Guest 690demps Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Hi, we are thinking of going skiing in Feb 07, 2 vans 2 families and since we are 1st time skiers, we are looking for help/advice on best place to go and any other practical hints on where to stay/hook ups et. Many thanks in advance. Demps >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Our son lives in Chamonix and thats one of the best places to ski / snowboard, snow chains are compulsory as it can dump up to two metres of snow overnight there is a site near chamonix i saw it either in mmm or which motorhome recently and about 10klms up the road is Argentiere where there is also great skiing off the grand monte as Chamonix is near the Mont Blanc Tunnell its not too far to Italy Chamonix is a great place summer and winter have a look at chamonet.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 690demps Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Thanks Kelly, we will have a look at that. Demps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carebear Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 We went to Chamonix Boxing day 2 years ago, stayed 10 days, it was lovely, scenery is picturesque. We were 4 vans Main roads are always clear, side roads you will need the use of snow chains, i think they are compulsory. TOP TIP, practice to put them on before you go, make sure you take a plastic sheet handy to kneel on when fitting. also take a snow shovel it helps, (lol) To be honest with you we were not skiers, just went with the flow of friends, our daughter and boyfriend were with us they are full into it, they went again last new year same place, going again this year, but a little further up valley from Chamonix. We didnt like the cold, rather go to warmer climes. Iwould never go if we couldnt get hookup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 690demps Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Carebear, Thanks for the info, was there a particular place that you stayed that had hook ups and services!! Regards Demps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carebear Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Hi If you key in your search engine, Les Deux Glaciers. That is the campsite we stayed on, it is not right in the centre of Chamonix, not sure if you will find one, its in Les Bossons, Haute-Savoie, but this campsite has a bus stop 1 min out side the site, it runs in a figure of 8 around the town, THERE ARE TWO STOPS YOU CAN USE IN THE TOWN, you really wont be able to move your van about each day, it will be thick in snow, WELL YOU WONT FIND PARKING SPACE. and the bus service is free during certain hours, the campsite give you passes, not sure if it is up to 7pm, you pay after that, 2 EURO The slopes we used were right in the centre of Chamonix, they close at 4pm then every body hits the pub with all their gear for the happy hour 5 - 6, then head for the bus home, IF YOU DONT WISH TO SKI YOU CAN SHOP IN THE TOWN, and the slopes are walking distance away, WHICH IS WHAT ME AND MY FRIEND WERE DOING leaving the campsite later THEN GOING TO MEET THE REST. THERE ARE OTHER SLOPES AROUND THE AREA AND THE BUSSES ARE FREE WITH YOUR PASS. YOU HAVE TO GET THE 10 AMP OF ELECTRIC on this site, take a blower heater or an oil filled radiator ( best choice will also dry clothes ) you will need to keep it on during the night. On the campsite they have a drying room, WHICH IS USEFULL. TAKE SOME OLD TOWELS TO USE AS DOOR MATS AS YOUR CARPETS WILL BE SOAKING, swap them, hang them in the drying room. Not sure if there is a bar / restaurant on this site as we ate out before going home or two of our friends had chalets on the site, so we all cooked together in there. so cannot comment there. We had quite A FEW TEENAGERS WITH US AND I DONT THINK I CAN COUNT ON ONE HAND THEY WERE STILL AWAKE AFTER 11PM. YOU CAN HIRE BOOTS, SKI`S, BOARDS, IN THE TOWN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 690demps Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Carebear, Thankyou for your help with this. Regards Demps ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carebear Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 HI, SENT YOU A PM CAN YOU LET ME KNOW YOU RECEIVED IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 690demps Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Hi, yes I did receive your Pm, have sent one back (I think) not sure if I have done it right!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 :-D Just registered with the chat line and noticed you query. We started skiing three years ago at the ripe old age of 61. Just great! we are not brilliant, in fact we are only just on the top of beginners but we love our annual trips and especially the panninis and wine at lunchtime. However, if this is your fist time don't go on motorhome aires. Wait until you have been once and then dip your toe in as you get used to the way everything works. I would recommend La Grand Bornand in the Averis mountains. It is easy to get to and if you get a late ferry ( 9 o'clock) at night from Dover you can be there by 9 o'clock the next morning with stops. It is good to have driver changes in between stops and just do it on the motorways. I know that it costs but you get there very quickly. There are 2 campsites that you can book and both are excellent and both have good facilities with drying rooms and indoor pools of top quality. Both campsite owners speak excellent english and they will guide you through the process of free transport, lift passes with discounts and will make your holiday much nicer. You say that you might not be too interested in skiing but give it a go you can hire skis and boots quite cheaply in one of five places in the village and you can also book some ski lessons at Ecole de ski in the centre. Best to book as a group it is much cheaper. We found that three one hour lessons were sufficient to get of the beginners slopes and down a green run. In fact, the instructor will take you all down the run on the second lesson. The campsite has a free ski bus that stops every 15 minutes outside the gate and drops you off at the telecabin in the village. One word of warning! you say you are going in february. Well be warned all the french skiing population go on holiday in this month. They even arrange for different areas of france to go at different times in the month so everything will be chock-a-block with waits at all the lifts. The end of the month is better. You can book on line with both sites and they are both in the caravan club sites book. They are: www.lescale.com and www.plandufernuy.com. The first is in Grand Bornand (www.Le grandbornand.com and the second is in La Clusaz (www.laclusaz.com) The latter is very close to the former place but is a bit livelier for the young at heart but the site is 2Km from the town centre , however there is the regular bus and its also free. Hope you find this useful. We would thoroughly recommend them but if your not sure then just visit the towns webb sites as they have all the information and have webb cams on the pistes so you can get a feeling for where you are going. Don't hesitate get booking otherwise you wont get a place on the sites. Let us know how you get on. Andy Boulter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 690demps Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Thanks very much for your comments - very useful, and we will definately give the caravan club a call about both of those sites. We are stuck with the half term dates unfortunately, but will just have to get up earlier to avoid the queues!!!!! How did you cope in the motorhome with the temperature....are you fully winterised? Any further tips?? Many thanks - and we'll let you know how we get on! Demps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Hi again, In answer to your questions, we have an Autotrail Cheyenne 660 which although it doesn't have a double floor does seem to have wall,roof and floor thickness equal to most continental vans. It's one drawback is the fresh water tank which is outside so this needs to be drained off and use water containers inside. You can store them in the shower. If you have a swivel loo then you will need to have a bottle of water to flush it. We take two 13kg bottles of propane which lasts about 4 weeks on a campsite. Remember that you will be given a choice of ampage when you get on site, go for the 10amp. This will allow you to keep a heater going all the time plus lights, plus TV/DVD etc. We actually take one of those large oil heaters which is great for keeping the van warm whilst you are out. I would also suggest that you get good internal reflective stick on window covers. This will help you keep the heat in and the cold out on all windows including the big heiki roof opener- the reflective blind is'nt good enough. Buy one of those 5 gall black waste water containers (£10) leave your waste tank open and tip it away fairly regularly even if it is not full. Don't leave any in overnight it will freeze up. I don't know what van you have so I can't give you specific advice. One thing we found was that you will find that an awning tent is a real bonus. It expands your space and stuff can be stored outside and it stops the clutter from coming inside. We used one of those motorhome KYHAM motordomes. This was really excellent but miles too big. We have now ditched this and use one of those small lightwieght awnings that you see attached to caravans over the doorway. You can get them from Towsure for about £100. They give a floor area of 3m x 3m and pack up into a very small lightweight pack. Well worth it. Grand Bornand is only at 993 metres so it only drops down to -8 and you get that in the UK. When you get on the slopes the temp at night can go as low as -18 -20 because you go up another 300metres. I agree with another blogger you must have snow chains. Its a legal requirement and if the police stop you to check they get quite arsey. We have heard some people get fined. The AA will rent them to you or sell them. can pick them up at Dover as you go through, but not at 9 o'clock at night. best to get them before hand so you can practice putting them on a couple of times before you go. Don't forget you will need to get them to the size of your wheels. Clothes for skiing----- Strangely enough you get very hot skiing so you need some specialised kit! You can hire it all from specialised skiing shops ( Rock and Ski) but visit TK Max they will do the whole kit for you much cheaper. Well, I hope that you have a good time its really worth it and if you get hooked you will have something that will brighten up the winter with some thing to look forward to. Best of luck Andrew :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 [QUOTE]ned - 2006-10-21 10:19 AM We actually take one of those large oil heaters which is great for keeping the van warm whilst you are out. [/QUOTE] Ned, I am about to buy one for this very purpose, what wattage would you suggest? [QUOTE]ned - 2006-10-21 10:19 AM I would also suggest that you get good internal reflective stick on window covers.[/QUOTE] Did you have these made? If so where? Cheers Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Hi Frank, We carry two. One is a delonghi oil filled heater at 1500watt with two setting levels. High and Low. It is easily stowed behind the drivers seat and is 600mm talland a very small one from Robert Dyas (750w). On the low setting it is only working on about 750watts. This is quite adequate to keep the background temp' to a comfortable level especially at night. Some people take a cheap lightwieght 1Kw fan heater to switch on when they get back to the van or to quickly get the heat going over a short period of time. Whatever, you are just trying to conserve you gas supply and as you are paying for the electric you should use it whenever you can. As to the point about the internal window covers? Well we brought the reflective material from Taylormade with the suckerpads(75p each) plus the braid. Linda then got weaving with the sewing machine and knocked them out quite quickly. However, Taylormade will make them for you if you supply the paper patterns for each window. You obviously make them so that the reflective side faces to the outside of the window. As a buy-product we have found that if we stick them on the windows in the summer when it's hot(that is on the inside ) then open the windows you can reduce the temperature in the van 10 to 15 degs or more. This then makes the van more habitable during the day and gives the fan a fighting chance to reduce the temp even more. Well worth the money especially this year when we got temp' up into the high 30's on the continent. Hope this helps .Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Thanks for the information Andy. I will get the smallest 1.5 kw oil radiator that I can find and look into where to buy the material you mentioned. Cheers Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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