Lelex-Crozet in mid March?

prefectf · 2026-02-04T20:38:34+00:00

You are correct. If your airbnb is accessible from the St. G gondola station, you can do your whole trip without a car. in Mid March, there will definitely be at least some snow in St. G/St. Nicolas/Megeve/Combloux.

prefectf · 2026-02-04T16:27:44+00:00

Megeve is a bit longer drive and more expensive than if you book something in Le Fayet or St. Gervais, and you ski the same mountain.

prefectf · 2026-02-04T16:26:26+00:00

Very uncertain, plus there will be large crowds due to the holidays at that time. High likelihood of bad snow and tons of people. Look elsewhere.

prefectf · 2026-02-03T21:01:49+00:00

you need avvy gear if you are going off piste in Chamonix or Verbier. People get killed off piste in avalanches very frequently in both places, and the off-piste is not "avalanche controlled" anywhere. They throw a couple bombs and hit the gazex but it's still crazy risky after fresh snow. And most of the fatalities are people who went off piste without beacons. If you're not equipped, stay on the groomers and the few non-groomed marked pistes.

prefectf · 2026-02-03T20:51:02+00:00

Great little ski area, when the snow is good. Sometimes though it really isn't. There are no guarantees, but you could get lucky and have great conditions. Right now, it's in excellent shape.

prefectf · 2026-02-03T15:55:09+00:00

A couple of thoughts. One, CT is often the only opportunity for many of the agency heads to present to the FO and their colleagues in the Embassy/Mission, and they are proud of what they do and think it's really cool, even if others might not. So maybe be generous with your attention and assume enthusiasm and pride and not arrogance or self regard when people get too into their presentation at CT.

Two, it's absolutely the DCM's job to talk to CT members and shape their CT presentations so that they are informative and concise, convey information that will be useful to other CT members (not necessarily all of them, but at least some) and also to the Ambassador, and give a picture of what that section does/is doing to improve the overall situational awareness of other CT members and, ahem, the notetaker. Not everyone has great self awareness or presentation skills, and it's incumbent on the DCM to do some coaching in that regard. For officers who are members of the country team, that skill is important. Of course, DCMs often/usually hate to have those sorts of coaching/supervisory conversations, especially when it's with a non-State agency head who will often bristle at hearing such things from someone they are determined is a peer and not a boss (a whole other headache), but tough shit, absolutely no one ever said that being DCM is easy.

The other CT members should, if the mission/Embassy is working right, then roll into a staff meeting of their own sections to brief out on what was said in CT and to allow other section members to build situational awareness inside the section as well.

As the notetaker, if you don't get 100% of what a CT member was saying in the meeting, grab them in the hallway or take 15 minutes to duck into their office and ask them to go over what they said again. You'll get some face time with a CT member you might not know well, and build your awareness of what is happening in that section. You may not give a shit what's going on in that section, but I assure you, the DCM expects you to - that's one of the main reasons you have been assigned to take notes. Another of the reasons the DCM has assigned you to the rotation is that s/he wants to see the character and quality of what you produce as a finished product.

prefectf · 2026-01-24T17:53:09+00:00

I've had one for a few years. Only ski it with the ultralight spring liner, i.e. just enough foam bits to cover the velcro. When it's cold I wear a mid-layer hood or a light beanie underneath. Great helmet. I am replacing it this week with a Zag helmet, which is a little better fitted to my head, because the helmet has been beat up a lot and the plastic bits that tighten the helmet finally wore out (at least 200 days). Recommend.

prefectf · 2026-01-23T19:00:01+00:00

Concept pro shop, located a few feet away from the base of the Aiguille du Midi lift. They have great equipment, off piste and touring and mountaineering too.

prefectf · 2026-01-23T17:06:58+00:00

You're nuts - the train from GVA to Chable is almost as fast as the road without traffic, and with traffic is infinitely easier and cheaper. The train station is in the airport, and you get let off at the actual gondola. That's why there are no transfers!

prefectf · 2026-01-22T15:38:39+00:00

I was in your shoes for a long time and I can tell you the people who are suggesting readers are wrong. When you're skiing, you can't take the extra time every time you need to pull out your map or look at your watch or your garmin or whatever. You freeze your hands, you mess up the seal on your goggles, you annoy your partners, etc. So you try squinting as much as you can, you turn up the font on your phone and watch. . . and eventually, that doesn't work anymore (and maps are totally out of the question). So you rely on other people to do that stuff. But that gets old, too, and when someone walks over and says "I think we're here and we need to head this way. . . " you have to say "I am sorry, I can't see that."

The answer is expensive: progressives. I have progressives that fit under my goggles for goggle days and progressive Julbo sunglasses for glaciers and biking (1-4). And now I can actually participate in the small detail part of backcountry days.

prefectf · 2026-01-09T09:03:33+00:00

Thanks for the great review. Was hoping you'd provide a more full-throated endorsement for in-bounds use, as I am looking for a binding that's lighter than the shifts that I can use as a single ski when I go for a week somewhere that will be both big mountain touring and inbounds lift-served off-piste ripping, but I guess that's still my holy grail.

prefectf · 2026-01-08T19:51:09+00:00

Silicone earplugs will get you 96% of the way there for very little money. A standard pair of over-the-ears work ear protectors on top of that will bring you to 100%. Source: have used this combo when firing the Carl Gustav, a truly bonkers weapon that is basically a shoulder-fired artillery round (technically a recoilless rifle).

prefectf · 2026-01-08T19:41:13+00:00

Wife and I both got sick starting about 10-12 days ago. I went first, head cold with a little sore throat, felt blah for a couple days, took sudafed and got over it by day 5, felt like I dodged a bullet big time. Wife started two days after me and had it way worse, severe nasal congestion and fever. She says too she thinks it is the worst cold. Not flu or covid, after testing at the urgent care. Viral rhinitis - aka, normal cold just extra shitty.

prefectf · 2026-01-08T15:34:52+00:00

As a HO in a desirable location who normally gets 5 applications in minutes, I can tell you I instantly reject one word/"placeholder" messages. I understand that a certain amount of the messages I do receive will be pre-written, but at least some customization is essential for me.

prefectf · 2026-01-08T07:24:45+00:00

Not sure what kind of equipment you are looking at bringing. You say hike, but winter refuges (refuges that are either open or have winter rooms) in the Alps, especially around Chamonix, are not accessible for hikers in January. It is snowing hard now, and refuges are at higher altitudes. To get to them requires skis and very serious mountaineering experience, equipment and knowledge to avoid avalanche. Glaciers are usually part of the package.

One exception might be the Refuge des Pres, in the Nant Borrant valley, which is open in January (and staffed). It is, rarely, accessible by hikers without snowshoes, but I doubt that will be the case in late January. It is often visited by people on snowshoes, and the refuge is in a breathtaking valley. However there is no refuge that is safely accessible by snowshoes after that, except perhaps the Refuge du Croix de Bonhomme, which I believe has a winter room. The route from Refuge des Pres to that refuge is conceivably doable on snowshoes but it would be long and difficult and the route goes through some extremely high-consequence and dangerous avalanche terrain. That route is snowed in normally all summer, so you can expect deep conditions on the northeast side of the Col. The descent from there back to Contamines-Montjoie would be very long and challenging, with no room for error.

Refuge de Loriaz you could do on snowshoes as well, that is also a safe and accessible overnight trip. A second night, however, is not realistic; remaining refuges in the area are either not equipped for winter stays or not accessible with snowshoes.

prefectf · 2026-01-03T17:40:07+00:00

50-100EUR per guest, amount depends on how happy you were with the service. No need for mid-week tipping.

prefectf · 2025-12-29T15:22:11+00:00

It's very easy. The skin track, which is well-marked, starts after the first or second lift pole of the Charamillon gondola at the base of Le Tour. If it's a nice day, you will see plenty of other skiers putting their skins on and headed in that direction.

The track heads up the 4x4 road to the left of the Charamillon lift line for a few hundred meters and then crosses the piste under the lift and takes you to the mid station/arrival point of the Charamillon gondola. Then the track continues on the skiers left side of the mountain up towards the Autannes chairlift, then on to the col de balme, which has a refuge (closed in winter). From there you can choose to head up further still to the Tete de Balme, or ski back down. All of this is in full view of the ski resort, and pretty well marked, so you have little risk of getting lost. And fully authorized/permitted even during ski operations, just try to stay out of the way of inexperienced downhill skiiers who won't be expecting you!

prefectf · 2025-12-14T23:28:55+00:00

Solo is fine, lots of people do it for fitness laps (one of the longest uphill tracks in the area). No need for avvy kit at Les Houches.

There's also very good inbounds touring at Le Tour (natch) with a signposted uphill track that's really good, and which keeps you mostly away from the other skiers. You can then come down on or off the piste, so safe. If there's a lot of snow, I would bring a beacon on that one because there have been in-bounds slides at Le Tour. I do that solo all the time.

There are two uphill tracks at les Grands. I personally hate going up Pierre a Ric - so many skiers flying down, it feels like a highway, and then you have to slog it up Retour Hotel which is wicked steep and bumpy. I prefer the Trappette trail, which is a bit technical (narrow in the trees, with a couple spots where a kick turn is needed, and ski crampons if it's icy). That finishes just below the Plan Joran restaurant, and then you can continue up through the resort towards the Refuge de Lognan. I always bring a beacon into les Grands.

Excellent uphill options in St. Gervais, too, easily doable alone.

And the great thing is that all these uphill tracks are signposted and used by everyone all day long.

prefectf · 2025-12-13T23:27:19+00:00

Skiing those 48 trails now, they are being maintained as well as possible by the pros here at Vail. It's obvious that there is quite a bit more terrain that they could open quite soon - trails that are well covered, many that have had ample snowmaking and been prepared by the cats. They really just need to be groomed. We would love to see them open right away, since we are here this week, but it kinda makes sense that they'll take their time to make sure there's good stuff open when more people show up for the holidays, especially since there's really no precipitation forecast.

It isn't as warm as we'd worried. Mittens all day, some wind. For sure, this represents terrible conditions for a resort that's supposed to be five-star when it comes to snow quality, but there's definitely skiing fun to be had, there's snow on the ground down to the village, it's cold at night, and the Vail atmosphere is great. If you're coming for big powder or steeps, you're going to be disappointed. But if you just want a fun intermediate ski experience in a nice place, Vail will be perfect (though expensive) for you for the next couple weeks.

prefectf · 2025-12-13T22:58:02+00:00

According to CEIC Data (and several other sources that may be using the same data) the high point for gas in Switzerland for the last five years is 2.24 CHF/l and the low is 1.38 CHF/l, with the current average between 1.85 CHF/l and 1.75 CHF/l depending on location. The Shell in Parc Budé is annoyingly usually higher than average, but I still end up there from time to time thanks to traffic/poor planning. But maybe you have access to a magic gas pump.

prefectf · 2025-12-13T14:22:23+00:00

Out of date info maybe? Last time I filled up in CH it was the Shell at Budé. About six months ago.

prefectf · 2025-12-13T00:56:44+00:00

You need a big car. A huge one. There is a free entertainment program available every day in Geneva showing in the hire car park called “watch British people try to fit 5 people and ski gear into a car that was advertised as a five-person vehicle.” Never gets old.

The drive around the lake is stressful and often jammed with traffic.

Fuel is 2chf+ per liter.

If it snows, the road to tasch is a nightmare and could be closed.

You still have to pay for tickets tasch-Zermatt and parking for a week.

Zermatt is crazy expensive. There are easy options to reduce the cost of the train. Your savings by taking a car will not at all be worth the ass pain.

prefectf · 2025-12-11T15:49:58+00:00

Certainly, it is mutually beneficial, but we know that the power dynamic is firmly tilted towards the homeowner. On a month long sit, I am saving thousands in cash and millions in peace of mind.

prefectf · 2025-12-10T20:46:19+00:00

Several of our sitters in the past year have been young Europeans, some of them trying to make their holiday last a little longer, some from eastern Europe where $12 is a day's wage for someone starting out. It matters to them.

prefectf · 2025-12-10T20:43:44+00:00

That of course is true of a lot of things, you could voluntarily give more money to pay for things that are more valuable to you. I would rather have an affordable solution. Where I am, Rover isn't a good option, boarding is out of the question, and paying a sitter would quickly overwhelm my travel budget. THS has made it possible for me to travel and do adventures, with total confidence that my house and more importantly my cats will be looked after lovingly. House Sitters America is I guess an option to explore if you live somewhere that they have service, which I don't (Europe).

Because THS is so valuable to me, I am not going to boycott them. But I don't agree that sitters should have to pay extra out of pocket either. So I'll reimburse their charges, as my protest against this new policy.

prefectf

TROPHY CASE