing and have to go during half terms ffs
Any suggestions where I should head tomorrow night for 2 days?
I’m in ADH at the moment and don’t want to go any further from Calais as I’m driving home Sunday.
I’ve resigned myself to the fact I won’t be seeing any powder as I can’t drive 10hrs east to Austria.
I’ve been wanting to try La Clusaz for a while so might head there or……?
Phil5556. Serre Che? Just over the col from you. Montgenevre not too much further in from Serre Che. Obvs La Grave but suspect conditions are not prime there and a Guide would ideal.
Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre are in the wrong direction, really.
Lots of small ski areas close to Grenoble though, if you checks the map. Any of them would be fine for a couple of days. I've never been myself but Villard Correncon looks like it has a few lifts
https://www.villardcorrencon.com/fr/
Espace Villard de Lans Correncon
+33 4 76 94 50 50
https://maps.app.goo.gl/LGpJJiLeQAZbW58y6
More chance of being able to find nice stuff in a smaller, less busy resort, especially if you can join a group of even hire a guide
I had an awful day in Montgenevre a couple of years ago and vowed never to go again 🤣
I do fancy Serre Che at some point but it is an hour or so further down the road.
I had definitely thought about trying somewhere smaller that you wouldn’t usually go to for a holiday, I’ll check that out cheers nbt.
La (Les/Le?) Contamines is also on the possible list.
Chamrousse is even closer to you then Villard de Lans
Cheers that looks interesting.
Let us know where you end up and what it's like. Chamrousse has popped up a couple of times for me now on suggested destinations...
I booked Zell-am-See at half term for a mixture of skiing and non-skiing.
Me - done loads
Older kids - super keen, sports mad, progressing to parallel; a couple of their mates will be there too
Younger kid - gonna get him off the nursery slope as he's done a few hours on a previous trip aged 4
Mrs - not fussed, lacking confidence but she can ski so I'll probably send her out with an instructor to get confidence (and unwanted attention)
It'll be our first full week having done a couple of days in Seefeld and three days in Garmisch back before Covid.
so I’ll probably send her out with an instructor to get confidence (and unwanted attention)
Stereotype Instructor to Mrs Scuttler: 'Open ze legs...' 😀
@phil556: Go to les7laux rather than Chamrousse. It's much better. Chamrousse can feel a bit like the municipal ski station of Grenoble. I live in the area. Park at Le Pleynet or Prapoutel coming from ADH.
Villard Correncon is also a great area: feels a bit more southern, more trees and a diffeernt feel to Les7Laux which is much more 'crystalline high mountain massif'. More technical skiing at les7Laux than Villard Correncon
Too late, only just seen this and parked up now at Chamrousse.
I still have Saturday though 🙂
Are these places going to be mobbed on a Saturday being so close to Grenoble?
@phil5556, if you do fancy moving then Denfinella over on snowheads is road tripping around Grenoble and live reporting so you can see what he thinks of different areas
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=4919184#4919184
They do, but anywhere is busy at weekends. I guess if you are in the big resorts, the pistes can be quieter on Saturdays due to changeovers, but then the roads up and down are hell.
Again, I would say Les7laux (the 7 lakes) gets less mobbed/ is less problematical than chamrousse. This is partly due to their being 3 entry points, with 1 of them being a long way round by car. Chamrousse also gets mobbed due to the ski de fond area which is just below.
Maybe that's the plan for you, ski Chamrousse today then head over to 7laux.
Let me know how you get on: I'm planning a wee ski tour near les 7 laux on Sat.
Just noticed, it's the belle etoile ski mountaineering race this weekend. Which passes around/ through les7laux area.
I've skied on the pistes at 7laux when this race has been on, and not been overly affected. Apart from inadvertently chopping across their skinning track prior to the race when I did a bit off piste.
It can be great to watch part of it as well. The route changes all the time: so not guaranteed you will be easily able to get somewhere good to watch if not on touring kit.
Nice article (translated from Süddeutsche Zeitung) on Ryding’s victory
Plus a Guardian interview https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/29/skier-dave-ryding-winter-olympics-alpine-world-cup
scuttler - thanks for those articles. I've been a fan of Dave for many years and it's great to know how much he's thought of on the circuit.
Let us know where you end up and what it’s like. Chamrousse has popped up a couple of times for me now on suggested destinations…
I actually had a really good fun day there, it was just what I needed - a relaxed day cruising about on my board. I didn’t do the Col De Casserouse (?) because it was pretty windy at the top and I assumed I would just find ice & moguls, I bet it’s great with some powder or at least some softer snow.
It was great for a day, maybe 2, but not sure I’d want to spend a week there. Potentially lots of fun to be had on the easily accessible off piste, but alas it was a solid tracked out mess (like everywhere this week!)
I went to Les Contamines yesterday which tbh was a bit of a mistake, again solid pistes and just a bit bland. I won’t rush back.
Just booked for the first week of March, Jesus is it just me or are prices sky high this year? I assume some recoupe of missed opportunity is required, but I feel like I'm paying for the holiday I didn't have last year (and yes I appreciate I could just not go).
Toby1, Lots of roll over bookings from previous seasons and high demand = High Prices.
Plus inflation+1, everyone is adding on a bit to make up for last few seasons, I think.
Plus additional costs for cleaning, staff are now mostly now all EU on minimum wage not UK people happy to work for skiing..
Perfect storm really.
TheDTs, agreed, I'm still ridiculously excited, I barely slept last night. Les Menuiers here we come, woo!!
Indeed, mates just messaged to say they were nearly at La Tania, going to be inundated with Whstsapp photos of them enjoying the snow which fell this evening all week. Heading out on 9th. Can’t stop checking weather reports when supposed to be working, got skis all waxed and tuned, flights, hire car, accom - Check. Just want to get out there!
It’s been dumping snow for days in our part of Austria. Still an empty week in our place 19th to 26th March if anyone fancies it? 1hr from Salzburg. We haven’t put our prices up, maybe I’m missing a trick! €1000/week for a 90m2 3 bedroom apartment.
I took this from our balcony a couple of weeks ago
colp = that looks amazing.
Anyone know what the deal is with driving through different European countries at the moment?
We're going to Samoens in April and thinking of getting the Rotterdam - Hull over night ferry home, but unsure about covid tests if we're driving out of France and through Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands...
@ads678 we just did Hull - Rotterdam - Belgium - Luxembourg - France. I came back Calais to Dover though so didn’t look at what might be needed for the reverse.
We did a LFT at Hull before boarding and filled in the Dutch quarantine exemption form & the French one at home and printed copies and kept them available on phone too. Then just drove down with no issues, was as easy as it’s ever been with no border checks once out of the port. The only time we got checked for anything covid related was before boarding the ferry (and in restaurants & lifts). I think things might be different if you’re planning to stop in another country rather than just transit.
An added unexpected benefit if you take that route is there are virtually no tolls, I think we paid less than €5.
I also nipped in to Switzerland to drop off my wife at Geneva airport and as ever just drive straight through.
We’ve booked again in March and will be coming back to Hull too on that trip.
We do the Hull one. All as above, you only needed a pre booked day 2 until the other week.
I'm confused, the .gov website says that I need my last c8vid injection within 180 days of travel. I haven't had my booster yet as I caught covid in November and am supposed to wait 3 months after infection before i get the next jab.
Does this mean I can't travel to Italy?
I keep seeing “covid recovery certificate” mentioned - do you need one of those?
It's a 28 day wait after covid infection before you can get a booster, not 3 months.
I keep seeing “covid recovery certificate” mentioned – do you need one of those?
You’d need that in Austria if you haven’t had a booster I think
I’m confused, the .gov website says that I need my last c8vid injection within 180 days of travel. I haven’t had my booster yet as I caught covid in November and am supposed to wait 3 months after infection before i get the next jab.
Does this mean I can’t travel to Italy?
For Super Green Pass in Italy you need your latest vaccine dose (2nd or booster) or Covid recovery QR code date to be within the last 180 days. (In Scotland) your recovery pass, QR code, is below your vaccine QR codes in the Travel section, scroll down. These QR codes pass the test on Italian VerificaC19 (in Rafforzata setting) app to give a super green pass. It's way more complicated than it should be!
I keep seeing “covid recovery certificate” mentioned – do you need one of those?
Only if you don't have a second dose or booster within the last 180 days. Allows for the fact that you couldn't get a vaccine for a set period after infection. In our case, 17yr old in Scotland, he was told 12 weeks after infection for 2nd dose so we're travelling on basis of recovery cert.
Cheer me up as I'm not sure my nerves can take this for the next two weeks before our trip - covid is rife amongst 2 x junior's school mates. We've not had it in the house at all yet, but are fully vaccinated. I just can't get rid of the nagging, dream-crushing thought that one of us will have either symptoms or a negative 24hr lft, the week we're due to travel.
A friend of a friend in La Tania at the moment, he isn't boosted and apparently causing some problems here and there.. He is skiing and going in places but it is apparently being picked up when the app is scanned..
Apologies if this is a stupid question...
I'm travelling to Morzine via Geneva tomorrow.
I've filled out a Swiss Passenger Locator Form for my outbound flight. Do I have to do the same when I go back into Geneva (for a few hours) for my flight back? I know I'll have to do the UK one...
For Super Green Pass in Italy you need your latest vaccine dose (2nd or booster) or Covid recovery QR code date to be within the last 180 days. (In Scotland) your recovery pass, QR code, is below your vaccine QR codes in the Travel section, scroll down.
Thanks LD.
Apologies, but " the Travel section" of what exactly?
I assume its an app. Not the track and trace app, but another one?
What's it called?
I'm guessing the NHS app which is the one that gives you your QR code?
That’s right, the NHS app, not the NHS COVID app
Yes It's called NHS Scotland Covid Status up here. It's what we use for vaccine passport and travel. I'm sure there's an equivalent in England.
Regarding Covid recovery, NHS in England does not require PCR following LFT ( https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/test-results/positive-test-result/) but does anyone know if the LFT will qualify in any sort of Recovery statement? As it's a questionable quality 'at-home' test I presume if holds no value in terms of proving infection and recovery as part of a Covid passport.
Apologies if this is a stupid question…
I’m travelling to Morzine via Geneva tomorrow.
I’ve filled out a Swiss Passenger Locator Form for my outbound flight. Do I have to do the same when I go back into Geneva (for a few hours) for my flight back? I know I’ll have to do the UK one…Apologies if this is a stupid question…
Not a stupid question but you don't need the second Swiss one, the don't stop you at the border. Just back from the same journey with a dose of Covid which presented first night back.
Another possibly stupid question but humor me!
For Travelling to France at half term & back if fully vaccinated I need:
A negative test taken within 24 hours of arrival in France.
This can’t be NHS but can be PCR or Lateral flow?
Sworn statement before arrival.
Just a passenger locator form for returning to uk.
Thanks @ElVino!
Trying to do the sworn statements now, found the Orange Country form (which I'm assuming the UK from their map) but last night I found one specifically from the UK, but seems to be gone today...
hitting the swedish backcountry with a snowscooter this weekend. splitboarding funtimes!
@ceepers Morzine Source magazine have an updating article on what's needed to travel that I've been checking off against ( https://www.morzinesourcemagazine.com/travel-to-france-from-the-uk/). I used the Boots Antigen Test (take the LFT at home and upload a picture of it to get your certificate) and I'm travelling this evening so I'll soon see if I've done everything correctly...
Was recently (re) introduced to this site (sure I've seen it many years ago, but it wasn't quite so impressive)
https://openskimap.org/?obj=9353d160d9c3a6df888db3bcafdea3058ad8552d#10.61/45.4928/6.806
Hopefully Easter holidays pay off. We have a week already booked at Val Cenis and have just booked an additional week at Valfrejus for £534 accom and liftpass for a family of 4. Haute Maurienne has an area wide lift pass so we will get to ski across 5 resorts. Fingers crossed...
For Travelling to France at half term & back if fully vaccinated I need:
A negative test taken within 24 hours of arrival in France.
This can’t be NHS but can be PCR or Lateral flow?
Sworn statement before arrival.
I've just returned from a week in France. We needed:
- Sworn statement (various versions online, we used 14-01-2022-engagement-sur-l-honneur-royaume-uni-version-anglaise.docx)
- Negative test (non-NHS LFT) taken within 24hrs of departure from UK (not arrival in France)
- EU Passenger Location Form
- NHS Covid Pass / proof of vaccination. They are only interested in the latest QR, we all had boosters, there might be an age below which you only need the first two.
Just a passenger locator form for returning to uk.
Yes. Completed in the 48hrs before you leave France. We were travelling with Jet2 from Grenoble, they had agents in the airport who viewed the QR on the form (on your phone) and put a sticker on your passport, then the check-in printed the boarding pass (we could check-in online 2 weeks before and book seats, but could only print boarding passes for the outward flight)
Sassopiatto and Sassolungo from near Passo Gardena this morning
Getting quite excited about the ski train now...
Just need to avoid catching Covid 🙂
Just back from Italy (pretty crap snow and high winds) which included driving to Val Thorens 3 times (amazing piste conditions and really quiet). 3 out of 9 now positive!
Fly out to La Tania on Wednesday, grateful of the fresh that arrived overnight.
Val Thorens 3 times (amazing piste conditions and really quiet)
Fingers crossed it stays that way, heading to the 3 valleys first weekend in March and concerned we a) don't catch anything before then, b) some snow comes and c) it actually happens I could do with a holiday working out this time round!
I’m assuming your lack of posting means it all went fine!
Seems nowhere has a clear answer written down but are we confident that the take at home upload a photo and get emailed a certificate is ok for entry to France then?
are we confident that the take at home upload a photo and get emailed a certificate is ok for entry to France then
@ceepers Yes. Did this going to France last week, some of us did drive through and some at home. The drive through test is exactly the same as the take home test, and the certificate is the same. You can park in their car park and do it or take it home, the process and photo is the same. The only reason I'd do a drive through now is if I wanted it at short notice and didn't trust the post to deliver the kit in time.
PS - much easier to have everything printed on paper before you get to France, not on your phone.
Seems nowhere has a clear answer written down but are we confident that the take at home upload a photo and get emailed a certificate is ok for entry to France then?
Yes,it's fine, did just that a couple of weeks ago
Incredibly windy in Val Gardena today. Most lifts closed above the valley. -25C windchill at 2000m
☹️
For those of you heading out to France keep an eye on the news and entry requirements.
It's looking like the French Gov may lift the requirement for vaccinated non-EU nationals for provide a negative test in the next few days...
My french is crap and the article is in french but that's the gist.
Typical, our tests have just been delivered this morning!!
Yes, my sister who lives in France, sent me a link to an English language article this morning that says they are thinking about dropping the 48 hour negative test for entry.
... he writes from Berkshire rather than Les Menuires as Mrs Forum failed hers. Probably a false positive as two subsequent LFTs and PCR have all come back negative.
@forum, grounds for a new patio??
French Gov may lift the requirement for vaccinated non-EU nationals for provide a negative test
The UK has been a special case in the French regs - until 4 Feb travellers from UK needed a test in the previous 24hrs, from everywhere else (except their red list) it's been 48hrs. UK travellers are now on 48hrs (according to gov.uk) but we may still be special case so I'd wait for the announcement.
I spoke to P&O today booking a crossing in April and they said the pre departure test rules are changing tomorrow. For entry into all EU countries from non EU countries. So Look out for that. Shouldn't needs tests any more.
Going to be busy out on the slopes next week in Europe ladies and gentlemen. Watch your back (literally, I refuse to go now as been skittled by out of control French teenagers too many times).
Just commenting for post 400.
Roll on the 5th March and hopefully a snowstorm or two just before, I miss th Alps!