Diary

You can keep up to date with all that goes on in Villaroger, Les Arcs and the surrounding areas via our Facebook page ( Skivillaroger) and Instagram (Skivillaroger1)

Fully catered ski chalets with short breaks

Well the season has ended and would to say a massive thank you to everyone that came to stay at Skivillaroger this Winter. Thank you for your your loyalty and support in a year we need it the most. Jonny and I loved this season and to see old faces and new enjoying their skiing like us was fantastic. Lots of sun to end the season and we had spring like conditions from end of March onwards. Easter skiing saw us skiing right down to the bottom of Villaroger until the 17th of April, we skied in Les Arcs right up until the 24th. We actually had fresh snow at the end of April and Val d’sere and Tignes enjoyed a great end of season too which finished early May. Lots of music concerts on Terraces , great one at the Marquise Restaurant in Sainte Foy with Andy and Ritchie. We are now heading to Mallorca for a bit of cycling.. cannot wait to eat some seafood and drink some Sangria. Bookings are coming in for the Summer, as well as next Winter so pleased not hesitate to get in touch to get the dates you want.    

We are on full gas and enjoying welcoming guests to the chalet in a nearly normal situation. We are still having to wear masks in lift lines and gondolas but the lifts seem to be less strict. When I say masks I mean you can pull your snood up. The lifts and pistes continue to be quiet , I’m thinking this is probably due to the regulations re being up to date with vaccinations which I know is different in each country. Italy ( La Thuile and La Rosiere) seem to be the most strict as you need a special mask for gondolas and they have electronic stations to scan your QR cade for your vaccination pass. We have skied over to Italy a couple of times and enjoyed food at Maison Laurent , our old haunt which is fabulous. Spaghetti Vongole is my favourite and they do a great one there. Sainte Foy continue to offer the cheap passes for 24 euros a day on a Saturday and Wednesday. I collect the vouchers for our guests so they can enjoy a bargain do in one of the hidden gems of the Tarentaise. Lots of snow and great conditions meant we had one of our best Off Piste Weeks in January. The guests were so lucky timing wise and had powder all week. We are now taking bookings for next years’ Off Piste Courses. Priced at £1150 for a week fully catered with 6 days tuition you really are getting a fabulous deal. Our fully catered package includes all inclusive drinks 5 days with an option of a 2 couse self serve meal on nights off if you prefer to eating out. We can also offer self catered weeks at £3500 for the week sleeping up to 12 people.   Short breaks Wed – Sun available fully catered for £650 pp

The season has started well with good snow, a guest ready chalet and an exciting menu for you to all enjoy. Then Macron closed the Border to Brits. Bit of a worrying time but luckily our guests were flaexible and we managed to defer them to later in the season ( well most of them , the rest will come next year) What a pain. However onwards and upwards. We had some lovely German guests book for New Year and luckily there is talk of the border reopening mid January. All resorts are open and it feels good to be back on the lifts and enjoying a full day’s skiing. We have the best conditions at the moment in Villaroger , Les Arcs and Sainte Foy. Val d’sere and Tignes have been open since the end of November Lots of changes in Sainte Foy for the children. New border cross and a children’s run with Nuts and Foxy. These 2 are making regular appearances around the Resort and kids are loving it. The new 6 man second chairlift is fab . no queues to date even at New Year. In Villaroger the first lift is still free. They have made a new piste off the top of the second lift making it easier to descend for beginners. They have also provided a ski school out of Villaroger which is a first this year. There is talk of a new Gondola to replace lifts one and two for the season 24/25 so watch this space. This will actually transform Villaroger and Les Arcs. We look forward to seeing you during the season.    

The Valley and trees are changing colour here in Villaroger and we are starting to think about the Winter although we are having Spring like temperatures at the minute. Fingers crossed we will have a normal winter with all the ski lifts open in every Resort. Villaroger and Les Arcs are due to open on the 11th December 2021. Sainte Foy has an opening weekend on the 4th/5th December before their proper opening on the 11th. Val D’Isère and Tignes will open at the end of Nov, although Tignes Glacier is due to open on the 23rd October. Lots of work been done over the last year in the Resorts. In Les Arcs the Vallandry lift has been changed to a Gondola so no more queues at the bottom in the height of the season. In Sainte Foy the second lift is now a fast 6 man so this will help any queueing at half term and new year as this is about the only time you queue there. Villaroger have been making their pistes wider to cater for beginner skiers. A big plus point is that the first lift is still free in Villaroger. They have also been making new areas for kids in Sainte Foy with fun trails and things. We are practising new recipes and ordering in the wine, gin etc. Bookings are coming in and we are going to busy so excited for the start. We still have 1 place left on our off piste week 9th – 16th Jan if we can tempt anyone or alternatively put together your own group. We can cater for any level if you want to put a group together. Jonny and I walked  the Tour du Mont Blanc this Summer with friends. Jonny guided it and we had a fabulous time. The views and route is stunning and we would highly recommend anybody with a reasonable level of fitness to do it. You start in France and walk to Italy, Switzerland and back to France ( all the way round Mont Blanc) I did a write up on my Facebook page Skivillaroger for anyone interested. We can organise a  group trip for next year. The cycle path from Villaroger to Aime is nearly complete meaning you ride a long way without having to go on any roads  ( just a little bit when leaving the chalet) Perfect for families and mountain bikers. Electric mountain bikes have been all the rage this Summer and of course you do not need the uplift. You can hire them here in Bourg Saint Maurice and Sainte Foy and they enable you to travel miles in a very short time. You can do this at any time in the Spring and Autumn. Please don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Hope to see you in Villaroger soon.        

We are enjoying a Summer with  mixed weather and some French / Belgian guests which is great. Still no guests from the UK due to the quarantine issue in place but hopefully this will be relaxed soon. Lifts are open in Les Arcs, Val d’Isere and Tignes for walkers and Mountain Bikers. We are doing the Tour du Mont Blanc in August so currently training for that. Lot’s of walking and trying to keep fit. We did a great walk yesterday up to the top of the Bec Rouge. Over 1000m of ascent. We started off in the cloud but were rewarded with fantastic views of Mont Blanc and our surrounding Villages. Villaroger looked beautiful and Mont Pourri was capped  in fresh snow. Ste Foy Wheelers are gathering every Friday for a local cycle. Great to catch up with everyone and enjoy a nice lunch at the end. The cycle path from Villaroger to Aime (down the Valley) is not far off being finished. Such an asset to our chalet to be able to ride from the chalet door without going on the roads so cannot wait for it to be completed. Fifi turns 18 this month so we are looking forward to celebrating with her. We have been doing a bit of upkeep on the chalet and making sure we are all ready for the coming Winter. Lot’s of availability on a fully catered basis. Self catered weeks too if you prefer. Our Off Piste Weeks are filling up so if you fancy an Off Piste Course please get in touch? Don’t forget now you can come to France without having to quarantine you could visit in the Autumn and enjoy some lovely walks/cycling. Hope to see you soon.

Well the good news is we are now able to come and go as we please, no overnight curfew and no restrictions on travel within Europe other than a PCR test to leave and arrive back into France. We still have not been able to receive UK guests due to Boris’s restrictions on quarantine on return back to the UK. Such a shame as we had lots of families booked in who will now hold over until next Summer. Life in the mountains is good. We are doing lots of cycling and walking and the weather has been lovely and warm here in Villaroger. The Col de Petit St Bernard is open and we are able to do a day trip to Italy for lunch or a shop. The Col d’Iseran is closed to traffic next week so we will ride that on our bikes. It’s a perfect time to do it with stunning views of the Valley. Lots of activities opening up in the area including the open air swimming pool in Bourg Saint Maurice. The ski  lifts are  due to open early July in Les Arcs, Tignes and Val d’sere. We can ski on the Tignes Glacier from mid June as well as the Glacier in Val D’sere. Bookings are starting to come in for the Winter. Xmas Week (19th -26th) is self catered this year and we are offering a 4 day break Wednesday – Sunday for those who cannot make a week. There are not many chalets left offering a fully catered package but we are so please get in touch to get the dates you want. Hope to hear from you soon.      

We are now in April and no ski lifts have opened. The season is a SAISON BLANCHE – known to the locals here in Villaroger as a season without skiing. We had an OK season for snow and snow depths in Les Arcs, Sainte Foy, Val D’sere and Tignes were around the same as a normal year. We did have heavy snow mid season when it was a high avalanche risk due to a weak layer in the snow and the Sahara dust that arrived creating a layer in the snow. Also because lifts were not open the normal securing of pistes from above did not get carried out as per any normal season so slopes got loaded and subsequently not the norm when it came to skiing off piste as previous years. There were a few accidents in this valley, but as we all had to walk up as no lifts far fewer that any normal year. It’s been a tough season for us all, however it only makes us more ready for when we can open up and you can come. Travel is still restricting our regulars from coming and we have missed you all. We continue to offer a fully catered service. A lot of catered chalets have closed due to Brexit but we continue to offer catered options as well as the odd self catered week if needs be. Half Term and New Year are already booked but we have lots of other availability throughout the season. Our guests love that you can ski Multi Resorts  and enjoy a ski safari. There is talk of a new lift pass that you can buy to cover the Resorts of Les Arcs, La Plagne, Sainte Foy, La Rosiere, Val d’sere and Tignes but not sure when the companies will have that in place. Summer will be soon here. Don’t forget the chalet is available to rent for your summer activities family holiday or your walking, cycling or mountain biking trip. Short breaks available.

We were sadly advised this week that the ski lifts in all French Resorts would remain closed until at least April. This is not the news we wanted. Whilst we have had some visitors to Villaroger they have not been able to ski , only enjoy the mountains by ski touring, snow shoeing and walking. The weather has been fantastic the last 2 weeks and we have had chance to ski randonne lots with friends. All bars and restaurants remain closed other than for takeaways. The only positive is we have the mountains to ourselves, the first time ever. Covid cases are stable at the minute here is our area and we are hoping that after the French Holidays there will no be a spike. Schools remain open and Fifi is still able to study in Bourg Saint Maurice. The chalet feels strange without guests and the hotter lays idle as even for us the novelty has worn off. Hopefully we can bring  better news when I next write. Take care and keep in touch.