Last day to ski.....

On the lift and back in business

​While still not 100 percent and still struggling with not feeling totally well, I’m plugging along and not sitting in the apartment.  My sleep schedule is still kind of wonky and I wound up awake from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., but if that’s as bad as it gets…..I’ll take it.  Lots of pics today and the pics are pretty amazing.

We rose, had breakfast, and took the bus to another ski area that we haven’t been to this year called Brevent.  It is connected to another ski area called Flegere by a cable car, so when you’re at one, you can transfer to the other without coming all the way down the mountain.  A cable car goes across the valley and you can use it like any other lift.

The Brevent Cable car.  Fantastic views back down to town!

Laurie and I discussed the cost of our skiing part of the trip over dinner.  Skiing was the most expensive part of our trip and we realized that before we came.  We struggled to have the money to ski when we were 30 years younger and lived in New England, but we worked hard and were able to do it.  Skiing is something we enjoy and we all make decisions about how to choose our past times.  This was our choice.
 
We based our cost comparisons on how much it costs to go to Vail, as I read an article on their lift ticket pricing this year and both are internationally known ski areas.  I also didn’t include airfare, only cost of transit to and from the nearest decent size airport.  I based the lift on a single day at Les Houches, one of the more popular areas, but the others are within a few dollars. ​  All prices in the table below are in U.S. Dollars.

The gang at Chamonix Ski, the best rental shop in town. They were fantastic, just like last year.  You can reach them at www.chamonixski.com

Transportation for our comparison was based on a single shuttle trip from Denver to Vail and Ouibus from Geneva Airport to Chamonix.  You won’t pay that cost every day, but I’m throwing in a one way trip for comparison purposes.  Food is an unknown as everyone has different tastes.  There may be other items that work into this as well but they are too varied for comparison.  This only a nuts and bolts comparison and your results may vary.

Place	Chamonix	Vail
Lodging for two	120	350
Transport x 2	44	138
Lift ticket x 2	100	418
Taxes not in base price	-------	20
Ski rental x 2	48	100
Total	292	1026

This comparison shows Vail, which is in the U.S.A. and a 3 hour flight to Denver from where we live,  costs 3.51 times what skiing in the French Alps costs.  Granted, the airfare is more but to be honest, with cheap international flights now, maybe twice what the Denver flight costs and if you’re skiing just a couple days the airfare starts to not matter almost immediately.  By day two, any money saved by flying into Denver is erased.  Skiing in the French Alps is a bargain.  And you’re in Europe!  How cool is that??? 
 
That being said, it was rather crowded today.  Last year we were here before the Christmas holiday started and I think if we come back next year we’ll do that again.  Although we avoided the Christmas to New Years rush for the most part, the week after New Years is apparently a big vacation time for Europeans as well. ​

All things said, if you’re planning a ski trip at any time, I think you should really consider coming to France.  It’s MUCH cheaper.  And to be honest, if we were facing Vail costs for a chance to go skiing, we just wouldn’t go and would give up doing something we enjoy.  It’s just not affordable for the average person.
 
As for the pics, enjoy.  Tomorrow we travel to Geneva.  Goodnight!

Last Chamonix slide show!

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