The STW Ski and Snowboard thread: 2021-2022 Season

Have a great time all that have gone out. I’ve got everything crossed to get pedlad junior2 to his second vacc in 2 weeks time. Then if we all pass lft 24 hrs before we can drive through France to Italy.
One thing I’m unclear on is if we choose to go from our overnight (half way down France) then transit through Switzerland to Italy, are the same lft cert (under 24hrs) good for all three countries ?

does anyone know whether it has to be a lat flow test conducted over video call/in the providers premises or can it be an at home lat flow from any of the fit to fly lat flow

AIUI you can use the on line LFT suppliers for France. We have and had the results within half an hour. We’ve used Rainbow. Their submission site is shite. The webmonkey wants it shoving up his/her orifice but the service was good. £19.99 per test.

We just got carried away and booked a ferry….
Hull to Rotterdam on Thursday in the camper with a view to head to PDS. Wife will fly back on Tuesday and I’ll have until the weekend then back on the Calais – Dover ferry.

Just trying to make sure we’ve sussed all the tests & forms.

😁😁

This one seems cheapest LFT option at the moment:
Excaliber LFT

Heading out to serre chevalier on the 5th March, toying with a days guiding in la grave. Has anyone been before? I worked 7 ski seasons so ability isn’t an issue I’m more concerned about snow. Don’t really want to shell out £150 if it’s going to be crusty or tracked out. Everyone is planning on booking in advance so impossible to predict snow conditions. Anyone got any experience of it?

Anyone got any experience of it?

I did a season in 2Alpes, we never did La Grave as the snow was so bad the whole season that those in the know advised against bothering.

So no advice, but I’d be interested in hearing how you get on with it.

A good guide will find the best of what is there (hopefully). That said I have had some great days out with marginal conditions off piste. I would always wait until I was in resort to book if I was only on a 1 day guide option. One day either way could have a big change in your conditions.
La Grave is awesome. Went many years ago, had a crazy Swede “guiding” us. He had been there twice before!🤣 A great day out. Get a guide to get the best out of it, do some hiking or skinning, take a foam roller for after!

Saying all that, there are loads of great options from Serre Che with a guide and touring gear (If that floats your boat)
(2x Serre Che seasonaire)

I spent 7 seasons in serre che so know the back country very well! I don’t think there will be any touring as it’s too much weight to get all the gear on the plane. Guided la grave day would hopefully make it easy to get a day in where most of the group can come

Anyone know Sauze d’oulx really well?

Looking for tips on ski hire shops and alternative resorts that are driveable.

For the shop we would rather pay a little more and have access to good quality kit than the ‘supermarket’ package holiday rental places.

For the resorts, I’m thinking 2 things: –

1. Completely out of Milky Way. I know Sestriere etc are there but if the snow is bad in Sauze (it may be looking at the forecast) the links will be slow and busy.
2. Is it easier to drive to the far reaches of the Milky Way lift system rather than ski from Sauze?

Any other local tips welcome on bars / food etc. We’re headed out end of Jan.

Thanks

Go Dave!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/60097540

Well done Dave!

We were watching the free ride world tour.  Local swedish sender sent it!

Absolutely amazing effort and thoroughly deserved.
Get in there Dave

Any Andermatt fans in ?

Wondering how likely it is that I’ll need touring bindings to access the off-piste

@Scaredypants, Apparently not!🙁 One of the places on my (quite long) list though.

Can we start to see a few more photos being posted here from people actually out in the mountains!

I’m a week away now and getting a bit excited.

Still keen to hear from anyone with knowledge of Sauze d’oulx as above…

Can we start to see a few more photos being posted here from people actually out in the mountains!

I did try a couple of pages ago but it turned into the winter holiday travel agent thread…

And now all the local snow has gone, hurumph!

Does anyone know whether Switzerland/France accept ‘self-test’ antigen tests for travel or does the swabbing need to be done by a someone else? I can’t seem to find anything about who needs to do the test. I’m Heading to Morzine via Geneva in a couple of weeks so trying to sort tests.

Boots offer both services, and give you the certificate, but I can save £10 a test if I just self-test.

TIA

Any Andermatt fans in ?

Wondering how likely it is that I’ll need touring bindings to access the off-piste

We did the standard off piste off the back of the highest lift and then round eastwards back to the valley floor. It was fine on alpine skis, but a nightmare for our boarder similarly on the flat runout and where the trail crosses avalanche debris.

Was fine on downhill skis.
Did loads of other bits and pieces, but more side country than back country

Re Sauze, sorry can’t help as I haven’t been for many years. You could ask over on snowheads.com

@cb Just back from a brilliant week in montegenevre. Sun out all week. Snow was good, but a bit icy in places. I have been a few times and that was the least amount of snow I have seen.
Went into claviere and the low slopes where very icy.
Think sauze d’oulx is lower.
If you have a car montegenevre is 30 minutes away(according to google)
There is no public transport between them

Does anyone know whether Switzerland/France accept ‘self-test’ antigen tests for travel or does the swabbing need to be done by a someone else? I can’t seem to find anything about who needs to do the test. I’m Heading to Morzine via Geneva in a couple of weeks so trying to sort tests.

Boots offer both services, and give you the certificate, but I can save £10 a test if I just self-test.

Boots Self test is fine for france…I did it on Thursday before coming to Chamonix.just upload a picture to their website and you get a certificate within seconds

stevie750 – thanks! Not what I wanted to hear but useful to know where the best snow is. Did you get up to Sestriere?

In the 10 days we’ve been in the Grand Massif there has been one day of cloud and a mighty 3cm of snow fall. The blue skies and cold (ish) temps are set to continue for the rest of our trip.
The existing snow is holding up really well with some ice in patches on the lower slopes or the busy junction pistes.

The resort is really quiet outside of the weekends but this does seem to mean that some people are going everywhere at Mach 1.

So good to be back in the mountains 🙂

Just got back from a long weekend in morzine, not much snow, but pistes were in the main ok as long as you stayed in the sun.

2 out of 5 of us tested positive for COVID this morning on arrival back, the number of people coughing on the plane on the way back was quite high.

@cb Just back from Sauze. The conditions were good, not much of a base but most runs open and bashed. Bit icy towards the end of the week though. Links over to Sestrière are open and you can get to Clavier and Montegenevre via the lift(s) from Sansicario.

We used the shop recommended by Sauze Online – right next to the Clotes lift.

Dropped the hammer and booked flights out to GVA for a long weekend 12th – 16th March. Accom booked in Avoriaz, now super, super excited.
Haven’t been to PDS in ages and CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Back from Meribel a day or so ago. Same conditions as above; no fresh snow for 2 weeks now. Good cover, icy in places and a bit bashed. Half an hour flat light in 6 days, sun the rest though very cold on a couple of days.

Just done the LFT, negative. Which is a major surprise as despite the lip service on the lifts, everyone is very close and you’re sharing the bubbles with people removing their masks as soon as the lifties are out of sight. We drove and the roads/Chunnel were empty. 3 valleys also very quiet though Saturday (locals day) was a bit manic (relatively – nothing like half term).

Anyone hopeful that France might reduce the entry restrictions on testing before entry? I can’t see it myself. We’re away with friends in the madness of half term (19th to 26th Feb) to La Plagne. Not my first choice of resort but I’m just looking forward to getting back on my snowboard.

@cb
Never went to seistre, but some folk I was with did. No snow on the bottom slopes and they had to get a chairlift down to then get two up to get to the snow.

Does anyone know whether Switzerland/France accept ‘self-test’ antigen tests for travel or does the swabbing need to be done by a someone else?

If I’m reading the guidance right if you are vaccinated you do not need any test to enter Switzerland Switzerland Entry Requirements

I’m flying Feb half term to Basel airport on the Swiss/French border hoping to avoid the French side.

@Painey You’re either extremely brave or totally bonkers, that’s the Paris/Lyon crossover week!

I know and it wasn’t my choice. I am at least flying out on the Friday and staying somewhere on the valley floor Friday night. We’ll be in resort by 10am Saturday morning. I did not want to be in that traffic on a Saturday! I’m expecting some pretty manic lift queues that week too.

Got back from a fab week at Club Med, Val Disaire on Sunday night. Pistes were in excellent shape, with a bit of powder lingering off the sides. Wall to wall sunshine bar one morning when we’d had a 6 inch drop overnight. I’m really missing it now…..:-(

Re Switzerland looks like the rules changed for the better on 22nd Jan!!! From the Swiss website linked by the UK Gov website…

You have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID and can prove this with a valid COVID certificate? Then you are exempt from the test requirement on boarding and on entry to Switzerland.

@Painey

La Plagne. Not my first choice of resort but I’m just looking forward to getting back on my snowboard.

I loved La Plagne. It’s obviously marketed as a ‘family’ oriented resort rather than a place for extreme off-piste or whatever. But, honestly, I found the off-piste to be some of the best I’ve ever experienced. I had a great time sessioning the selection of mini couloirs you can see from the Inversens chair. Don’t let the family marketing put you off.

I was also quite happy staying on the La Plagne side – I might not buy the full Paradiski pass if I went again.

@Painey we’ll be doing second leg of drive to italy that sat morning so yes an early start required. Lack of swiss entry requirements gives us the option of Jura-Grand St Bernard tunnel though if it’s not belting down with snow. Last time we saved hours of queueing round Geneva doing that.

Getting excited about Snow train (to Les Ménuires) on the 11th now – just me & Mrs Dubs, she’s trying desperately to not get Covid between now & then, no so easy in a secondary school!

I had it in late November so hoping I’ve still got the antibodies. Need to sort a test out before we go I think, but no return tests after the 11th.

Woop Woop!

Just booked flights to Toulouse for some much missed snowboarding in Ax 3 Domains, Pyrenees, just a long weekend 17th-21st Feb but should be good. Haven’t been since 2019 as 2020 hol got cancelled and 2021 didn’t happen either and we then fell foul of France changing their rules before Christmas. I’m gagging for it!

Hopefully should be having a week begining of April in Samoens as well. Got ferry crossings from Christmas to use for that.

I’ve been to La Plagne before but not for around 13-14 years. My wife will love the gentle blue runs (her 1st time there) but I swiftly get bored of that sort of thing. I’m hoping now that they’ve turned a fair bit of the piste map into “natur” runs (unpisted) then if it does snow, it won’t get tracked out too quick. Same with any off-piste. Although I think I’m the only in in our group who takes a transceiver/pole/shovel with them so that would limit options.

This will be the first time I’ve visited there in Feb half term. I expect lift queues to be a pain right??

The rest of our group of friends are travelling up the valley through Albertville, leaving Lyon airport at 10am on the Saturday. Personally I think they’re crazy for doing that.