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Val d'Isere or Three Valleys?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi, and sorry to bother you all, but which would you suggest?

We're a family of four, with 'children' of 22 and 18 who've been skiing since they were little and - obviously - go much faster than we do. We're looking at catered chalets for the week starting 5/6th January. I've found nice-looking and similar-priced ones in both places. Previously we've been to Les Gets, Murren, Verbier, Chamonix, la Tania and Zermatt and enjoyed all of them. Reds aren't usually a problem for any of us but some blacks sometimes are - especially for me - but so far even I have always got down in one piece eventually. None of us has done much off piste anywhere, and what we have done has been 'just off the sides', not the steep stuff.

It's tempting to go back to the Three Valleys, but Val d'Isere seems an obvious omission that perhaps should be put right. But now I've read comments about lots of the pistes being undergraded and scary runs down, and am wondering whether going there would be such a good idea. What do you reckon?

Also, would le Fornet be a good place to stay?

Many thanks - any help appreciated!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I've been to Val twice and both times the snow has been very poor whereas I've stayed in Meribel Mottaret and Val Thorens and had excellent snow -so that makes me a bit biased. I'd guess the steepest black in Val would be easy in with fresh deep snow whereas when I was there reds were lethal and the home runs sandpapered your skis. I'd say you have to try Val -its a huge area when the link with Tignes is open -don't expect much Frenchness though.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Yes, definitely try Val! It's my favourite resort by miles. If you can cope with reds and blacks, it won't be a problem for you. If you don't fancy skiing down, you can take the lift, but even La Face is really not that bad. It's actually my favourite run in the resort.

Espace Killy is a simply awesome ski area, and one you absolutely have to tick off the list. Plus your kids (and even you parents as well) will LOVE the Folie Douce.
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muddewater, Oh dear, that doesn't sound very nice - what time of year was it?

Piccadilly, Folie Douce? Ski or apres?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
If you haven't done Val d'Isere go - it's great. Good skiing and lovely resort.
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Piccadilly, J9, Thank you for your positive comments! (No reflection on yours, muddewater, it sounds like you have good reason to be biased!)

Now ... how about le Fornet? Good place, or too far to one end?

muddewater mentioned the links to Tignes being shut. Does this tend to happen much of the time, or is it such a big area that it isn't really a problem even if they are?

Thanks again
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
snowmum123, even though I've been there many times I don't really get the hype and the British obsession with the place but despite this, if you've never been you probably should go and make your own mind up. The Folie Douce is an uber trendy apres bar/music venue. The runs home ARE under graded but January is a quiet time so it's less of an issue and if you're staying in Le Fornet you won't be taking them anyway. Your kids will hate you for being in Le Fornet though - it's the most remote area http://www.chaletrentalsdirect.com/viewMap.php?r=42&i=t01.jpg Assuming they like a drink and a dance in the evening after dinner it's really not the best. In order to fit in generally, it will help if your kids were privately educated and you own your own business.

If comparing with the 3V's try to stay away from Courchevel that week - it's Russian New Year.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
If going to Val, stay in Val village!
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Raceplate, thank you for the nice map link. How about le Chatelard? (Though the Fornet chalets look nicer.)

Regarding Russian week (which we had spotted), how much would that affect Meribel or Val Thorens?
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Both resorts are excellent, but in some respects it depends where you are in the resorts. I like the Tignes/Val d'Isere area a little more than the the 3Vs but it is very marginal. Very marginal. The skiing is good in both places but Courchevel is a bit gentler than Tignes, and that's about it really. Val d'Isere tends to be full of lots of drunken hooray henries and if that is your scene you will love it. Le Fornet is at the foot of the Col d'Iseran and a bit at one side of the resort, but the skiing there is very good and the lift queues are non existent (but then there will not be any in France that week) I would not mind staying there, but may find I am getting the bus back in the evening especially if you just make the last lift over from Tignes and have to ski down to La Daille.

Sorry I am not able to recommend one over the other, but I will choose one one year and the other another year.
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Cynic,
Quote:

If going to Val, stay in Val village!

Why, in particular? We're not
Quote:

drunken hooray henries

or
Quote:

privately educated and you own your own business

so perhaps we wouldn't fit in?

johnE, Thanks. I thought it would be a bit 'six of one and half a dozen of the other' but it's very interesting to hear different people's views.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
snowmum123 wrote:
muddewater, Oh dear, that doesn't sound very nice - what time of year was it?

Piccadilly, Folie Douce? Ski or apres?


Xmas twice probably about 1993 & 1996 .

You need a certain amount of snow for the links to open -I think that they are open in mid December most years.
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snowmum123 wrote:
Raceplate, thank you for the nice map link. How about le Chatelard? (Though the Fornet chalets look nicer.)

Regarding Russian week (which we had spotted), how much would that affect Meribel or Val Thorens?


Le Chatelard is much less remote than Le Fornet but still a bit awkward for getting into town at night. If you look at the piste map http://www.igluski.com/images/_i57679.jpg you get more realistic idea of the distances involved.

Meribel as a resort is not particularly affected by Russian week (they tend to get taxis to Courchevel to socialise with their mates there). You'll come across more on the slopes but you'd never call January busy so it's no big deal. Val Thorens no issue at all. Given the choice in your circumstances I'd take Meribel though; VT can be very exposed, cold and windblown in January. Meribel has excellent nightlife for your kids but is also a bit spread out so let me know which area and I'll give you the lowdown.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Raceplate, Do you mean Meribel over VT, or Meribel over Val d'Isere? In Meribel, one short list chalet is near (presumably the bottom of) the Morel chair, and the other two are 5 and 10 minutes from centre respectively. (No more detail given - not really very helpful, sorry! I don't understand why these websites can't be more specific - unless it's that you wouldn't choose those locations if you knew where they were)
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
snowmum123, I mean Meribel over VT. I personally prefer 3V's to Espace Killy but a good location in VdI beats a bad location in Meribel. Being near the Morel has pros and cons but isn't too bad. Have a look on the Meribel village map here to see if you can spot the others' names. http://www.latania.co.uk/resort/MAP/map.htm Being 5-10 mins away could mean the Mussillon area which is actually pretty good socially. Very little of Meribel is ski-in/ski-out but pretty much every TO operates a minibus shuttle service in the morning and afternoon so it's not a big deal for skiing access. It is a complete PITA though if you're way up the hill and want to go out in town at night!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
snowmum123 wrote:
I don't understand why these websites can't be more specific - unless it's that you wouldn't choose those locations if you knew where they were)
If they don't mention it, that usually is the case. You also need to know if the 5-10 mins to the centre is walking or by ski bus.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
snowmum123 wrote:
Hi, and sorry to bother you all, but which would you suggest?

We're a family of four, with 'children' of 22 and 18 who've been skiing since they were little and - obviously - go much faster than we do. We're looking at catered chalets for the week starting 5/6th January. I've found nice-looking and similar-priced ones in both places. Previously we've been to Les Gets, Murren, Verbier, Chamonix, la Tania and Zermatt and enjoyed all of them. Reds aren't usually a problem for any of us but some blacks sometimes are - especially for me - but so far even I have always got down in one piece eventually. None of us has done much off piste anywhere, and what we have done has been 'just off the sides', not the steep stuff.

It's tempting to go back to the Three Valleys, but Val d'Isere seems an obvious omission that perhaps should be put right. But now I've read comments about lots of the pistes being undergraded and scary runs down, and am wondering whether going there would be such a good idea. What do you reckon?

Also, would le Fornet be a good place to stay?

Many thanks - any help appreciated!



Val d'Isere is one of the top-10 ski resorts on planet Earth.

Lots of Brits and Russkis.

But don't let that put you off.

Stay near the center for a better buzz.
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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?
Quote:

if you're way up the hill

Now you mention it, there was something about 'above' and a minibus ... [goes to look for names on maps] ... Well, that's odd. I can't find any of them on the chalet lists on any of those maps. But then again there are lots of little Monopoly houses on them that don't have names. Hmm ... I can see a phone call would be called for rather than just booking any of those online.
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Quote:

Lots of Brits and Russkis

Not all in Courchevel, then! wink
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We went to VT last year and Tignes the year before. I really enjoyed both, but if I had to pick one over the other to go back to it would be Tignes (would be quite happy to go back to the 3v's, but the espace killy just edged it). Both resorts were really good, but we found we were more open to the weather in VT and had a couple of shortened days due to poor visability/weather. To go back to the 3v's we would stay a bit lower down.
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I like them both, and have skied both many times. I'd go wherever you get the better deal. If staying in Val d'Isere I reckon La Daille is the best place for access to the skiing, and only a short walk or bus to the main centre. I'd rather walk to get to the social life, than walk to get to the skiing though. If going back to the 3V, perhaps stay at the other end in the Belleville valley to get a bit of new terrain compared to La Tania.

The runs down into Val d'Isere are OK, especially for someone who is happy on red runs. They just aren't great for beginners. And if you're tired or the snow is bad or whatever it's very easy to come down on the gondola or similar.
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It's got to be Val D,Isere. I'm going out for two weeks in January and it'll be my 5th visit. I've also stayed in Courcheval once. Find the village of Val much more relaxed and less snobby, meaning a lot less designer shops but still enough if that's your thing. For your kids they'll appreciate the nightlife in Val, Courcheval is a bit more sophisticated, but not too much. For the skiing I find Killy a bit more challenging and varied although the 3 valleys is twice the size, but then there's probably too much to ski in a week anyway. Both are pretty villages and great resorts. I've also found the restaurants of Courcheval to be more expensive than Val. Has to be Val all the way, but try and get a Chalet in the main village, I didn't the first year and we had to drive to the slopes each morning, a right PITA.

Paul
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
You say Val d'Isere is an omission from your list of resorts which sounds like you really want to go .... Do it.

It's a great resort and where I learnt to ski a few years ago and have never looked back since, it got me hooked. Yes, the runs to resort are limited for beginners and some of the 'easier' ones do get busy which can be tough for nervous skiers but as it's been said January shouldn't be an issue and it sounds like you are all competent skiers.

Don't worry about the links to Tignes, there is plenty to keep you busy in VdI if you can't get across to Tignes but there are several ways to get across and so it isn't normally a problem.

Where to stay really depends on what you want from a holiday. The bus service in the town runs between the village and La Daille or Le Fornet every few minutes during the day and so isn't a problem. During the evening and late at night, these become less and less frequent which may be a pain. It depends how much you want to go out in the evening. Sometimes, the main drag can get noisy at night as the party people leave the bars at some ungodly hour Twisted Evil Obviously, the town is generally more expensive to stay in than the outskirts.

We've done the 3V a few times now which is fine but always end up going back to VdI every year as well.
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Enda, kieranm, cyberil, sno trax, Thank you to all you morning people for the new batch of helpful comments - everything tending in one direction, I think! It sounds like I was unduly worried by what I'd read about the runs.


Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Fri 30-11-12 12:02; edited 1 time in total
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If you haven't been to the Espace Killy I'd definitely give it a go. It has its downsides - I'd like more trees to ski between, and getting home was sometimes a pain - but the pros outweigh the cons. We were pleasantly surprised by Val itself - less snooty and more friendly than we were expecting, with some great restaurants.

I learned in Meribel and loved what I saw of the 3V - in a total of three weeks there we barely scratched the surface.

We have happy memories of Les Arcs, too - better in bad weather than either of the others, huge variety, and Arc 1950 is a really pleasant village. Might be short of chalets, though.
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I personally prefer the 3 Valleys but Val d'Isere is lovely and definitely worth a holiday if you haven't been!! The Espace Killy is a fantastic ski area, I'm sure you will really enjoy it for a week. The only downside is the long transfer time but once you are there it will be worth it. Wink
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Quote:

The only downside is the long transfer time


That goes for Espace Killy or 3V doesn't it?
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You've done 3V, so do Val. As has been commented, it's one the top destinations in the world. Judging by your list of visited resorts you're not afraid of the big boys, so Val is definitely missing from your CV.

Ignore the inverted snobbery comments about hoorays (I honestly wonder if people who say that have ever been there). Yes there are a couple of bars frequented by the public school crowd, but there are vastly more that aren't.
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You know it makes sense.
I went to Val d'Isere for the first time last year, for a week in early Jan and for a day in early February. One thing I would say is that compared to the Folie Douce in Val Thorens the one in Tignes was in shadow and bitterly cold (when I was there) after 3pm. I also found that most of the runs in Tignes that head back to Val D were in shadow for much of the afternoon and therefore also pretty cold.. Maybe we took a bad route.

We were staying with Club Med with a free bar so we rarely had the motivation to take two separate buses into town and then pay for drinks..Smile I've spent more time in Méribel where you can walk to the bars and the lifts so I personally prefer it.

In both regions I have been "led around" by people who know the area but it seems to me that in Val'D we would always do the same out and back to Tignes whereas in Méribel there seems to be more choice on routes and itineries..? La Face in Val'D was in good condition when I was there and my new board has good edges but I wouldn't want to go down it if it was icy... The blue run back to town was described by one ski instructor as "the gully of death" so we avoided it... Shocked

hth
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Raceplate, I've found out that the Meribel chalets are in squares A3, C3 and D3 on your map, so probably would be OK? (Though A3 perhaps not quite so good as the other two?) At that time of year, would you expect to be able to ski back to those on a normal day, or only if it had just snowed? (Or not expect to at all?) However, Val d'Isere's looking increasingly attractive, from what the majority of people have said. Decisions, decisions ... Exciting, though! Smile
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kat.ryb, Dr John, beanum, Thank you for your input, which all appeared while I was typing. Quoted transfer times are the same to both, so we can ignore that one, at least. (And it'll be nice to let someone else fret about the traffic this time, rather than driving ourselves, which we usually do.)
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snowmum123,
I've learned skiing in La Tania. And love the ski-in ski-out, free of any car, quieter resort type. Have stayed there 2 consecutive years during the Russian Xmas/New year, and honestly, did not even notice the crowd.
Like 3 V for the space it offers and being able to travelled from one end to the other of the 3V is something that Val d'Isere doesn't have (even combined with Tignes). Thanks to the excellent lift links between all the resorts.
Stayed in Tignes last year and will go back this year. (actually back to 3V in Jan and Espace Killy in Feb/Mar) Loved it. Only downside in Val d'Isere is the poor lift link compare to Tignes and 3V. My personal view is that you might have no choice but to take a steep red or black in order to move across the resort, unless you are happy to trot around, up and down the same piste on the same lifts. rolling eyes Or if you want to go off piste Madeye-Smiley
I'm not a huge fan of Follie Douce. But if you like it then you can choose between the original, a bit tired looking one in Val d'Isere or the newer one in Val Thorens. And why not the latest additon of la Folie Douce Meribel which will open this December!
http://www.lafoliedouce.com/meribel/en
In terms of food, I have found more reasonably priced, good quality on the slope restaurants in 3V than Val d'Isere or Tignes.
The www.latania.co.uk website mentioned by Raceplate is by far my favourite web info source for 3V.
So it sounds like my heart is with the 3V Blush , but I would not discourage anyone who wants to try Espace Killy. Little Angel
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
kat.ryb, Transfers to Meribel and Courchevel are around 2-2.5 hours, to Val d'Isere is 3-3.5. VT is around 3 hrs as well. I guess I just had some really long coach journeys that I remembered... Smile
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snowmum123 you should have a great holiday in either destination. I am normally fine with skiing black runs, but avoid skiing back down in Val D'Isere because at the end of the day it's just not, in my view, remotely enjoyable. Just take lift down (some people feel this is an affront to their manhood, but they're men, and you're not...).

There are some fantastic ski schools in Val D'Isere. Sounds like a few private lessons might be worth it? Maybe ask an instructor to take you down Le Face early in the day, if he thinks it's sensible.
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Snowpie wrote:

travelled from one end to the other of the 3V is something that Val d'Isere doesn't have (even combined with Tignes)


Correct. Skiing one side of EK to the other takes in 5 valleys (6 if you include Le Brev), not 3.
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Dr John, Laughing On the other hand, it is indisputably the case that "travelling from one end to the other of the 3V" is something you can't do anywhere else!
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snowmum123, A3 - If they told you it's near the Morel chair then it's near 79/78 on the map and it's pretty good. Probably one of the chalets behind Chez Kiki's (legendary restaurant & grungy laid back bar underneath). You can walk 100m uphill to the Morel chair or the ski bus stops outside Chez Kiki's. About 400m downhill into town. Le Petit Onion nice restaurant, good band Monday nights about 300m uphill. If it's the lower part of A3, the Fontaines area, it's a similar walk to town but you definitely want a company minibus pick-up in the mornings. You can ski back to both these areas off piste fairly easily by dropping off the side of the Hulotte piste but only back to the base of the Morel chair on piste.
C3 - If it's near the road 95/96 it's great for skiing about 50-100m walk straight to the piste. It's also below the Ronnie so an easy ski home after apres. Harder to walk into town, about 100m from the free bus stop below the Le Petit Onion though. If it's the lower part around the Route du Centre you need a bus again in the mornings or walk 200-300m downhill to the Tourist information office where an escalator takes you straight to the slope.
D3 - similar story really to C3, should be able to walk directly to the piste and only 200-300m downhill into town.
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beanum wrote:
IThe blue run back to town was described by one ski instructor as "the gully of death" so we avoided it... Shocked


That would be Santons... description is pretty apt. It would actually be great fun if it wasn't so heavily trafficked. When we were there, Face was shut for the FIS World Championships so it was doubly bad at the end of the day. Far more pleasant to save your legs for the good stuff and get the gondola down. I wish we'd done it more often.
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Raceplate, need to keep in mind the Morel is a terrible way to start the day. Morning queues are often shocking, and it only takes you far enough up to enable you to ski down to chaudanne, where you have to get back up from again. I don't dislike Meribel as much as others here, but it's layout is one of it's bad points.
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Just been out for a bit, and come back to all these new helpful thoughts. Smile I'll show them to the others, but it's going to be difficult deciding - might come down to Ip Dip Doo, the way things are going! How does this blue gully of death compare with the Kanonenrohr (black!) in Murren, say? (Though the kids don't seem overly bothered about nightlife and the only concern expressed so far has been about avoiding long walks or bus rides to get to the skiing. So if not Meribel we might well end up in le Fornet after all, in which case that run wouldn't be an issue.) Definitely useful to be told that about the Morel chair, Dr John - thanks!
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