Three Valleys = where's better for skiing?

A snowHead

My last 2 weeks skiing has been in VT and then Courchevel 1850. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it and wouldn't hesitate to go back but was wondering where's better?

What I like about the 3 Valleys is the size of the area and how well it is linked (no buses required).

Have you been there and where is better, if at all?

Just planning the next trip. I'd described myself as an intermediate with aspirations to keep getting better (if that helps)

Thanks

A snowHead

Armitageblue, imho nowhere's better for what you've described. However as your experience grows, your ski palate (and maybe your skis) will broaden and your tastes more fanciful - be warned! wink

Another large well linked area would be Val d'Isere/Tignes. Also Les Arcs and La Plagne which are (sometimes wink

) loosely linked but which each have a large area of well linked skiing.

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Armitageblue Glenshee? Sunday should be a belter aye!

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After the 600km piste of the 3 Vallees the next similar sized resort should be the Italian Dolomites Sella Ronda with fully linked 510km piste.

Les Arcs + La Plagnes = Paradiski has 425km, the single cable car link between the two is not operational this season though.

Val d'Isere + Tignes = Espace Killy has 300 km

The above are fully linked.

However if you can cope with Glenshee you should find every Alpine resort "enjoyable".

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Armitageblue, no where is better than the 3V's, finest linked skiing area in the world Laughing

la plagnes les arc doesnt count and Val D tignes is but a blip on the map in comparison, oh and cham sucks as well

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I'd still say that for a weeks skiing Val D/Tignes will more than satisfy you.

But you still can have fun in the 3V's for sure.

After all it is free

Another vote here for Dolomites/Sella Ronda area. Having been there, and the 3V I prefer the Dolomites. The overall area available to ski (not completely interlinked I'll grant you, but easy enough to navigate) is something like 1200km - how much do you need??? The scenery is second to non, and a great plus for the Dolomites being that generally they don't try and surgically remove your wallet as soon as you arrive. As with all these things though. it's very much down to personal taste.

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One goes to 3 Vallees because one has not been to the biggest linked area. Some of its areas are also the busiest in the Alps.

To enjoy skiing it is always better if there is less skiers competing for space, on piste, offpiste, in queues, in restaurants and the use of the facilities. Thus 3 Vallees would be a bad choice especially during the mid term break.

The proof of the pudding is to visit the biggest French, Swiss, Austria and Italian resorts at the same time of the year and compare. I would be surprised if one would want to go back to France for its mid term break festival if one is in a position to select freely.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Portes du soleil is big, but lower altitude and not always as well linked as 3V's.

Whistler is also a cracking resort.

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Although 3V is busy, it also has the infrastructure to shift huge numbers of bodies around effectively. I've only been there for two weeks on 2 visits, both during holiday periods, and although half the planet seemed tohave descended on the place and there were noticeable crowds waiting for lifts, the waits were not excessively onerous and I got some really serious mileage in. Having said all that, t'aint the most impressive scenery and environment when compared to some of the classics, and Les Menuires has to take it's place on the podium for being the ugliest place in the world. But in terms of just skiing (getting back on thread) 3v must be difficult to beat. But "skiing" isn't just about skiing is it...it's the whole "experience"

I also seriously rate the Sella Ronda area of the Dolomites (and we go to VT at Easter every year). Wouldn't really like to choose between the 3V's and the Sella Ronda, Italy is definitely different and to my mind more hospitable. The resorts are more attractive than VT, the lift system is probably pretty close to equivalent. Probably slightly more challenging skiing on the 3V's. Scenery in the Dolomites is pretty fantastic, prices are a little lower.

You know it makes sense.

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

Just to clarify, I ski through lunch, because I go for the skiing (I can eat at better restaurants at home). I book last minute and out of school holidays so on my last two trips there was never more than 10 people in front of me for a lift in Courchevel/Meribel/Mottaret/V.T./Les Menuires. Oh and I like to spend more time on the slopes than on a slow lift.

So in view of the above is Sella Ronda better than the 3 V's? Or is my ideal ski area somewhere else?

A snowHead

Armitageblue,

I think it is more to do with how the resort is linked.

3 Vallees is difficult to ski from one end to the other end and the queues at the junction points are among the worst in the Alps. To explore it properly I found it necessary to drive to various points to do a small area in each day.

Sella Ronda is formed by 4 resorts located at the corners of a square. One can go round it clockwise on one day and then anticlockwise the other day. To explore to the full one can spend a day in each corner too, although the one at diametrically opposite is the hardest to cover from a fixed point.

Sella Ronda has a lot less French skiers. Your skiing will not be complete without visiting it.

A snowHead

saikee with respect i think that's a load of rubbish!

as long as it's not a peak week it's relatively easy to ski for one end to the other

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Agreed Roger C, I skied Mottaret --> Meribel --> Courcheval --> Mottaret --> Val T --> Mottaret in an afternoon in Easter week a couple of years back - no problem!

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HappyMouffe and I have skied VT to Courchevel and back in time for lunch!

Armitageblue, it's different - I'd be hard pressed to say one was better than the other. On the narrow subject of queues and lift speeds the 3V's may have it by a small margin but it is small and it's based on comparing half-term in the Dolomites to second week of Easter in VT.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

So what we are saying then is I need to try the Sella Ronda, even if it just confirms that the 3 V's is hard to beat?

I'm not a brilliant skier but I could ski VT to Courchevel and back before 2pm no problems during term time.

I have decided that Mottaret is the best resort for the 3 V's for location so what would you guys recommend for the Sella?

Thanks for the debate guys. Very Happy

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Armitageblue, I think I'd see the Sella Ronda area as a demonstration that there are other ski areas in the same class as the 3V's. We stayed in Arabba last year, this year we're trying Selva. Arabba is small and has good access to some more difficult skiing, downside is that it is v. quiet and the transfers are a bit longer than those to Selva (certainly if you fly into Bolzano with Inghams).

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

Been to 3 Vallees possible 5 to 6 times and the last one was 2004.

The lift speed especially around Merbel to Les Menuires was pretty slow and the queues were always long in my experience. I suppose if one just intends to touch each area then one can go round it in a short loop in a day. The challenge of skiing a resort can also be from one extreme end to another. To me it take a really good skier to go from the extreme end of 1650 to ski to Orelle and back in the same day, especially in term time.

Sella Ronda has a defined route, sign-posted Green in one direction and Orange in the opposite direction so there is no way to cheat.

Many resorts have defined routes too.

The St Anton "white ring" at Zurs and Lech is also sign-posted.
Saalbach/Hiterglemm forms a natural loop by going from one side of the valley and returning from another side.
Long resorts like Zillertal Arena one can ski from Zell to Krimml and back in a day, so is in Valmorel to the extreme end of St Francis.
Cross-country skiing enables one ski from France to Italy and back in La Rosiere/La Thuile, France to Switzerland in PDS, Austria to Switzerland in Ischgl, Italy to Switzerland in Cervinia/Zermatt.

I like 3 Valles too but I don't think it is the only one that can stretch one's skiing in a day. One definitely wait a lot less for the chairlifts if going elsewhere even if he/she has no interest in scenery, upmarket facilities like heated chairlifts, transported by trains to the top of a slope, exquisite restaurants etc.

If it is relevant I did think 3 Vallees was the best thing since slice bread in my first three years of skiing. I would probably say it still is if you point a gun at my head but do not require me to put a hand to my heart.

After all it is free

The advantage of the French mega areas is altitude and snow. A question of maximising chances if like most you need to/like to book ahead.

I've long fancied the Dolomites. We did once spend a few days in the area, but with non-skiing friends (goes beautifully with a week in Venice) and I only managed a couple of hours on the empty lunch time slopes of Cortina. The villages are each of a distinct character (even speaking different languages!) and the scenery is fantastic - no possible competition from the 3V on the scenery front - and from what I could see of it the skiing looked interesting and varied. But I think the snow is more reliable in the 3V? For anyone who isn't interested in scenery or culture, and just wants endless linked skiing with no fiddly bits, I guess the 3V is better. As I now have an apartment in France (albeit in a French area a million miles removed from the 3V, and with stunning scenery!) I doubt that I'll be visiting the Dolomites any time soon.

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I was in Mottaret at Christmas. One day we skied to the far side of 1650 before turning around and heading to Orelle and back to VT for lunch. I like to 'press-on' but I'm not the fastest (or fittest) skier on the planet or, since my 13-year-old son moved to 141s, even in my house Sad

I love the 3V. Once you get to know the area, you soon learn how to avoid the bottlenecks.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

There seem to be a lot of snowheads able to go from one end of 3 Vallees to the other end in the same day.

Could any any snowhead verify the distance from say the bottom of the Bel Air chairlift near Courcheval 1650 to Top of the Bouchet chairlift in Orelle or the bottom of the 3 Vallees Express at Francoz at 880m? The far end of Orelle is clearer in the Val Thoren local map. Don't think there is any point to take the godola to Francoz but top of the Bouchet lift should be the current limit of returnable skiing point. The last time I was there this lift was closed.

When I count the number of runs it appears one can do it with about 7 runs forward and 7 runs return. I remember the chairlift time going either side of the Meribel Valley was about 0.5 hour discounting the waiting time. I suppose the quickest way is to go via saulire summit from the Courcheval side and so the waiting at the cable car is unavoidable.

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pam w, my impression of the Sella Ronda area was that is was a little prone to 'missing out' on snow coming in from the north, whilst it seemed to do well for cold weather. They do have very good snowmaking and piste preparation. We were there last February and had great on-piste conditions whilst snow off-piste was, in places, non-existent. I do really like the scenery in the Dolomites, the 3V's do have some spectacular, but different, scenery marred by some v. ugly resorts.

saikee, it is easy to ski the whole 3 valleys in a day but i would tend to recommend getting to and exploring each valley for a day. The bubble from mottaret to saulire is much quicker than the meribel one...

not tried the dolomites but sounds very nice....

You know it makes sense.

saikee from C1650 or 1850 if heading to VT/Orelle you can avoid the wait for the big Saulire cable car by using chairs, head towards the suisses chair and from the top of this you can ski down to Mottaret to pick up the Plattieres

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

In the previous trips to 3 Vallees I often parked at Coucheval 1850 and have gone to St. Martin too.

In the last trip I parked at Le Praz Courcheval 1300 just to able ski only the Courcheval area alone, another day at Merbel 1450 to do Meribel and Les Menuires and finally drove to Val Thoren 2300 to explore Orelle side.

Judging the from the skiers trying to break the maximum accumulated vertical drop of 39km with a 182 km skiing distance I doubt very much a day's skiing can cover much of the 600km in 3 Vallees.

May be there are recognised routes in 3 Vallees. The Sella Ronda circuit is specially sign-posted. Sella Ronda is advertised for having a 39 to 40km circuit but the actual skiing distance is 26 or 28 km depending on it is clockwise or anticlockwise direction. This circular circuit is only part of the 510km linked piste domain. Including the unlinked resorts the entire Dolomistes has 1200km piste. The Sella Ronda circuit is a circular loop for an "average" recreational skier to do it in a day's effort, comprising mainly of easy red and blue slopes. The Italians appear to have done some work to arrange it easy for the visitors. On paper it is one of the biggest skiing loops if the the biggest. Many good skiers claim to have done it twice or even three times in a day.

On my investigation into the skiing distance by an "average" skier I believe 20 to 30km is the distance he/she would do in any typical day. This is based on skiing 10 runs in the morning and then anther 10 runs after lunch. This average skier can do the 20 to 30km with one piste repeatedly or spread it out over a resort with different piste each time. Thus to an ordinary skier the 3 Vallees can take over a month to explore it in full.

Roger C,

The reason of using Saulire is to be able to cover the two extreme ends in a day in the shortest route. To access Meribel via Suisses chair, which I assume you mean the Col de La Loze summit, involves additional runs and lifts making the journey even longer. My 3 Vallees piste map, dated 2004, shows one can only ski from Courcheval to Meribel via either the two summits of Saulire or Col De La Loze.

A snowHead

saikee, The Suisses chair that Roger C was referring to is just an alternative route to get to the top (well, almost) of Saulire; you can ski straight down, directly, to Mottaret from it.

I would also say that a number of new lifts, especially in Les Menuires, have opened since 2004, which has helped to both reduce bottlenecks and the time spent on the lifts themselves.

A snowHead

Armitageblue, Why not have a look at Banff? Great all round skiing plus the chance to ski powder in the back bowls

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can any body help with finding a cheapish deal in april for ten to three valleys!! or pretty much any place will do with snow, within easy reach of an airport? Thanks
rolling eyes

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snoop, welcome to snowHeads!

The 3V's is quite far away from airports - it's 2-3hours from Geneva, but with 10 people you could probably arrange your our transfer quite efficiently... I think Chambery is a bit closer, but there aren't many flights there.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Some lift timings on the Three Valleys Escapade (in a day) route here: http://www.latania.co.uk/skiing/escapade.html - this is a big day out (the idea is you do it over a six day holiday but a few have managed it in a day).

Since 2004 there has been 1 new four man chair, 8 new six man chairs, a new "Funitel" jumbo gondola and at least 3 of the gondolas have been upgraded with higher capacity cabins - almost eliminating the traditional bottlenecks. Outside of the main 3 half term weeks it's very rare to have any significant queues - often they look big but when you time your queuing it's often less than 5 minutes. Yesterday at Biollay four man chair above 1850 there looked a large queue yet the single skier lane was empty - queuing time practically nothing if you could bare to sit next to a stranger....

Add in the massive investment in snow cannons (and reservoirs) and piste management - 3Vs are very hard to beat.

As for airport transfers (in a car) - I reckon on generally to La Tania - Geneva 2hrs 15 minutes, Lyon 2 hrs, Grenoble 1hr 45 mins, Chambery 1hr 15 mins. Of course these can double on a peak Saturday or bad weather.

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kkev, interesting on the transfer times. I have never flown into lyon or grenoble and am surprised they are quicker than GVA...

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A lot more miles (or rather kms!) but all motorway and no Annecy or Cruseilles hold ups when coming fron Grenoble or Lyon. The new motorway from Geneva direct to Annecy will make a big difference though. Any idea when that's due for completion - no tarmac on main stretches yet but junctions and bridges look fairly complete.

After all it is free

kkev, yeah i thought the new road was coming along, i heard december of this year completion...

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Hoppo, thanks for that info. I was woundering if you might know of any small places or have some contacts in the 3vs regarding organising accomidation and transfers? We should be able to sort the flights easily enough. If it were myself and a couple of pals wed just hop on a plane and try our luck in brie de ban or La Tania, but weve got some sticklers for forward planning coming with us so could use some help!!!
Cheers

Help!!

Three Valleys = where's better for skiing?

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