Travel to ski resorts by train
snowcarbon blog
Perfect days in St Gervais
By Daniel Elkan
St Gervais is one of those resorts that sits below the radar for many skiers, yet has a loyal following that keeps returning. Having just got back from a trip there, it’s easy to see why they do.
Admittedly, sunny days and great snow conditions can cloud any skier’s judgement, but the resort does boast spectacular scenery. There are lots of rolling, twisting red and blue runs flanked by pine trees. There’s also plenty of accessible off piste, as few visitors seem too fussed about trashing every fresh bit of powder as soon as it’s fallen.
For such decent terrain, it was surprising never to hit a lift queue, nor to find a crowded piste. The slopes, linked with neighbouring Megeve to form the 450km Evasion Mont Blanc area, have a laid-back atmosphere. Everywhere it’s nods and smiles from other skiers and boarders, as if in recognition that this resort is a bit of a happy discovery.
A similar thing happens when you head for lunch. Take the inconspicuous mountain hut, La Terrasse de Freddy (pictured above, 00 33 450 21 20 56) on Mont d’Arbois. You could ski past it twenty times and not realise that the rustic timber building is actually a restaurant. Step inside and you join a contented band of ‘in-the-know’ diners enjoying a set menu of potato rosti, charcuterie meats, salad and terrine (€15) followed by a formidable cheese board.
The resort of St Gervais incorporates four villages. While there is no throbbing nightlife, there are some lovely restaurants, one of the best being Le Chalet Remy (00 33 450 93 11 85) in the village of Le Bettex, where for €25 you can carve bubbling shards of raclette cheese onto your plate, served with potatoes, meats and salad.
Le Fayet itself is a spa town, and after skiing we bundled into a taxi to the Thermes de Saint-Gervais (00 33 4 50 47 54 57). The smell of sulphur as we entered the grand old building had me hoping for a huge pool of hot, bubbling, thermal water. There wasn’t one. Instead, we tried a few treatments, such as the very enjoyable jet bath and the (disappointing) Torrent de Bionassay, where you basically stand in a room and get hosed down. There’s also the intriguing donkey milk bath (good for the skin, apparently). For me, the most enjoyable treatment of all turned out to be a relaxing massage.
The journey by train to St Gervais is simple, with a Eurostar to Paris and then either a daytime TGV or an overnight Corail Lunea sleeper. We stayed in Le Bettex – the furthest village from the railway station but closest to skiing – at the pleasant-but-functional Arbois Bettex hotel (00 33 4 50 93 12 22), The hotel’s location on the foot of the slopes means that you could ski to the door, and fall out of bed and into the gondola the next morning. Well, almost.
Why stick with one resort? Try a ski safari
by Daniel Elkan
If you love quiet pistes, accessible powder and charming ski villages, we've a suggestion: roll several smaller resorts into one holiday, travelling between them by train.
I tried this in Switzerland with a friend of mine, visiting Meiringen, Sedrun, Disentis, Gemstock and Pontresina. We stayed in each resort for two to three days before travelling to the next by train, creating a very different kind of ski holiday.
While the usual one-week-one-resort holiday is great, ours was a real exploration of what lesser known resorts can offer. These hidden gems may have fewer slopes, but they have fewer people on them too and in terms of altitude they reach towards heavens just as much as the big resorts do. The quiet slopes meant that there was plenty of accessible powder too, left untracked days after a snowfall. It is the kind of trip that would suit intermediate or advanced skiers.
The train travel was a highlight too, with spectacular views, great on-board restaurants, and a friendly atmosphere on each. As someone who is hopeless at travelling light, my overpacked suitcase was a bit of a weight to lug off each train, but I only had myself and the kitchen sink to blame (it insisted on coming with me).
On our trip, we skied Meiringen's intermediate-friendly blues and reds, zig-zagged the runs of Sedrun, powdered our noses in Disentis and ascented Andermatt's Gemstock, ending up roaming the long slopes of Pontresina in the Engadin region. But there are many other routes that work.
We've created a section on snowcarbon, Swiss Ski Safaris, where you view suggested itineraries and what temptations await. If you have an suggestions for ski resorts that would work well as part of a ski safari, please leave a comment below.
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Overnight train to Chamonix - video report
By Mark Hodson
Here's a video of my recent overnight train journey to Chamonix. I already wrote about the journey in a previous blog post, but here I've condensed it into a short 90-second clip with a voiceover to explain how simple it is. Check out the full journey details and train fares to Chamonix.
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Pre-booked taxis make changing in Paris even easier
By Daniel Elkan
Many train journeys to ski resorts involve a change of station in Paris. While this is quite simple using the Metro or taxi rank (or even walking, if its Gare du Nord to Gare de L'Est) we thought it would be easier if a taxi driver could meet you at the end of the Eurostar platform and drive you to your onward station.
So, we found several reliable Paris taxi companies and asked them to make these journeys possible specifically for skiers and snowboarders coming from the UK, with booking online or by phone.
I tested one of these services, Verture, from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon on my way to the French ski resort, Megeve. It was a doddle.
The taxi driver was waiting at the end of the platform with a placard with my name on it. He loaded my suitcase and snowboard bag into the taxi (parked outside Gare du Nord station) and we were off. The cab, a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle, had a TV screen, but I was more interested in the views of famous or interesting Parisien buildings, which the driver helpfully pointed on the 15-minute journey.
Traffic can get heavy in Paris on weekdays 5-7pm and weekend evenings, when you need to allow an extra 20 minutes per journey.
Fares, which are paid in advance, are reasonable. The best deal for the single traveller is a €20 'shared taxi', which means the taxi company may pick up other skiers from the same train. Four people sharing a private taxi pay €50, or eight sharing a people carrier pay €89. Luggage, including skis and snowboards, are carried at no extra charge. Even if your train arrives late (rare in Europe), the taxi driver waits for you at no extra cost, which is reassuring.
All these services can be booked in advance from the guide to changing in Paris pages on snowcarbon. Bookings can be amended to change the number of people, and if you need to cancel the booking, this can be done with just 48 hours notice.
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