"Boarding in the French Alps" Avoriaz by dln6874

I just spent a fun-filled week of snowboarding with the usual suspects from work. Here are some pictures and details on the trip:

When: March 18-25, 2006. We skied for 6 days during that time.

Lodging: We stayed in chalet "La Vuargne". There were like 6 bedrooms, kitchen, lounging area, fireplace, etc. The decorations and layout were a bit strange but the place as a whole did its job.

Slopes: We went to Avoriaz in the French Alps. It borders with the Swiss Alps and has a fairly large terrain for skiing and boarding with absolutely stunning views. There are also several neighboring slopes that can be visited from Avoriaz. In Europe, there are 'red' slopes in addition to green, blue, and black. The red slopes are somewhere between blue and red. I think the green slopes are pretty much bunny slopes here. It seemed like we spent most of our time going down moguls, hitting the blues only to warm up in morning and after lunch. We also had to take the blues once in a while to get from one area to another. The downside at times was that there were many flat bits which is bad for snowboarding. There are also snowboard parks, but Trond and I didn't get around to hitting them.

The Snow: The conditions were great for the most part, considering it's about the end of the season. They got several inches of snow about a week before we arrived. The base was pretty good. It was sunny some days, and warm all week. It did rain on one day which was a bummer, but it was good for a break and a night of drinking. It snowed here and there, and dumped on the last day. It was my first time in that much powder and found it a bit difficult but the variety made it very interesting!

Evenings: We spent some evenings eating out and enjoying fine French dining. Other nights we stayed in and cooked. We played lots of games - Yahtzee, Risk, Jenga, cards, etc. Of course, drinking is always involved with this group. One night was spent "champagne tasting".

Logistics: We flew from Amsterdam into Geneva on EasyJet (about 1.5 hours) and then took a car service to Avoriaz from there. Here's a rough break down of what it cost in Euros:

Flight: 200
Ground Transport: 80
Chalet: 425
6-day ski pass: 170
Board rental: 120
Food: 250

Casualties: Amazingly, there were no hospital goers. A few of the guys had minor aches and pains here and there. Only two took a break from skiing as a result. Crazy boy also took a bad fall down the moguls and landed on his already injured shoulder but that took him out only for an afternoon. I took many tumbles too, but I guess four layers of clothing and a butt pad saved me from anything serious. I had a sore neck and a thumb for a day and that was it as results of falls (though my muscles were pretty sore the first couple of days from simply being out of shape.)

• Pros:good snow, large terrain, beautiful view
• Cons:many flat runs
• In a nutshell:French Alps