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  1. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    here and there
    Posts
    18,583
    Dr Scotty recommends find a cougar in Cham and post up pictures. Enjoy!
    watch out for snakes

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Le Lavancher pour le weekend
    Posts
    3,337
    Uh, yeah, Killington, sure...

    so the pics are from the area on the right of this map...
    https://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/It...Piste_Map.html
    on the left is the 'main' ski area that has a mix of trees and above treeline etc.

    edit- no pass restrictions if you have mt blanc unlimited pass, only thing is that you need to validate your pass at the ticket desk the first time you ski there for the season and then it's good to go.
    'waxman is correct, and so far with 40+ days of tasting them there is no way my tongue can tell the difference between wood, and plastic made to taste like wood...but i'm a weirdo and lick my gear...' -kidwoo

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    35
    I work in Geneva, but live in Annecy (France). Main reason being that it is considerably cheaper living (-50%) and Geneva is a 20 minute drive away.

    For skiing, we are surrounded by mountains. The closest decent area is La Clusaz (30 minutes), and my 'local' mountain from where i have recently moved is an hour away (Portes du Soleil). Cham is also one hour's drive.

    I would highly recommend Annecy as a base, it is beautiful in the summer and access to the mountains is easy in the winter.

    Living in Switzerland is expensive - i don't see why you would want to if you are near the border to France (except for the French, of course)

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Oakland,CA
    Posts
    37
    Trust me I would love to live in Annecy, but my visa will not let me!!

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Oz
    Posts
    944
    I've done some of the best skiing of my life up off the Helbronner from Palud.

    But being on the sunny side means it's not always good to go. Plus it's high alpine glaciated terrain so you gotta have the skills to navigate them, or a guide.

    Courmayeur itself is not massive - great fun up off the top but I don't know if I would ever base myself there - I tend to stay in Cham and head through the tunnel when the conditions permit.

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Oakland,CA
    Posts
    37
    Are there any courses you guys reccomend taking for navigating glacial terrain? That is a super foreign concept for me! I would love to know more, I know some basic stuff like self arrest and things of that sort, but would love to gain more knowledge on that sort of terrain, specifically the area! But I am not in any sort of financial situation to be hiring guides every time I want to ride off piste, ( this is not to say I am gonna go bombing out of bounds ignorantly, with no knowledge of the area.) Any local groups or clubs that lead intro to glacial travel courses in cham, or is it regular to hire a guide for a specific area and then keep coming back to that area after a session with a guide?

    As you can tell this whole idea of hiring a guide is super new to me, because always skied slack country and popular backcountry areas with locals... not on a glacier haha

    And are there sections of "lower angle" treeline zones on mont blanc?

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    CA
    Posts
    195
    http://www.skiclub.co.uk/
    I used this site to get some info bitd, it's in English. I focused more on Austria when I lived in Europe, but made a few trips to CH/France. I made $$ then and just threw down for 2 star hotels so I can't help you on the van front. Fuel is expensive as are tunnels in most countries. I had a beater of a car and it was $$, but you can get a lot of places with trains and buses.
    I'd tend towards France myself for skiing. As everyone else has mentioned, CH is damn' expensive, wheras I always found France reasonably priced with the best skiing, imho. Lots between Geneva and Cham. Good luck, sounds fun.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Oakland,CA
    Posts
    37
    Quote Originally Posted by victorvdb View Post
    Hey man

    I'm actually a student at HEAD in Geneva and i have been skiing in Switzerland my whole life, mainly around verbier. The mountains here are incredible !

    If you need a backcountry partner hit me up!

    HAHA! this is why I use the internet! right on dude you got an email or a facebook I could hit you up through? I got a million and one questions for you!

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    laus'angeles
    Posts
    385
    Dave,
    Check out the swiss alpine club for cheap mountain courses and guides. Branches in both Geneva and Lausanne with multiple outings per week.

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by flatland_Dave View Post
    HAHA! this is why I use the internet! right on dude you got an email or a facebook I could hit you up through? I got a million and one questions for you!
    Apparently i can't send my email on the forum i don't know why so i sent you a private message.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Pennine Alps
    Posts
    63
    Happy to help, and shred. I’m a lifelong skier from Geneva.

    Facts:
    - There are 3 kinds of people in Geneva: skiers, non-skiers, and Cham skiers. They don’t mix.
    - France is cheap (not that cheap) but a car commute in and out of GVA at working hours is hell
    - Owning and operating a car in Switzerland is more expensive than you can imagine. Calculate how many hostle nights a car will cost you.
    - Trains will get you everywhere in Switzerland, including skiing. Just be careful of train times to smaller destinations after working hours. check cff.ch
    - For skiing in France and Italy you will need a car.
    - There are lots of ski lifts in the Alps. There are some jewels that are cheap and don't suck.
    - Geneva is a bike town, small enough to get everywhere. Bikeable most of winter.
    - Geneva fogs up bad in winter. Cold and grey. Even nightlife sucks in winter - anyone with any get up and go has gotten up and gone… to the mountains. Good news is it’s easy to get out of and the mtns are close.
    - Do check if your student visa lets you live outside the Canton of GVA
    - St C is above the fog and snowline in winter and 50 mins by train to GVA. It’s close enough to commute from but also close enough to go up by train to ski at night when you want to. I don’t think it will be all that much cheaper for a room there than geneva, not being a student town.
    Last edited by yugi; 12-01-2014 at 05:50 PM.

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Pennine Alps
    Posts
    63
    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Don't Surf View Post
    Dave,
    Check out the swiss alpine club for cheap mountain courses and guides. Branches in both Geneva and Lausanne with multiple outings per week.
    and a Nyon section (called LaDole)

    CAS (club alpin suisse) do have good courses and group outings but not really guides.
    Last edited by yugi; 12-02-2014 at 01:55 AM.

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