Vars Sneeuwverwachting

Still here (end of March, 15). This is the most under-equipped resort I have ever been to. Visited numerous Italian and Austrian resorts before, but this is like a scary trip to the history. No slowing-down turntables, no wind shelters (the bubbles), so you first have your legs cut off at the bottom by the approaching seat, whilst in the following 30 mins you get frozen when you are being pulled up in a speed of an angry turtle. Don't even think of skiing if the wind exceeds 10 km/h, ‘cause you might die as well. The very few (3 or so) new chair lifts with the retarding turntables have chairs equipped with the clutch for the wind shelters, but they did not bother to add these, as it probably would impair the overall image of the place. The only cabin lift in the whole Vars-Risoul area is a standing one, of course, but at least a little bit faster. There is an unusual number of telescope lifts, some of them marked as “difficile”. Don't hesitate to use them; they are much faster than the chairs and you are not exposed to the wind so much. Bars and pubs on the slopes: not many, rather small with a limited offer of refreshment. Prices double those in Austria. Toilets: either non existent or weird in some way (mostly these are gender-indifferent, so being a woman, you open the door from your cabin and you hit a man peeing at the urinal placed next to the wash-bowls. Not too nice). (Btw, the land prices here must be incredibly high, as everything here seems to be squeezed together somehow, here, in the middle of vast fields of ice and snow.) On the very first day I was surprised to see some people (including women) peeing in open air, omg! But now I understand. Water: ice-cold, soap: yes, paper towels: no, dryers: either cold air or out-of-order, found one with hot air working. I was impressed, however, by the progress the French made with English. The staff in our hotel and also in the bars not rarely spoke quite reasonable English, some restaurants even had bi-lingual menus. Generally: nice people, but obsolete equipment. Not coming back to this resort.