2012/13 ski season has started

Yesterday was the official opening day of the 2012/13 for Val Thorens. As usual this is the first of the Three Valleys resorts to open. Anne, Aiden and I made the trip over to see how it is shaping up.

We had a relaxed start to the day with the intention of arriving at Val Thorens around mid morning. I had taken our ski equipment out the night before to make sure there were no surprises on the day. It is not normal for me to be this organised, prefering to rely on my lovely wife to make sure we get anywhere on time. What I hadn't done was put the inners into our ski boots, when Anne went to put her liner in she discovered a mouse had been nesting in one of them. So much for no surprises, all part of living in a semi rural village in the French Alps I guess. Thankfully there was no damage and we were able to sort it quickly.

The drive around to Val Thorens takes about an hour. It is part of the same linked area but the drive between the resorts involves dropping down to Moutiers in the valley floor before climbing back up the Belleville valley, past St Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires and finally Val Thorens at 2300m and 40 kms  of climbing later. After getting ourselves kitted up and passes organised we were on the snow just after 11am, an ideal time with a 3 year old in tow.

Test skis were available from the slopes near the resort.

The skiing itself was limited, but only as we would expect for late November. The sky was overcast but the temperatures were mild and visibility was fine. The snow was in good condition however the pistes were busy with the limited runs open. We managed to get Aidens skis on without any fighting and hanging on to my pole he was able to ski straight down to the learners area with magic carpet lifts. This was all much easier than we had anticipated and he had a good day with Anne and I taking it in turn to ski a few runs then ski with him. By the end of the day the parents looked more worn out than the child!

We left the resort around 4.30pm and made our way back to chez nous, then finished the day off with dinner in Bozel. It was an excellent day in the end and nice to get it in before our season truly begins. The staff begin to arrive next week and it may be a while before we get the chance to do similar.

Picture taken from the top of the Portette lift looking up at the Thorens lift and closed piste.

2012 - 2013 ski season about to start

The new ski season is nearly upon us, and the usual mad rush as each Winter approaches has started. I had to make a trip up into Meribel this morning and the place was very busy. France being France of course, it suddenly stopped at midday, and I expect that was it for the next 2 hours.

The following picture is of the new 5 star hotel being constructed near the Chaudanne in Meribel.

 The outside looks as though it is nearly complete, it is due to be finished by next month, in time for the season start. It will be nice to see it finally opening as the work has been disruptive for Meribel over the last 2 Summers.

The photo below is of the base station of the new Saulire Express gondola lift that will run from the Chaudanne area of Meribel and replaces the old Burgin Saulire gondola.

This new lift will link with the chair that was installed last year and replaced the top section of the old gondola. The new lifts nearly halve the amount of time that will be spent on lifts getting from Meribel to the top of Saulire, it does mean getting off one lift and onto another half way up however.

The next picture of the front door of the Barometer bar is further proof that the season is very nearly here.

Opening night is tonight and with La Taverne across the road and Evolution just down the road both open, a 3 bar pub crawl for anyone in Meribel this evening. You could also get a taxi down to the Tsaretta bar in Meribel Les Allues. 4 bars in one night, I am not sure that is even possible.

Night skiing on Courchevel in 2013

I feel that in general the customer service in France is outstanding, that nearly everywhere you go restaurants, shops, tourist attractions and associated services the staff are extremely friendly, they trip over themselves to offer a great service, especially if they establish that you speak English as a first language.

Just kidding, I had you going there for a minute. But seriously, I do believe there is a slow shift towards a more North American attitude to service. I guess this is a good thing but I also hope they don't carry it too far, it just wouldn't be French if they end up being polite.

Still, it is good to see the ski areas like the Three Valleys making a bit of an effort to offer a little more. They cannot be faulted for the way they develop the areas lift system, snow making and piste preparation but we are now starting to see other events taking place. An example of this is night skiing in Courchevel. In 2013 the family park will be open for night skiing on a Wednesday night from the 26 December 2012 until the 6 March 2013, 12 weeks in total. On these nights the family park will be open  from 6 to 8pm and the Verdons piste will be lit for the return to the main Courchevel centre. Courchevel posted a you tube video about this last year

So if you are interested in skiing after the sun goes down then Courchevel may be just the place. It is possibly an idea they have taken from American ski areas but please don't expect the lift operator to come across all 'have a nice day now', it just isn't very likely that it will happen!