Skiing in the 3 Vallées

We’ve been to 3 Vallées before a number of times and first thing to say is that this HUGE ski area is rightly considered among the best in the world offering a massive range and and variety of terrain as well as - this being France - some fantastic dining and drinking options (see eating in the 3 Vallées). The most directly comparable ski areas in France are probably the Espace Killy area covering Val D’Isere and Tignes, and Paradiski for covering Les Arcs/La Plagne area. We find that the connections across the different vallées in 3 Vallées are slightly better then those in Espace Killy, meaning that the routes to and from flow quite naturally over a long day’s skiing and it doesn’t feel too fiddly getting from one to the other.

Méribel, one of our favourites.

There are three main resorts to consider in the 3 Vallées: Méribel, Courchevel and Val Thorens (Les Ménuires and La Tania are other less well known options).

Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe, with the resort being around 2,400m. This is quite exceptionally high and you do feel some of the effects of altitude here (the air is very dry for example). The upside of this is that Val Thorens is very snow sure - usually getting snow early in the season and staying right through to early May when the season ends - one of the latest season finishes. The other main upside is that the powder skiing options here tend to be excellent when the conditions deliver, plenty of great powder bowls and areas off to the side of the main runs. Orelle (the highest part of the 3 Vallées at 3,300m) which is accessible directly from Val Thorens offers stunning views on a good day.

One main downside of Val Thorens vs other resorts is that you do not get the mega-long sweeping groomers that you do in say Méribel, the resort being so high that restricts the vertical metre-age you can get on any runs into the resort. Even nearby Les Ménuires is still pretty high at 1,800. By comparison Méribel Village is at 1,450 and with peaks of roughly the same height (c3,000) Méribel offers multiple options for long sweeping runs that descend over 1,000 vertical metres. Being higher up the ski lifts in Val Thorens are generally more technical and don’t deliver quite as much elevation per lift as other resorts, so you spend slightly more time on lifts. Unfortunately the Cime-Caron cable car, which lifts to some of the best skiing on the Val Thorens slide was also closed with technical problems for a substantial block of the 2018/19 season.

Val Thorens is positioned on one side of the 3 Vallées piste map - connecting directly to Méribel via the 3 Vallées lifts. The connection is good but prone to closing if the weather closes in, which can happen fairly often at this altitude so the wider 3 Vallées options are not always available. Courchevel is quite a long way from Val Thorens and is more of a day’s project to head there and back, if the conditions allow. For making the most of the access to the full 3 valleys piste map we find that Méribel - being positioned in the middle - offers the best.