 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I've read so many posts around this subject but I guessing some of you with experience of the two resorts can help me out. I've researched an Easter Trip to Les Arcs 2000 or Val Thorens, it's just me and my son who will be 8. We're looking at going out on the Easter weekend which is before the French schools breakup. I'll book it all myself and drive from the airport and stay in SC apartment. We don't need much off-piste entertainment or fancy restaurants but a fun slope or terrain park with an easy line is popular with my boy. Les Arc seems appealing but the lure of the 3Vs is hard to resist, so i guess, for me, it comes down to two questions;
1- Pistes. I'm a decent piste skier who can cover a bit of ground while my son does lessons. Would I be right in thinking VT has a higher percentage of high slopes? I'd probably stick to the Les Arc or VT area only. Resort height feels a bit irrelevant except when doing a home run. I've read a few trip reports on here and it seems that this year has been pretty bad in France but both resorts held up ok.
2- Crowds. We've skied Obergurgl and Cervinia at Easter and never really had to queue and pistes were quiet, I guess we've been a little spoilt. I realise France will be busier but I'm hoping the French schools being off will help a little. Is it possible to say which resort suffers from crowds and queues the most? I know that could be a tricky question.
Thanks in advance, this site is such a brilliant source of information.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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1. Yes.
2. Both the same.
Book VT. More choice. Better trails.
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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?
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Both would be good choices but I'd go for Arc 2000. If your son is doing lessons you won't have time to get round the 3 valleys properly.
My son who is older loved the night skiing in Arc 2000 which is on two evenings per week. There is also the Rodeo sledge ride.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@grumpygargoyle, which dates are you planning to go? How long would your son be in lessons each day?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for the replies, really helpful to get second opinions.
@intermediate, we'd go over the easter weekend as it's first week of our school holidays but looks like the French begin the following week.
My son would likely do four hours in the morning then we'd probably do an hour or so together after lunch. I figure even though I'd cover some good ground I wouldn't venture too far.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Easter weekend 2018 is 31 March / 1 April, so even this year almost all of the 3V pistes would have still been open at that time. If the snow is reasonable, in 4 hours from VT you could easily get to Mottaret / Meribel and back (and if you don't hang about possibly to Courchevel and back) - if you wanted to.
If you are in to that sort of thing, there is a really long luge / toboggan piste in VT - from the top of the Funitel de Peclet, roughly following the Tete Ronde piste.
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@ecureuil, thanks very much for the advice. I once got a days skiing around Mottaret (in February) and it was fantastic, before that I'd only visited smaller resorts and the scale of the 3Vs blew my mind.
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@grumpygargoyle, of the two places I'd choose VT. More snowsure late season. Decent lift system though pistes can get quite crowded at peak times, in my experience. Apart from VT, easy access from there to great pistes, eg Maurienne Valley, Mont Vallons and La Masse.
There's another resort I think might suit even better but you could always save that for another year.
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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.
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Is it Tignes @intermediate,? 
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@grumpygargoyle, got it in one. I think it suits the need to meet son at lunchtime better, having done that when my son was similar age.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Have been in the same situation with kids, and have done both results at Easter, (just came back from VT on Sunday).
Les Arcs (went end March 2015) - stayed in 1600, accessed the resort from Peisey and whilst kids were in lessons did a lot of tree line skiing which was good. There are more runs below 2500M which means they get slushy after 1pm, and we didn't have enough time to ski the glacier at Les Arcs or go to La Plagne between lessons which made the skiing a bit limited, also felt that we were doing a lot of zig zag skiing and traversing to get to new terrain.
Val Thoren (end April) - all accommodation is central and there is more skiing above 2500M, which means less slush. If your son is in lessons you can cover a huge range of skiing within two lifts from different directions in VT. We loved Mont Vallon, Orelle (2 access points, although one blue was sheet ice this year), Cim Caron, Peclet. Also we managed to ski from VT to Saluire and back in 4 hours last week, and she loved it (ended up doing the red of Saluire twice). Les Menuires was patchy, and we ended up walking through a field from Vallon but the snow before the straw made up for it. We all loved VT and if Easter is earlier you will have more snow to go at off the top of Val Thorens to Meribel and still get back for lessons. There is also a great snow park near the middle of town, and a toboggan run off the top of Peclet which looks like great fun....
VT gets my vote, and our kids love it.
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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.
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@Nelson1j, thanks very much for your reports, sounds like you had a great time.
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I know both of these resorts very well but from what you wrote I would recommend you go for VT. Guaranteed best snow in France (along with Tignes) and you wont have to spend whole period from December until your ski holidays wondering if snow cover was good this year and will it snow again 
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the advice @Przymorze, that said I'm not sure what I'd do with myself if I didn't stare at forecasts and snowfall charts all winter 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Then go for Les Gets that would be daily horror
Anyway, both resorts are great and if you havent been before im sure you will have a great time in VT and Arcs. Just search for best deal in both and pick cheapest. I would suggest for Paradiski maybe add Peisey( as its in the centre of the area and most "family friendly")to your deal finder due to the quick access to La Plagne via Vanoise Express lift
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nelson1j,
I'm pleased to hear you had a good time in Val Thorens. We were there at the same time as you and just got back home yesterday. We had a brilliant time, with an epic powder day on Wednesday - a great way to finish the season!
We found the blue run to Orelle to be excellent - and anything but "sheet ice." I wonder if you may chosen the wrong time of day to ski it, however. As the run faces west it doesn't get any sun on it until after noon. After that it softens up nicely, as does the red piste to Orelle.
Before lunch however, it is certainly a run to loosen your fillings!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We were on the blue boulevard rosael at about 10:30, just after we went down it, they shut it and re=pisted it as it was so rough, most people were off-piste as it was easier and u could get some control. Other than that had a great time, stayed at Club Med and will be back....
The webcams show 30cm of fresh today, and -4 in the village with deserted pistes......
Will have to wait until next year now.
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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?
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Nelson1j,
Club Med
Is it as nice as it looks? (to those of us who peer through the windows from Plein Sud chairlift as we pass....)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi
For us it works well. The hotel is 2 yrs old I think and the beds and accommodation are a step above what we were used to on chalet holidays.
For the kids pluses are:
Wifi
Free films
Teenage ski group morning and afternoon
Huge variety of food, with fish, pasta, steak etc cooked whilst u wait
Freedom to roam around the hotel and get away from parents.
Our 17 ur old liked the evening disco and the music played when returning to the pistes at lunch and dinner.
For the adults.
Excellent food, fois grois, steak, oysters etc etc
All inclusive so no bar bills or bills on night off
We are at different levels and could ski in our own groups.
So easy esf school is based in the hotel, bags taken to room, piste is convenient to hotel, approx 150 staff for 800 guests customer service is very good, rooms great
Evening entertainment is good fun but if u don't like it there is a separate bar without the shows
The manager/chef village was everywhere and ensured any questions were dealt with quickly.
From our perspective it made a ski holiday which had previoisly been a bit stressful i.e bus/ walk to piste, carry kids skis etc, put kids into esf, ski by myself for 1 hr, back to esf, find restaurant much more stress free.
It cost us the same as our inghams holiday two years ago and was better value as we had more lessons etc.
It wouldn't suit those who like lunch on the hill and don't make use of esf.
James
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Bergmeister,
We stayed there last year and I back up what @Nelson1j says.
Plus we we're there for the 6 Nations - England vs Wales. Side of the bar had two tellys showing the game and bar staff providing trays of beers during the game (Hic). Arranged by the deputy Chef De Village who was South African.
There can be issues especially with the ESF instructors (Lady I was with was awful) but generally they are good even if your only using them for a guide.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have done Club Med VT twice now and would agree with all the positives above. Superb all-around experience and once you factor in all the extras with something like an Inghams package, your total spend for a vastly inferior holiday will be the same. Go with the bigger upfront cost and go with Club Med every time!
I'd also choose VT as a resort but keep in mind that lessons for the 8yo are extra in VT with Club Med. Always book Club Med with an agent (DM me if you want details) as they always do it for a better price than booking directly.
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Well you need to go to both then you can answer your own question. I would focus more on the characteristics of the resort rather than specifics of particular visits: there's more those two places have in common than separates them.
Places like Club Med exist in both locations: it's not a differentiator.
To me Val T is the more "hard core" choice, with Les Arcs being a softer more family oriented place. That's one reason that the off-piste is better in Les Arcs, because the hero people don't go. If you get poor visibility, then you want to be in Les Arcs because they have trees. Val T is my least favourite valley of the three to be located because it's the hardest to get back to, has generally worse restaurants and is uglier. It does have a couple of decent mountains which have the advantage of being out of the way.
Other than the fact that the French can't queue, I don't think there's much difference in lift systems. The trick is to work out what the herd does, and do something else. So they all start at the same time, all stop for lunch at the same time, all stop early at the same time... just avoid them and it's easy,.
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| Bergmeister wrote: |
We found the blue run to Orelle to be excellent - and anything but "sheet ice." I wonder if you may chosen the wrong time of day to ski it, however. As the run faces west it doesn't get any sun on it until after noon. After that it softens up nicely, as does the red piste to Orelle.
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Nah some days during the EOSB when the temp dipped it was brutally refrozen all day. While that blue makes getting out of the hidden valley easy I really don't regard it as a asset as it has farked some lovely unskied offpiste from the top of the train. Orelle ought to be for those brave enough to tackle the bump pitch on the red. 
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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.
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philwig,
Interesting comments. But I'm not sure how the Belleville valley is the hardest to get back to. Have you found something that makes the journey more difficult than, say, travelling back to the Courchevel valley from the Belleville? 
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FAQ
