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Questions for Americans visiting Trois Vallees

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
VT. Positives. highest resort in Europe with great snow. Lots of big quick lifts. Lots of easy skiing if you head straight down towards les Mens. Lots of off piste opportunities.

Downsides. Not a pretty resort, Les Mens even worse. Very bleak if the wrather's not good - well above the tree line. Quite a trek to Courchevel which has the best steep stuff in the 3v. A very long drive down the mountain if you want a day elsewhere. lack of resort charm.

The Snowheads have a bash there in April as it's the best resort in Europe for sunny spring skiing. in January I'd go for something a bit lower with some trees for shelter if needed. la Tania?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I really like Val Thorens (personal view disclaimer up front!) – you will find it a bit cold and bleak some days in January, as it’s well above the tree line, but it does give fast and easy access to the 3V domain for skiers at your levels – none of your group should struggle. You might be glad of your ice-skiing skills the odd day though…

I’ve not found the access to Courcheval from VT to be too bad, if you’re a decent piste skier – I actually really enjoy the trip! You won’t be first into the Courcheval valley, but mid-morning is very achievable, especially at that time of year with less lift queues.

There is lots of excellent off-piste about, and a trip into the Orelle valley will be well worth it. A guide or good instructor will definitely help you make the most of it – good plan.

I’d recommend these guys – http://valthorens.prosneige.fr/english/ I’ve had great personal experience with them, and they’re also used by snowHeads for the big tip there every April. You can book private guides or instructors, but it might also be worth looking at a week of half-day group lessons focussed on back-country? It’s a sociable, and slightly cheaper, way to explore Smile http://valthorens.prosneige.fr/english/ski-school/freeride.php
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Quote:

We're currently booked in to a place in Val Thorens. How much of a difference will that make for our being able to ski the whole place?


A big difference... In January the snow should be good everywhere and access to VT can shut due to weather and high winds. It is at least 45 mins by taxi if you get stuck in another valley and have to get back. Personally, the best skiing for what you describe you are after is over on the Courchevel side. VT is the least "charming" of the valleys with the exception of the lowest station in St Martin which is a lovely little village and has lots of good restaurants.

for a guide I would recommend Simon who posts on here as "offpisteskiing"

ps I am an American and have skied Kirkwood. Courchevel has many chutes as well as great groomers.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
All of the above but IMV, if you're taking skins then, VT is possibly the better choice. There are lots of big day hits on that side and, if you wanted a night out, there are lots of accessible refuges too.

As skimottaret says, check if Simon is free while you're there. He lives in the valley and knows the 3V like the back of his hand.

My only worry would be the altitude - you do realise that VT is at 2300m or thereabouts - and the cold. Don't be surprised if the thermometer says -18C when you walk out the door in the mornings.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@aliebling, What did you think of the climbing in the Dolomites. I have just got back from a 10 day trip and loved it. We go evey year and love the relatively low grade but long multi pitch routes (grade IV but hundreds of metres climbed) and of course the odd via ferrata. This year we spent 3 nights at the hut at the top of the Cinque Torre chairlift at the start of the holiday just getting used to dolomite rock again. It was lovely.

Your plans to go to Val Thorens seam fine to me. In fact they seem very well thought out. It is less central than say Les Menuires (which is next to La Masse which IMHO is the best skiing in the 3V) but still easy to get anywhere. Given the weeks you are going I doubt if there would be any lift queues so you and friend 1 could easily get over to Courcheval for morning coffee and friend 2 could join you for lunch. for guides I would approach the ESF in the resort.

As to restaurant reservations. For lunch I wouldn't bother for just 3 of you. Restaurants that need a booking for lunch are usually very slow and consume too much of the skiing day. For the evening I would book if I had a large party, or it was Christmas or New Year's eve, otherwise there is always another restaurant arounf the corner. If it some thing special then I would just call in the day before and make a booking.


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 2-09-15 10:35; edited 1 time in total
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
mooney058 wrote:
@Mistress Panda, when you enter your local pub and offer high fives to staff working there, what reaction do you expect? Same if you go to a football stadium and do the same to the staff working there - ever tried? People are working, simple as that. However, whenever I ask for advice or help, I always got it from lifties, including a detailed explanations of where to find best snow for particular conditions.


I can confirm that I have high fived quite a few people working in bars, quite frequently initiated by them. I've not tried it, but pretty confident that if we won a game the security staff at the rugby would go for a high five too. Advice is great, but the uplifting feeling of a well nailed high five (even better if you get the full Top Gun) really can't be beaten.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
VT isn't a disaster because it gives easy access to Orelle, but it does stymie some of Courch.

How would your deposit be affected if you split your stay and have one week in VT and one week in Meribel?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@tccambs, youc an easily get all the way to the far end of Courcheval and back in half a day if you get on with it, being in Meribel isn't going to save you a lot of time when you can get over the top to Meribel/Mottaret in less than 30 mins. If I was going to split it I'd go for VT and 1650, then you are approaching it from either end. Loads of skiing either way.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
We have regularly stayed in St Martin & Les Menuire and had no problems having good days out in VT & Courcheval... Managing to get over & back in good time, in all weathers...
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
noisey wrote:
We have regularly stayed in St Martin & Les Menuire and had no problems having good days out in VT & Courcheval... Managing to get over & back in good time, in all weathers...


Agreed, unless you are useless you can easily do all three valleys and get home regardlessly.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
VT is a fine base for exploring and I would say better for your intermediate skier than Mottaret, though it will be the coldest spot in the 3V at that time of year. As good skiers, you can easily be over in the Courchevel valley in just over an hour-not much longer for an intermediate, and up the lifts and skiing into the Meribel valley in about 20 mins. It is that easy. The lifts are fast, plentiful and, at that time of year, there will be no queues. (Avoid the run called "Ours" into Mottaret as it's a flat cat track and goes on forever).
Don't get stuck in the wrong valley at the end of the day. But don't worry about it on a normal ski day-If there is likely to be closure of the links they are very good at managing it and confining you to your own valley. It's an expensive taxi ride back the long way round if you do mess up...about 90 mins in total. Basically I f you're at the bottom lifts in Meribel or Mottaret by 3.30pm you will have ample time to get back to VT and if not there, as long as you are in Les Menuires, it's a short taxi up the valley.

Be aware that in January, given its altitude and greaterlikelihood of snowfall , VT is more prone to wind lift closure than anywhere at that time of year. As there are no trees, visibilty ain't great on a snowy day. Head to Meribel for better vis.
You have chosen 2 very quiet weeks, so restaurants should not be too busy. Book by phone or pop in. There are some very swanky Michelin starred places in VT if that's your thing. If you hadn't noticed- VT is purpose built, not perhaps big on alpine charm, but not as offensive to look at as Les Menuires down the road. You must go to Chez Pepe Nicholas if you want a lovely authentic mountain farm experience (google website), it's an off piste ski down from Les Menuires or a 10 min hike up off Boulevard Cumin (the run from VT TO Les Menuires). I love it.
I can't help re guides or ski schools in VT, but there will be a good choice.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I think VT will be fine. It doesnt take that long to get to Courcheval (aside from maybe 1650)

Quote:

(Avoid the run called "Ours" into Mottaret as it's a flat cat track and goes on forever).


+1 this is a must - decend toward mottaret and take the plan des mains chair up again to get the long but not flat blue into mottaret
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Thanks all for the great info. I think we'll plan on sticking with VT. If the weather is really terrible there (wind closures every day), we'll deal with it at that time. Worst case, we head to Chamonix (which we never tire of!).

@johnE: I was there with my wife and we likewise focused on long moderates (for us, up to E1 5a/b or so) - our favorite kind of climbing and the dolomites is chock full of it. I would love to get back over there with my serious big wall partner...if only he didn't insist on working so much!

Unless someone thinks there's a better idea, we'll likely book some time with Prosneige (http://valthorens.prosneige.fr/english/). The six days of morning instruction/freeride trips for ~200euro is a steal compared to what instruction/guides cost in the US!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@aliebling, 5a/b is not moderate grade - it is hard. Anyway a friend of mine (he was only 65 when he did the route) rates the Comici route on the Cima Grande as the best route he has ever done. Ever. It is graded VII on the alpine grades (about E3 5c on UK technical) just a bit harder than what you consider moderate. Have a look at this - http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=2696 and spot the climber in the first picture. I would love to climb at something approaching this grade but sadly cannot.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
For off-piste I recommend the Vamos guide "Les 3 Vallees: Hors-piste". Excellent guide book printed in French and English. It makes a lot of easy to moderate off-piste in the area very accessible to experienced off-pisters. Only problem is it is out of print. Worth looking out for. Here is one for sale: http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=16050739181&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3Dles+3+vallees+hors-pistes not sure if they'll ship to the US though.
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