3V, Les Menuires - Easter

A snowHead

Hi

I've been lurking here for a while and was quite a heavy poster about a decade ago (Ben from Chalet Vallons, the daddy of the Chalet Pimps). Apologies for the huge post.

We own a place in the southern French alps - the Christmas/New year snow was so bad we didn't bother to go. Have other commitments at half-term and, with the way things look, I don't see there bring much skiing in our area at Easter.

So, I'm thinking of going somewhere new for the first time since 2001. My plan is to head to our place for the first week of Easter for a walking holiday/a bit of skiing then go to one of the French mega-resorts on the way back to the UK.

Currently, I'm thinking Les Menuires and have a few questions.

Snow - how do current levels stack up against average? By the end of January/early Feb. I used to be able to look at the snow in our resort and have a very good idea of how much there was likely to be by the end of the season. The usual caveats, "no-one knows what this year will be like" are assumed. By early April is it easy to stay above the slush line and have plenty of runs to choose from?

Lift pass - I think the Les Menuires/St Martin pass might not be enough. We're used to skiing the same runs a lot but it would be nice to have more choice. The 3V pass would be far more than we need. The Belleville valley pass looks perfect but doesn't seem to have the family discount option. I've emailed the lift company but does anyone know if this exists or if there are likely to be late-season offers nearer the time? With a 6 day local pass, do you get a free whole area day or can you upgrade for EURx a day?

Crowds - any snowheads that have been to Le Seignus/la Foux outside the local holidays know how quiet it is. How busy is 3V likely to be w/c 2 April? Wait a minute or two for a lift at worst? Two or three people queuing in front of you at the burger shack? Also, how easy is it to avoid crowded pistes? Are we likely to be dodging other skiers/constantly watching for out of control idiots coming from above?

Accommodation - There seem to be plenty of apartments to rent and 2 April is low season for the French but is finding somewhere last minute likely to be a problem? I don't want to book yet in case of miraculous amounts of snow down south! Any recommended websites? I've found very few French sites but some must exist?! Any that do a combined apartment and lift pass (I've seen Pierre et Vacances)?

Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts.

I thought I might as we'll make my first post for years a long one!

A snowHead

Hi @benwright, we normally go to Val Thorens in early April and to me it's the perfect place to go. Obviously with the caveat that every year is different!

I personally find Les Menuires is a little low for me - it's fine in the morning but by the afternoon it's gone very slushy. We used to always get a 3V pass but we got rained on in Meribel a couple of times (which is obviously coming down as snow in VT) so last year we just got the VT pass. It's a huge area anyway. So if you can stay a little higher in VT, I think it's worth it.

We always book an apartment through homeaway.co.uk - lots of choice on there. The best apartment's always get snapped up early (the real gems i.e large apartment, great location, small price) can be snapped up in the summer. I'm sure you'll be able to pick something up last minute, but don't expect a bargain as the good stuff will probably have already have gone (I know exactly what I want, so generally book up in early autumn).

You'll have a great time, it's a fantastic area.

Help!!

3V, Les Menuires - Easter

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