2021/2022 winter season thread

maddness · 13-12-2021 9:15am #1

Seeing as there is nothing about this coming winter season I thought I’d start.

The current conditions in the alps are epic with some of the heaviest snow on record in December. I’ll be in Courchevel on Wednesday for a few days and will post about the whole experience including the ease or difficulty of skiing with masks and the various restrictions in place.

Anyone else going soon?

kal7 · 13-12-2021 10:30am

Looking forward to report on french conditions and regulations etc. Enjoy the new snow.

DoraDelite · 13-12-2021 6:16pm

Going Friday week to Chamonix, looking forward to it even with the extra paper work! The snow conditions look to be the best I've seen for years at Christmas/New year so it'll make a change from scrapping down ice for the week.

Rew · 14-12-2021 4:12pm

Going next month 🤞

a148pro · 14-12-2021 11:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058222629/2021-2022-winter-season-thread

Just back from Andorra which also had absurd snow, ex Barcelona. Toulouse also viable.

No requirement for a test to land in Spain if you are vaccinated (as of last week anyway)

Masks requested even in / on outdoor chairlifts. Ski buffs acceptable.

Covid passes required in bars and restaurants and I think to buy the lift pass (although I wasn't checked), though you can get one with a negative antigen test (I think). Bars closed at midnight and operating at half capacity due to rising cases. Seems to be observed (have the sense Andorra is a small State and people don't F around, particularly if you might be putting the ski season in jeopardy by doing it)

The main rigmarole is the testing to come back home. If going for a short break (i.e., two days skiing) you can probably travel on a 72 hour PCR taken in Dublin Airport on the way out. However, you're unlikely to know you've passed this before you fly, which isn't ideal!

Otherwise I think most European pharmacies are doing antigen tests which once certified meet the regulations of a "professional" test or whatever the wording is. I paid €25 for one in the Medical Centre conveniently located in the main lift station in Soldeu. Ryanair, despite Michael O'Leary's "Gobbledigook" press release, were checking intently in Barcelona.

The risk is obviously you test positive over there. I really think we should be moving away from mandatory isolation if you're positive and just get on with it, the virus is endemic and always will be, but our media or political discourse doesn't seem to have made this leap. Suspect at least some people are "topping up" with antigen tests which will allow them a window of return should they test positive. Also not ideal but spending 14 days in a hotel because of an endemic virus isn't really sustainable.

Great to be back skiing. What was weirdest was that it was like it had never gone away. Felt the same as always.

Good luck to all travelling in coming weeks!

maddness · 16-12-2021 7:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118322936#Comment_118322936

How accessible is Andorra for a short break?

maddness · 16-12-2021 7:59am

I’ve skied in the 3 valleys six or seven times at this time of year and I’ve never seen it so quiet.

The pistes are mostly empty and conditions are fantastic. They are checking your vaccine cert getting on to the lifts in most cases and you need to wear a mask or a snood which is absolutely fine.

The journey over through Geneva was also very easy with a less than half full flight and the baggage claim was very quiet too.

If you were thinking about going skiing and can justify it with all of the extra PCR testing et cetera I would do it.

DoraDelite · 16-12-2021 12:45pm

France just announced this for travelling from the UK https://www.thejournal.ie/france-travel-restrictions-5631886-Dec2021/

Hopefully they don't look at our figures and do the same.

a148pro · 17-12-2021 12:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118329273#Comment_118329273

That sounds amazing, but surely they're not checking vax pass at bottom of every lift every time?

Is there much open yet?

a148pro · 17-12-2021 12:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118329269#Comment_118329269

Very viable. Just under 3 hours from barcelona which has loads of flights, even closer to Toulouse which has less flights and even Lourdes if you can get there.

There's also a few other resorts, bacqueria is supposed to be good, there's two within 2 hours of Barcelona, marsela and something else, and more on the French side

No winter tires on rental cars mind.

Maybe it was snobbery but I didn't rate the pistes or the piste making, but hotels great value

maddness · 17-12-2021 7:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118334347#Comment_118334347

They are checking the passes from most of the lifts from the towns and a few higher up.

Loads open but a fair few lifts not running which is a bit annoying but like I said it’s almost empty so it’s great skiing.

a148pro · 17-12-2021 9:13pm

Can't get better than an empty 3vs with good pistes. Suspect it's a combo of the Brits being banned and anyone travelling now being at risk if missing Christmas if they get covid. That's enough to prevent most people going.

It's actually a great time to travel if you're willing to take that risk. My flight home from barcelona was 9 euro booked the night before. I'd say there's crazy value to be had in once in a lifetime type trips, big stuff like Galapagos, Kamkatcha.

If I knew now they'd close schools I'd be gone

blue note · 19-12-2021 11:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118334380#Comment_118334380

I was in Andorra in 2020, switched to there because Italy had over 200 cases and we decided not to risk it. Imagine thinking of less than 300 cases as too many now!!!

Anyway, I've only been to 2 places in Austria before and my wife a good few in Austria and also somewhwre in Italy. We found Andorra a decent step behind Austria. The lifts were slower and had far more bottlenecks. It just felt like you get less time skiing there than in Austria. I remember liking a lot of the runs. I think I preferred Austria for the runs, but it was hard to compare because conditions were so different too. The previous two years in Austria we'd had perfect conditions. Loads of snow. Then in Andorra we had April temperatures in February and had had no snow for a month. So it was icy at the start of the day, very nice for a couple of hours before lunch, then slushy. God I'd love to go back though.

a148pro · 19-12-2021 4:30pm

Yeah I remember your trip, honey moon I think? You were the kind of canary in the boards gold mine for covid!

Lifts out of the resort were good but there were a lot of slow chair lifts up higher alright. Mind you, you get that in a lot of places.

Dial Hard · 19-12-2021 4:36pm

Supposed to be heading to Trysil on Jan 2nd but getting very worried now, given the situation in Norway at the moment.

blue note · 19-12-2021 6:31pm

That's right, we'd booked cervinia, a ski to the door apartment, private transfers, a couple of fancy restaurants. I want to do that trip badly now! But we were actually so lucky to get the wedding and still get a few days away, even if it wasn't exactly what we'd planned. The restaurants in pas de la casa were excellent too, much better than he ones you tend to get in Austria. Although I've been to a couple I really liked in Austria too. Hotel was very basic, very small, but in a good location and clean and comfortable. For a trip we booked less than 24 hours in advance we really can't complain.

But I do remember laughing going up one particular lift, a very long one. We just couldn't believe how long we'd been on it. The thing was just crawling. But I'd only been to soll and zell am see before that and was spoilt with the lifts. Queues were never bad, certainly not compared to the lifts to get to the other side of the mountain in Andorra. And the lifts flew up by comparison. I won't be booking my next trip to Andorra if I can help it, put it hat way. Although if someone offered me a few days there tomorrow I'd bite their hand off.

We flew in through Toulouse. And got a dead hand transfer down for about 20 quid. Also worth noting, if you're flying out of Toulouse go to the good restaurant in the airport. It's actually delicious. I'd usually assume airport food to be crap and overpriced, but we probably paid about 60 quid for the meal and if I paid that in Dublin for the food we got I'd be delighted with the value.

kal7 · 22-12-2021 1:28pm

Hi, my go to transfer company not taking 2022 bookings??

I am going from geneva airport to flaine, in grand massif.

any recommendations welcome, or even warnings of who not to use.

Party of 7

Saturday to saturday end january

maddness · 22-12-2021 2:42pm

Try findtransfers.com

Ive used them a lot and find them mostly very good for getting a competitive quote.

Donielad · 23-12-2021 12:36am

alp2alp are pretty good if you haven't tried them yet, reasonable and reliable

Dial Hard · 27-12-2021 4:50pm

Heading to Trysil on Sunday and really not feeling it. Eff all snow, only 12 out of 31 lifts open, and no alcohol being served in bars or restaurants, plus I'm just not feeling enthused about travel in general at the moment, with the case numbers. Would honestly be happier to just stay at home at this point, except obviously insurance won't cover anything if we choose not to go.

maddness · 27-12-2021 6:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118378258#Comment_118378258

When you click in and ski down your first run it might just change the whole mood. You may be lucky and get some fresh snow too.

Any skiing is better than no skiing and we all need to get away now more than ever. Best of luck with your trip.

PCeeeee · 30-12-2021 2:10pm

Les Arcs at the end of Jan for me. Fingers and everything crossed.

kal7 · 31-12-2021 12:04pm

Thanks for recommendations Maddness and Donielad.

Big differences in prices for transfers, best to get couple of quotes.

more expensive because all have to be private, no shared transfers.

Fingers crossed we can go end Jan, no change to restrictions even with high covid cases.

maddness · 31-12-2021 6:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118395195#Comment_118395195

I think the end of January will be fine tbh. Case numbers are nuts but less people are sick and the French are not closing their ski resorts this year.

Dial Hard · 03-01-2022 10:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118378557#Comment_118378557

Can confirm this was the case. The snow is actually fantastic and we got some great runs in today. Absolutely shattered now after a very long day's travel yesterday and the first day hassle of getting kitted up, etc, but looking forward to getting out nice and early tomorrow.

Happy trails, everyone who's heading off.

PCeeeee · 03-01-2022 11:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118397075#Comment_118397075

Yeah they're open no matter what I think, the french operators were looking at Switzerland enviously last year as the Swiss skied away no bother. I'm more converned one of us get CV19 before or during and it messed up the trip.

DoraDelite · 04-01-2022 3:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118316196#Comment_118316196

Well Covid got me two days before I left for this so had to cancel in the end. On the plus side that takes the stress out of the next trip, heading off on the 15th of Jan for a couple of months of ski/work.

a148pro · 05-01-2022 12:41am

Unlucky Dora but definitely the right attitude, enjoy the carefree skiing to come

Rowley Birkin QC · 12-01-2022 7:06pm

Heading for Ponte Di Legno / Passo Tonale for 5 days in early Feb. Hopefully there isn't an outbreak of any new type of plague while I'm there. Still have memories of driving back to the airport listening to Matt Cooper naming "outbreak towns" that I was zooming past on the motorway. 😶

On topic, while there's a tonne of runs in Passo Tonale / Adamello, I'm wondering if it's worth taking a day out to go over to Madonna di Campiglio?

I'll have a car, the group will be small and capable so no worries about needing beginner runs etc. Opinions welcome 🙂

a148pro · 13-01-2022 11:33pm

I've never been but I'm dying to go. My only concern might be its not the kind of place you nip into for one day? Like really you should stay there as opposed to just ski?

Johnny_Fontane · 14-01-2022 5:29pm

Heading to Geneva on Wednesday. Looks like there may not be any fresh snow for a week or so, so wondering where people might suggest where to go.

Two advanced skiers and one advanced boarders. Plan was to head to Verbier, but we can also go Val d'isere, Avoriaz, etc. Basically where would suggest going near Geneva when there isnt amazing snow.

2021/2022 winter season thread

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