Val Thorens

A snowHead

It was looking a bit quiet in here, so I thought I'd start a thread.

Off to Val Thorens on 10th April - staying at the Hotel Portillo. All positive comments welcome...

A snowHead

VT has some really nice skiing we really enjoyed it and the queues were not too long. Look out for lunch though, prices vary enormously. If you can get a 3-valleys pass and ski over to motterat/meribel one day. The Red run to Motterat is long but very easy, there is only 1 steepish bit at the beginning. It is very picturesque. When you are tired and coming home ther return is an easy blue!

Look out for the music concerts at the church....we went to a really good jazz concert. They just pass a collection bowl around at the end.

we are off to see Tom in Meribel at half term....couldn't resist it!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

They sold some really good tarts in the deli there about 15 years ago. I remember the Tarte Tatin with particular affection.

(PS Hi Lorraine and welcome to my site also. Soon we'll all be together again NehNeh

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Ian Hopkinson, we are planning to take the kids somewhere the week before that - since VT is one of my favourites and the train is our preferred transport we might still be there that first Sat - well U never know.

Lorraine Agass, how many times are U skiing this winter? this must be the third surely?

Alan Craggs, funnily enough that's almost exactly my first memory of VT only it was about 4yrs ago - must be something about the run into town that builds the appetite.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I own up

this will be number 3! It is the last before next season though and we do try to do it on the cheap!

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u brain, we're traveling with Inghams and should arrive sometime during saturday afternoon. See you there (details to be arranged)

Lorraine, as we now know some folks manage even more than three and Mrs H and I will be up to two with this visit. I think we're all worth it!

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<b>Ian</b>, Inghams, when they first started organising ski=ing holidays (in the 20's or 30s), used to fly from Blackbushe airport which is 2 miles from where I live. I had an introductory flying lesson there last year - small world, eh? Laughing

After all it is free

Errr, "bold" stuff is obviously different! Help Exclamation

use square brackets not angles

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We've always traveled with Inghams and, I have to say, have been pleased with them. In due course we may branch out into roll your holidays.

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Just back from VT.

Didn't board in VT very much, preferred the runs above Les Menuires - they had decent snow and were pretty quiet.

There are plenty of bottlenecks at certain times of the day (e.g. Plattieres gondola in Motteret), but I suppose that's the same in many linked systems.

My favourite run is the one all the way down into La Tania - great scenery.

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Make sure to ski Mont Vallon. Fantastic.

Just back from a week trying to keep up with Mr Bleakley. Just one piece of advice. If you are heading over to Mottaret (via the lac de la chambre run) take the Plan Des Mains chair up and take the run down beside the Platteres gondala. Don't even think about doing the ours run, which looks quicker. That is unless you like taking your board off and walking or poling like your life depends on it. Other than that it's all good.

You know it makes sense.

Excellent advice! being on planks I forgot that bit! Embarassed

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Can't wait to go...

I think Mrs H and I are going to lay off the 6*1/2 day ski lessons for the first time and strike out alone, with all the other skiers... Shocked

A snowHead

So jealous that you are off to VT, did a season there last year and all i want to do is go back there, but anyway of to val d'isere nxt week - all is not bad.

A snowHead

Must admit that VT wasn't in the original plan for the year...but one week fix of ski=ing was just not enough! Smile

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Quite fancy VT but always end up somewhere else.

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Ian. I will be in VT at Easter with 2 bored teenagers (girl 15 and boy 12). Staying at Montagnettes. Was there for Easter last year and had a great time. Excellent Irish pub with good guiness. Run down to Meribel includes fun snowpark for skiers (kids loved it). 4th valley lovely, but often long queue for cable car. Lovely area above Les Menuires at La Masse that is often quiet. Some fun bump runs such as Cascasdes just above VT. We like cliffs, bumps, jumps, gulleys and tree runs (sadly lacking at VT). If you could stand it, we would love to meet up. John.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We're there from the 10th for 1 week, from your description its safe to say we won't be ski=ing together - we're at the point of breaking away from are nursery classes and proceeding cautiously down the trickier reds. However, meeting up for drinks sounds like a good plan Very Happy

(We're at the Portillo)

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I'll paste in my thoughts on Val T from the Mottaret side.

The other way you can go from Mottaret is towards Val Thorens and the Belleville valley. Up Plattieres again, plunge down Allouette and pick up the Cote Brune lift which takes you up to Mont de la Chambre. The run we wanted to take down to Val T was Pluviometre which did not fit the “just schuss” pattern at all and proved to be a swooshy swoopy delight. It takes you right down into the centre of Val T where you have to negotiate a couple of road crossings and a plunge through crowds of tots to get to the Funitel de Peclet. Now we didn’t actually know what a funitel was and soon came to the conclusion it was something like a shopping centre. For a moment we thought we were back at Merry Hill, but this spasm of horror soon passed off with a couple of slugs of brandy from the hipflasks once we got inside the rather luxurious cabins.
At the top we were looking for Christine and soon found her and what a nice run she is too. She took us all the way to the Moraine lift from which we admired the moraines and the Col lift from which we admired the glaciers. At the top we found the most delightful little cabin. Outside stood a cheery man with a gas barbeque who was producing magnificent rolls stuffed with thick slices of bacon and a massive sausage. Brilliant value at €8 and 3132m. Views to the south of untouched snow on jagged mountains. The glacier looks grey and menacing.

We also headed down to the beautiful city of Les Menuires for a coffee. It was odd to see so much neo-Stalinist architecture so far from its natural home. The place was also like an ant heap and covered with learners. What a contrast with Courcheval 1850! We speculated briefly on what kind of investment or improvement could be carried out there and concluded the best investment would probably be in dynamite.

It’s a good idea to go across to the other side of the valley and look at the runs below Point de la Masse. You need to find your way to the lifts over the bridge and often this side is comparatively deserted. There is a lovely restaurant at the top of Point de la Masse (The Panorama) and this gave us a substantial and good value lunch. (Steak Hache or omelette and chips €8.80, about the same for a massive spag bol). Recommended!

Fred Covili seems to be the name of the red run down and it’s a classic. Wide and well-covered, it takes you, via a wide and scenic gully, all the way down to the valley floor where you pick up the Doron lift to get back

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Excellent description...I felt myself taking the turns again!

After all it is free

Lorraine Agass, Thanks for the encouragement! I have moments when I fancy myself as a bit of a writer, but this extract from my thoughts on our week in 3V just killed the thread.
There is a literature of sports like cricket. Skiing ought to be possible.

Anymore wise words on Val Thorens then?

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Ian Hopkinson, you and Mrs H are going to have a great time. I'm sure you have looked at all the Val T sites, perused the piste map ad nauseum, look at the weather maps from 6 different sources every day, and keep checking no one's knicked your passport.
Now you are Lord High Piste Master of 1000 Posts (I was concerned there for a few days....) you will be ordering your own weather.
So, just send a line to Rent-a-kid , get your under-12-year-old and you can apply for a Family Ticket to enter the Grand challenge des 3 Vallées.
Wear something like this and I am sure to recognse you. snowHead

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see my Mottaret/3V Rocks post somewhere in here!

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tomski01, I remember it well. It started with your superb enthusiastic lively post about the wonderful time you had just had. Made us all want to pack straight away.

tomski01, I have edited your post into a little summary I have of this thread...

I'm going to give this carving thing a go - so if you see someone wearing a red coat hurtling down a gentle blue slope looking a bit out of control - that'll be me!

You know it makes sense.

Just remember grasshopper - to carve well your momentum is used to bend the skis and the skis are at an angle to the snow (ie they are on their edges). Hence the skis cannot be directly beneath your upper body except at the transition between turns!! It is a reluctance to allow the skis to travel away from the body (ie hip angulation) which inhibits the development of carving skill for many people. But allow them to go and they will return! It is very difficult to balance against the edged skis and get sufficient momentum to bend them when travelling slowly, but with modern skis insane speeds are not required. And don't be in a hurry to go from one turn to the next - feel that the skis are running and you are along for the ride Toofy Grin

(try and spot a good boarder carving at speed on the slope - where are the feet/board and where are the head/shoulders?)

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Alan Craggs, you mean like this? .

A snowHead

eggsactly!

A snowHead

Jonpim, Caption competion?

Boarder goes for record number of press ups on one hand.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Alan, it sounds like I might be breaking my "don't fall over very often" record...

My caption: Marmot about to regret sticking his head out the snow...

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You'll be fine if you relax Ian. Any more diversions and we'll have to split this thread or risk the wrath of U !

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Resort: Val thorens

Country: France

Domain: 3 valleys

Author: Ian Hopkinson

Dates: 10th-17th April 2004

Our holiday: We're a thirtysomething couple who started ski-ing a few years ago and have taken 5 weeks of ski-ing lessons. This was the first time we let go of the apron strings and skied independently. It's also the first time we've been to a French 'mega-resort'. We were there the second week of Easter 10th-17th April 2004.

Website : http://www.valthorens.com/ not a bad site but a bit reliant on Flash. I like the panorama camera at http://www.belhorizon.com/, go to the 'Webcam' menu item and select Panorama. The Ski Club provides some information on Val Thorens, and the snow-forecast 3 day weather report can be found here.

Basics : In the Savoie region of the French Alps, a 3.5 hour transfer from Geneva. Route from Geneva takes you through Annecy and Albertville - most of it on single carriageway, the last hour or so of the journey is a long climb up the valley from Moutier.

Lift system : Part of the 3 Vallees area. Modern detachable chairlifts all over the place, too numerous to count. No t-bars that we found, 3 drag lifts around the village area and a handful of others aroundabouts. We experienced very little queuing (never more than 10 minutes), there are a lot of lifts coming out of the village and they're pretty high capacity. To my mind queuing was a bit more civilised than in Austria or in Switzerland, but this is on the basis of experience of a very limited number of resorts. The chair out of Orelle (the 4th valley) seemed to get crowded around lunchtime and if you catch the ski school start time (9am) or hit the staggered opening of the lifts wrong you can wait a few minutes.

The terrain : A wide area at the head of a valley, with two forks up to separate glaciers. Crossing over ridges takes you into Orelle and the Meribel/Mottaret valleys. The area around the resort is completely treeless. The terrain means it is relatively easy to scope runs out before ski-ing them - which is nice if you're not so confident. Plenty of easy blues around the resort with more difficult blues and reds higher up. The link over to Orelle involves a bit of a walk back (200m) if you want to stick to blue runs, but there is nice ski-ing over there and well worth the visit. The run down into Mottaret is red at the top, but is not particularly challenging and the run on into Mottaret is a chance to see some trees! The Mont Vallon runs have been recommended by others but we didn’t ski them. DO NOT TAKE THE ‘OURS’ RUN INTO MOTTARET – ITS REALLY A FOOTPATH – I’VE NEVER POLED SO MUCH IN MY LIFE!

The snow : We had fantastic snow conditions! It snowed fairly heavily on two nights giving around 15cm of fresh powder on top of the piste. Only the slightest sign of slush at resort level in the late afternoon. Snow cover continuous down to the level of Les Menuires, which is a little down the valley.

Off-piste : Can't help on the off-piste front!

The resort : A purpose built ski resort with no 'original village', however it is not unattractive, certainly if compared with Les Menuires! Plenty of cafes, restaurants, ski gear shops, a sports centre, a number of small supermarkets, no bookshop!

Food : Le Scapin on the Place de Caron has a good value menu and a large sun terrace on the main ski area (2 croque monsieur+cokes for 15 euro), service can be a bit slow at busy times. Le Delice, next door, does savoury crepes – which I like. Had dinner at Le Pet’te Ferme on Rue de Soleil with jonpim et al, busy (booking essential) but friendly staff and a good pizza. Around the slopes a wide range of eateries. Café at the bottom of the Moraine lift is good for waffles on the upper terrace. Genepi (part way down the Moraine lift) has a cosy ambience and an open fire - when we were there they were playing French Ska (groovy!). Bar de le Marine – close to the top of Cascade chairlift is pleasant too, Friday mid-morning it was home to a succession of childrens ski school classes having ‘chokky’. Why does French bread only taste so good in France?

Accommodation : We stayed in the Hotel Portillo at the top of the resort, near to the Place de Peclet. Ski out but a 100 metre walk to get back in, boot room with individual lockers for each guest room. We liked the Portillo, food great, room spacious and staff friendly. They do residences as well as half board.

Costs: Cheap compared to Switzerland!

Conclusion: We really liked Val Thorens, the ski-ing is great – certainly the best I’ve experienced (compared to Westendorf, Saas Fee and Val Cenis). The lack of an attractive village doesn’t seem to matter and the lack of trees gives the place a stark beauty.

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Ian Hopkinson, excellent summary of an excellent week.
The place is huge, and the slopes above Les Menuires seem largely forgotten: wide motorways and a couple of the longest drags I have ever met (Right, NickB?). Maybe it is the reputation of Les Menuires for Ugly, but everyone seems to head for Meribel or Val T.
The height of 2300m meant Val T had the best snow conditions but, Ian, you missed out on the weather problem:
1. No trees means when the clouds come down visibility goes to zero. I skied off the piste and down a 6ft drop by mistake on day one. Completely knackered getting out and back on the piste.
2. Wind can close down vaste swathes of Val T, as it did on the Friday (and Tom quite devastated he did not get his daily Waffle). Most of Meribel and all of Les Menuires remained open.
Even so, I intend to return to Val T next year - there's so much left to ski....

After all it is free

Jonpim, The waffle lady , 'Waffly nature' ou 'chocolat', in the mountain restaurant? Can't remember the name. We ended up there at the end of the Monday afternoon (no doubt you were still in the Gendarmerie Evil or Very Mad

).... Delicious, went down very well after skiing in some superb conditions.

Ian Hopkinson, here's a small memento ( and picture quiz?) for you no trees

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That looks like Friday, obviously windy! One of the Moraine or Genepi chairlifts, or maybe Les Deux Lacs...

The way the wind effected the resort was quite odd; down one side of the valley it was blowing a howling gale and all the lifts were shut, but up the Funitel Peclet and Plein Sud side it was pretty calm.

Help!!

Val Thorens

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