Talk to me about... Verbier

A snowHead

So, we're thinking of Verbier for next season. Not sure how many people will be going yet, as that wll depend on dates and cost - and dates and cost will of course be dictated by the people going.

Nonetheless, I'm starting the research now. There'll be at least 6 of us, and possibly as many as 20! I think that we're finally going to try a two week trip in europe as well

So, which areas of town should we look for? We don't need nightlife, access to lifts and preferably ski-in is more important, we can always go out again later (or more likely hit the supermarket and buy in some crates of beer!)

In terms of skiing, which areas are worth avoiding / heading for (and un what conditions!)? There'll be a real mix from "cautious intermediates" through "too confident for their ability and likely to crash" all the way to good skiiers - a few of us have been known to dabble in off-piste from time to time, although we're not all back country experts (yet...)

Does anyone know the dates of swiss / french / english school holidays yet? We're vaguely aiming at march but would prefer to avoid the main school holidays if at all possible

Anything else we should consider?

If you have any apartments / chalets, feel free to pimp them here Smile

Cheers all!

brian

nbt, easter is early, 24th March I think, so the last week will be a holiday week.

Verbier has 2 lift stations. Medran which is the main one and has all the skiing up to Mont Fort, Mont Gele and the links to the rest of the 4Vs, and Savoleyres, which serves a much smaller (but usually quieter) area which links over to La Tsoumaz. Ideally you want to be close to Medran, especially the better skiers, but Savoleyres does access some nice tree skiing in stormy weather and some really nice easy off piste to build confidence.

Anyway, I've only been once so arse and elbow are easily interchanged wink

I'm sure somebody who knows Verbs well will be along soon, it's quite a fave with a few snowHead

s (parlor, BGA, Steve Sparks, rungsp ........ )

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nbt, Only been once and thought it was fantastic. PM Parlour, I think he lives there

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I am not an expert on Verbier but i have just been there for a week and this is my impression of the resort. Its a nice place for freeriding with a varied terrain (I am mostly found outside marked areas). The outdated, and much criticized lift system can be a pain in the back bottom. There are quite a few drag lifts and some of the main cable cars always seem to have a q. As a result when traveling from one sector to another over lunch or at end of the day can take a long time. Also there are some old chairlifts which are slow again causing q's the likes of which i have only seen at resort level in France, in the mornings and then only during peak holiday season.

You might want to investigate staying in Nandez as a cheaper option to access the 4 valleys, but i would not go as far as Thyon or Les Collons as some of the cautious intermediate skiers in your group might struggle to ski to the main verbier ski area (and get back in time) which in my mind offers the best terrain. Its worth considering that to enjoy the entire piste network you have to ski one of the two to itineraries that link verbier to siviez, or you need to take the bubble to get down.

Overall for freeriding it is an excellent place and I had a good time and I will go back for more. But for a mixed ability group some of the French mega-resorts may be more enjoyable as their piste networks are more accessible and you are more likely to find ski- in ski-out accommodation.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

nbt, OK, you've got a good mix of group - real beginners (week zero) aren't ideally suited to Verbier. Your first priority should be accomodation -but you need to get the group size sorted. Are you looking for self catering or catered?

Early March is a good time and Verbier tends to be better late season rather than early. Ski-in is not really an option and virtually anywhere that offers it is still subject to snow conditions. There's a fantastic ski-bus service which now runs into mid evening so don't get too hung up by proximity to the lifts.

Intermediates will have a great time in La Chaux, Lac Des Vaux, Attelas and Savolyeres. The rest of you have the best lift served terrain in europe to amuse yourselves as it suits. And there's always Bruson Very Happy

PP, I don't know what you look for from a lift system? Outside of the nurseries there's only one drag in the Verbier/Mt Fort sector. If you ski all four valleys then there is a fair bit of travelling and a few more drag lifts, but you don't have to do that to ski epics like Tortin, Col de Gentianes and all the off around them. The lift system has undergone a transformation over the last few years with more to come. Sure there are queues at times, but it does depend on the time of year and conditions. In two weeks in January I didn't queue for more than 5 minutes at any lift.

If you truly don't care about the nightlife why not stay in Le Chable? Save yourselves a small fortune and stay in a lovely traditional Bagnard village which is linked by bubble straight to the main Verbier sector. From most of the acommodation there you can be skiing faster than from most of the acommodation in Verbier.

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nbt,

Accomodation - would suggest staying fairly central, close to Medran lift station if you can. There is a free bus service that runs around town so it's not a major problem if you aren't that close but it can be a bit of a scrum so walking distance is better. Wouldn't bother with ski-in/out to be honest. The other lift station is Savoleyres which is at the top end of town. There are plenty of places to stay in Savoleyres but it's a bit of a trek if you want to go into town at night. It's OK during the day as the buses run but they stop at about 9pm so you're faced with a slog up the hill.

Skiing - obviously Verbier is renowned for it's freeride terrain but when friends of ours come out to visit who aren't particularly good skiers they always have a great time. There is loads of piste skiing in La Chaux, Attelas, Ruinettes and Savoleyres and that's without accessing the rest of the 4 Vallees ski area. Not sure when PP was last here but there are a number of new lifts throughout the 4V and the Verbier and Mont Fort sectors only have one T-Bar which is up on the glacier. There are a number of buttons and T-Bars if you want to access Siviez, Nendaz and Thyon but the skiing in Verbier itself will be enough to keep you occupied for a couple of weeks. For stronger skiers there is a vast amount of freeride terrain, itinerary routes and serious off piste should you want it. Tortin, Col de Gentianes, Col des Mines, Vallon d'Arbi are all must dos for strong intermediate skiers as is Mont Fort (skier's right if you want bragging rights in the pub later). For the good skiers it's worth hiring a guide and going over the back side of Mont Fort into the Grand Desert or up Mont Gele.

When to go - avoid Feb half term like the plague. First two weeks in March are generally good, not so many people here and snow conditions usually good (this last week has been superb, as it was this time last year). Could be worth coming out the same time as the Verbier Extreme (it's been on this weekend) as town is lively and you can watch some of the best skiers and boarders in the world chucking themselves down the Bec des Rosses.

One other thought - if you are coming out for two weeks I'd think about doing a Warren Smith course for a week? You'll get to ski quite a lot of the good stuff and improve your skiing at the same time.

If you want any more info feel free to PM me

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Posts obviously crossed but we're clearly singing from the same hymn sheet!

After all it is free

Steve Sparks, I was simply commenting on the 4 valleys infrastructure as that is part of the ‘Verbier’ experience; that is what they advertise anyway. Lifts up to Grappon Blanc with easy blacks are both drag lifts. You are obliged to take them on your way to Thyon and then another drag to get up to resort level (or you have to ski a short itinerary). Once there something like 11 out of 16 lifts are t-bars. On the way back there is t-bar that you have to take to get back to siviez side. Back in Mont Fort/Verbier sector the chair from Lac des Vaux up to Chassoure is an old (slow) 2 seater that caused a 20 min q both w/e I was there. Don’t get me wrong I had a great time but the cautious intermediate in our group struggled to get the piste miles that she could have got in a resort with a lift system that has been updated in the last 30 years. I think Verbier has many virtues but the lift system is not one of them.

BGA, 3 weeks ago.

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PP, that would therefore be ignoring the La Chaux Express, Les Attelas lift and the new lift from Siviez presumably? BTW Lac 3 which leads up to Chaussoure is a 3 man. If it's busy take Lac 1, head over to La Chaux and go up the Jumbo, down Col de Gentianes (or download in the cable car) and you can access Siviez that way

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PP, I enjoy doing the odd ski safari across to Thyon and stopping off at Les Chottes on the way back for a fine lunch. Your description of the lifts required is very accurate. However that is not the Verbier/Mt Fort lift system and it is very unfair to describe the Verbier lift system as one that has not been updated in 30 years.

I would question why you would want to drag a cuatious intermediate across the four valleys when she could have had a marvellous time in Savolyeres and skiing atellas, gentianes down down via cabane mt fort and la chaux. All of this can be done using fast, modern lifts.

BGA, they'll accuse us of colluding before posting wink

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Steve Sparks, scary thing is I did a 4V run today with friends and had lunch at Les Chottes Very Happy

BGA, And I hope to do the same myself next Sunday! Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

BGA, sure the lift system is being improved; slowly.

Lac 1 route is awfully long way to go just to get back to Siviez considering that it took me 5 1/2 mins to ski from the top of Chassoure to Tortin. Not only do you q for Lac 1 you also have to q for the Jumbo . I would have thought you would be lucky to get to the top of Col des Gentianes in 30 min from the bottom of Lac 1 ( a guess).

nbt, is looking to organize a trip for a large group of mixed abilities and on his wish list is ski-in and easy lift access. Not impossible but difficult in Verbier; much easier in larger french resorts.

Let me reiterate, i had a good time but i think that it would be misleading to sell the 4 valleys as being on par with lets say paradiski, espace killy or 3V in france; that is from the intermediate piste-mile hungry skiers perspective. I thought Verbier was fantastic but then i am after something different. I am a huge fan of Chamonix that too has a less then perfect lift system and unlinked ski areas, and that is why its not ideal for large mixed ability groups. In light of nbt's requirements if you cant see the deficiencies in Verbiers infrastructure maybe you should get out more and visit one of those modern french resorts. wink

.

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

moderator! moderator! BGA and Steve Sparks are ganging up on me. Crying or Very sad

A snowHead

Thanks for the info guys, this makes for a very good start. Steve Sparks, you;ve been especially helpful!

A snowHead

nbt,

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

Steve Sparks, i never realized that you are a girl. Shocked

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PP, don't mess with the Verbier mafia. I've been to France. Full of Russians and they eat horses.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

BGA, what do they ride then?.....aahhhh yes there was something about that in the news.......bunch of russians in a courchevel hotel...no horses...but, yes i'll leave it. Twisted Evil

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If you like the idea of Le Chable try Hotel du Gietroz ( hoteldugietroz@netplus.ch ) Good food and quite comfortable at about half the price of the main village above. You can stay on the (Medran) bubble when it goes up through Verbier and bypass all the lift queues.)

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

snowball, Thanks for that useful tidbit whch isn't plain from the lift maps - if I understand it correctly, the "main lift station" at Medran is actually a mid-station, and the bubble actually starts down at Le Chable?

After all it is free

Don't expect luxury but it is a nice hotel and at about 100 SF per person per day half board....

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nbt,
Most people posting here will know Verbier fare better than I do.. On my trip last year I found eating out expensive compared with other resorts in the evening and to a lesser extent on the mountain. If you are wanting to save money I would go half board or to one of the cheaper areas.
Great area though and well worth going to.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Eating out in Verbier doesn't have to be expensive, although it can be if you want it. There are plenty of sensibly priced places - Chez Martin, Borsalino's, The Office all spring to mind. There are however loads of overpriced mediocre places as well.
nbt, Medran is really the main lift station, as well as the four man bubble that comes up from Le Chable there is also a six man bubble that starts at Medran and also goes to Ruinettes.

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Bear in mind that Verbier is in Switzerland....there is no real need to avoid the French holidays as the french don't really go there.
British 1/2 term is to be avoided if you can (I can't for another 5 years....after that I certainly will!).
Ski In/Out...as has been said, very few and far between, but the shuttle buses around town are frequent and widespread.

PP must have really looked hard to find all the drag lifts he spoke of...certainly he travelled extensively in the 4 Valleys, we've been going there a lot and I there are some zones I have still never been to. For many people the "main" Verbier area is plenty to keep them fully occupied.
Certainy PP is a very good skier...5 1/2 mins from Chass' to Tortin is full speed! I couldn't do that and I consider myself a good skier (good but not great).

As Steve said Verbier is a poor choice for total beginners, I'd go so far as to say total beginners should not go there at all.

Verbier is the steepest of the big european resorts according to the good ski guide, measured on the average incline of all slopes. That rings true to me based on annecdotal evidence of skiing in 3V, Val/Tignes, Grand Massif in last few years where we (whole family) came away thinking that it was a bit easy overall (pleeease don't inundate me with evidence of steep runs which of course they all have!).

Prices in Verbier are no higher than the French biggies, in general a bit cheaper (just a bit though....it's not Bulgaria!!).

I've only had one week there, January this year on the Wozza Smith "O" Frame tour.

There is little accomodation that I could see near the main lift (the Medran) and even less ski in/out. We stayed about as far from the lift as you could be in the town, but it wasn't a problem. The ski bus stopped about 25 yards away and ran every 10/15 mins. The fact we were so far away was a bonus, as there's no queue at the stop, you're first on and always get a seat. You get dropped off just outside the lift.

It isn't really a pretty resort, but there's apparently loads to do after the lifts shut. Being on Mr Smiths course meant I didn't partake too much, but I managed to catch a band who were pretty good. However, it can be a bit of a trapse round to get to different venues as it is quite a big place.

The skiing is great, we spent a significant percentage of the week (70/80%) away from the groomed runs, but the off-piste is easy to access from the lifts if you know where you're going. Some entrance points give you a bit of an OMG moment (through the rocks to the right of the bottom of the steps off the Mont Fort, or the first time you see the stroll up Stairway spring to mind), but open into pitches I could do without falling very often. snowHead

To sum it up; it's a top resort for people looking to get into something a bit steeper and deeper, but possibly limited for those who stay on the groomed.

You know it makes sense.

Just back from our 3rd Verbier trip. I agree its not a beginners resort. Try Peak Ski for Chalets. We had the Chalet Bugnion just 3mins walk to the Medran lift and 5mins to center of town. Food can be cheap and dear, its up to you where you eat. Apres is great, try Mont Fort or the Farinet. My skiing just gets better and better eveytime i come to Verbier. We did Tortin this year which i would never have done a few years ago. Best time of year is March.

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

I am planning a trip to Verbier in early March.

In terms of experience I only only have about 10 weekss skiing under my belt meaning that I can get down reds no problem, blacks can be a little scary and I only really ever mess around between pistes not proper off piste although this is an area I would like to improve on.

Looking at the piste map there appear to be a number of key linking runs marked down as itineraires. Can anyone let me know how diffcult these are and how safe they are in terms of avalanche control etc

A snowHead

Can someone tell me what this route is called?
Backside of Mont Fort down to Lac du Cleuson, on to Siviez, upto Grepppn Blanc and down to Mache. I'll be getting in and out the lift system from Sion so I think it best to leave the car at Les Collons....makes sense..?

A snowHead

pmercer, Itineries are only open when they are "safe" from avalanches. In terms of difficulty, they are the next step up from black runs. They can be pretty intermediating at times.

The main itineraire (sp?) that you need to do to ski to open up the 4 Valleys is run called Tortin, which is underneath the Chassoure lift, which you can take down so you don't have to ski it at all. It also gives you a good look at the run to decide whether you fancy it or not.

10 weeks is a great time to come to Verbier, get some lessons while you are here and stay with a decent company like Peak Ski and take advantage of their ski hosting service...

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

Thanks for your advice parlor it is much appreciated. I read in where to ski and board that the intinerie down to Tortin from Col des Gentianes is easier than from Chassoure, would you agree with this? I am just desperate to avoid having to get lifts down, it just doesnt feel right!

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Verbier is one of the top 5 resorts on the planet.

The lifts suck. The lines suck. The crowds suck. Too many chalets. Too many skibores.

But the on- and -off-piste skiing is immense. Prices are reasonable. The nightlife is fairly atmospheric. Plenty of posh crumpet.

Stay close to the Medran lift station.

Do it.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

pmercer,
The main difficulty most intermediate skiers have with Tortin is the initial traverse. Depending on snow conditions it can range from very straightforward to very bumpy and narrow. Once you have got off the traverse, your first two turns are relatively steep and then things mellow out, and again, depending on conditions you will either have a long bump run down or if you are lucky and get fresh snow and can traverse across to the far right it's a nice open powder bowl (gets tracked early, but that's Verbier for you).
The other route down to the bottom is the Col des Gentianes. There is no traverse to negotiate here but the run is a little longer and in places a little steeper. Whilst Tortin is quite easy to see the way down you do have a few more options on Gentianes and essentially the further left you go the steeper it is. Heading across to the right brings you to a wider and shallower bowl, although this is quite often bombed or slips naturally so there is sometimes avalanche debris to avoid.
When friends of ours come out to Verbier who are not used to skiing that sort of terrain, they always seem to find Gentianes easier, but having said that, I do generally take them the easiest way down. I would suggest that the first time you do either of the runs do them with either a guide, instructor or ski hoster who know their way around.
As for the rest of it

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does anyone have a decent hi-res piste map of the 4 vallees?

Cant seem to find a decent one through google images. Cheers Very Happy

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Markus, the one issued in the resort is pants as well, unfortunately! And the signage there is a disgrace. Still, they're good hills, I like Verbier. (Sorry, didn't keep my moth-eaten piste map from last holiday, otherwise I'd have sent it to you.)

Help!!

Talk to me about... Verbier

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