ski resorts in summer (1 Viewer)

[oozzie]

Hi, we are planning a trip to the french alps this summer. I would like to hear from any funsters who have stayed at any ski resorts and hear what they thought about them including good campsites/aires to stay on. Any info will be greatly received.

Thanks, oozzie

 

[hilldweller]

Chamonix. It's great. There is a lovely small site within easy walking distance to town, right by the hospital.

The Aiguile cable car is one of life's "musts".

And if you have time, nip through the tunnel and spend some time on Lake Maggiore - that is why we first stayed in Chamonix only to find it's a fine destination in it's own right. See Cannero Riviera.

 

[Sheddy]

There is a decent aire in Saint-Gervais, with good walking access to the town, and the Mont Blanc Tramway station, which is a good day out up the mountain with options for walking etc.
At the entrance to the aire there is a reasonable restaurant / bar with a very good patisserie next door.:thumb:
Also further south through Grenoble there is Alpe D'huez which is a great drive up to the resort with 20+ S bends, there are plenty of facilities at the top as you would expect for a large ski resort, great walking and even fishing in the high lakes.
There are 2 aires at least which charge.

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[Yorick]

Chamonix. It's great. There is a lovely small site within easy walking distance to town, right by the hospital.

The Aiguile cable car is one of life's "musts".

And if you have time, nip through the tunnel and spend some time on Lake Maggiore - that is why we first stayed in Chamonix only to find it's a fine destination in it's own right. See Cannero Riviera.

Is that a very long tunnel ?

Map shows about 100 miles from Chamonix to Lake Maggiore.

 

[hilldweller]

Is that a very long tunnel ?

Feels like it when you are in it.

But worth it.

First time we used it we used Maggiore as a base for Monza and the Guzzi museum.

 

[haganap]

Pralognan is reallt nice in the summer, never visited many resorts in the summer as prefer the white stuff. But all the resorts Ive blogged about skiing have all been told to me that they are awesome in the summer too, especially if you like a walk boke etc. :thumb:

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[MichelleRyall]

We have just returned for Les Deux Alpes which has summer sking on the glacier. Had a fabulous time. Stayed at Champ du Moulin which is in Venosc. The telecabine runs in the mornings and the afternoons in summer up to the resort. The Aire in LDA was also fine, you can have just water or pay a bit more for electric too. €8 for water and €12 with electric, the police check frequently and the ticket machine only takes visa not visa debit cards. Already planning next easter

 

[chaser]

Pralognan is reallt nice in the summer, never visited many resorts in the summer as prefer the white stuff. But all the resorts Ive blogged about skiing have all been told to me that they are awesome in the summer too, especially if you like a walk boke etc. :thumb:

Don't know first thing about skiing but have been to cortina in summer, fantastic place. Lovely and cool at the top of the lift that still works all summer

 

[fatbuddha]

the problem with a lot of the purpose built ski resorts is that they can be pretty bleak in summer as they were built with skiing in mind - uncovered pistes and loads of non-working chairlifts do blot the landscape

but if you choose a resort that's also a real town then it opens up a fab mountain environment - this mentioned like Chamonix, St Gervais, Pralognan are fine but they can also be very busy in late July and August due to the French holidays. (as an example Chamonix has about 50% more people staying in the town in summer than in winter but they are doing more things than just skiing)

we had a place in Chamonix for a number of years and used to go there a lot in September once the crowds had gone as it was a lot quieter. and the later in the summer the better for high mountain walking as the snow will have gone - in early summer, there will still be a lot about blocking the tracks although you get the fab spring flowers as a bonus

summer glacier skiing is fine to try but it's no great deal in all honesty and if you fall, you can get very very wet as it will be pretty slushy if you're not on it very 1st thing.

mountain resorts in summer will be packed with walkers, climbers, cyclists, (on and off road), golfers, horse riders, paragliders etc etc

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