Tess and I lived in Meribel for 2 years and as this was her first place to really enjoy snowboarding, she did about 20 days in Japan in 2002 in Hakuba, Gala, Naeba, we made sure we spent as much time as possible on the mountain. I say mountain, as living in Niseko and comparing to the size of Meribel and the 3 valleys makes our current home look like a ‘mole hill’.
The best way to describe Meribel is the jewel in the 3 valleys. The Meribel Valley is in the middle of the three roughly parallel, North/South valleys, making it the ideal base for exploring the whole ski area. Around the Altiport you’ll find gentle, tree-lined runs ideal for beginners. Higher up on the Saulire are steeper blues and reds which allow mixed-ability groups to ski in the same area. Over on the western (Tougnete) side of the valley is another good mixture of blues, reds and blacks, and also the two snowparks (open to boarders and skiers). The head of the valley is dominated by the Mont du Vallon, and in the Vallon / Mont de la Chambre / 3 Marches area you’ll find long, steep reds served by high speed chairs and gondola lifts, and the most dramatic scenery. Of the major resorts of Courchevel 1850, Meribel, Mottaret, Les Menuires & Val Thorens, it is at the lowest altitude of 1450m but by far the prettiest with the local mayor passing local by-laws that only allow buildings to be built that adhere to the local Savoyard design style….stone base with wooden structure. As it is a valley, everyone has a view of the snow, gets sun in the morning or the afternoon and generally that is what you get. SUN
The Three Valleys is the home of eight ski resorts that are linked together by a unique network of ski lifts and ski runs. As implied by its name, the area originally consisted of three valleys: Saint-Bon (Courchevel & La Tania), Allues (Meribel & Brides-les- Bains), and Belleville (Val Thoren, Les Menuires & St Martin de Belleville). The skiing area has since been extended into a ‘fourth’ valley, the Maurienne valley that is adjacent to Val Thorens. The Maurienne valley can also be accessed using a long gondola lift from Orelle. The Three Valleys is the largest ski area in the world with 600km ski slopes which equates to 2,500 hectares of groomed runs. The snow cannon count a few years ago remained at 1500 but that would have surely continued! The area boasts 200 ski lifts that can transport 260,000 skiers hourly.
Onto the Snow.
I am pretty sure that I could count on 3 hands, if I had 3, the amount of times it snowed like it does in Niseko each year but it usually snowed heavily when it did. The snow was always light and dry, very different to Japanese snow because it was so much colder and unfortunately, being a valley, everyone skied/boarded to the same place at the end of the day, during the day, going to lunch…you get the picture..so it became very icy.
But as I said above, it is a huge area and with the gondola’s taking up to 20 minutes to get from bottom to top, there are endless areas to ride all day. In the morning, the Tougnete side is the pick as it gets the sun and taking the Gondola to the top allows people to either come back into the Meribel valley towards Mottaret, off piste towards the Roc de Tougne or towards Meribel off piste by heading towards the Roc de Fer and then dropping into the open powder fields. For on piste, you can take the Equeruil (black) or the Combe du Tougnete (red) for adventure or Foan/Chevreuil (blue) or the Cretes/Chucas/Escargot (blue) for beginners and intermediates. What is difficult to describe is just how much of the area is not groomed/pisted each day. For the 600km of pisted slopes, there are 10 times that that are not and that is part of the beauty. You can get anywhere from anywhere, whatever you level of skiing or boarding.
You can also drop over the other side into St. Martin or into Les Menuires. The whole St. Martin area is amazing, a bit like Niseko if it didn’t have trees, not very steep but just lots of cruisy runs, some short steep stuff but as there is only one lift, a gondola into a high speed quad, you can ride there all day and just get fresh tracks for hours. Staying on piste, take either Pramint or Jerusalum (both red) into Biolley (blue) to the bottom as this is a cruiser worth doing. Very fast if you want or just meandering if that is your style.
Going down into Les Menuires, you can take the Gros Tougne (blue) into La Voilette (green) but this is a traverse to avoid if you are a boarder. The better option is to take the Granges quad chair to the top of Plattiers (Roc de 3 Marches) and then heading down Allemande (red) into petit creaux (red) and then onto the Stade (red) and down to the bottom, through the village which is not pretty at all and down to Masse 1 Gondola.
La Masse is awesome and somewhere that not many people go as it is on the other side of the valley. There are only a couple of fixed chair lifts and 2 gondolas that take you 1200m up and into endless fields of powder. This is an area not for beginners but definitely for adventure seekers. Long, steep and pisted if you want or just unbelievable open areas to explore. Once you have done this area, or the bits that you can, head back to Les Menuires and take the Tortollet lift (really strange old one), ski down to the Menuires high speed quad and then take the Mont de la Chambre high speed quad to the top. From here you can go down to Mt Vallon (2950m), back to Les Menuires on the Leo Lacroix (black), David Doulliet (red), or Mont de le Chambre (blue) or over to Val Thorens, the highest village in Europe at 2350m and with a highest lift at 3230m.
Head towards Marielle (black) and Plein Sud (blue) and down towards the village, again not the prettiest with its concrete block apartments art deco styling everywhere. Head down to the Funitel Peclet and up to the glacier for some amazing views and some freezing temps. the skiing/boarding back down is nice as well as there are so many areas to branch off from to get off the beaten track. Once in the village, go down to the Caron then up to Cime Caron to the 2nd highest point in the area at 3200m. This is not for beginners or intermediates as the only way down, except back in the telecabin is the Combe de Caron (black) or Col de L’audzin (red but with the moguls by the afternoon it should be black) or the black that heads into Orelle.
Orelle is small and only has a couple of lifts but is a huge area that has lots of hiking within the confines of the huge bowl and it has the highest peak in the area. You could spend a whole day here dropping into bowl after bowl that all funnel back to the same central spot but it is still a 1000m each time.
Leaving here, head back towards Val Thorens up the Roseal lift and then take the Chamois down the other side (red) to either the Funitel Grand Fond or the High Speed Quad Portette and go back towards the ridge again that separates Orelle and Val Thorens. You don’t have to do these as most of the terrain is the same, steep at the top and then flattering into more 20-25 degree slopes, but one area that isn’t skied much is the Glacier de Thorens. A bit past the Portette, is the Moraine High Speed quad which takes you up to the fixed grip chair Col and up to the glacier. There are about 6 glaciers within the resort boundaries as it is so high and many people don’t want to go that high which is always where fantastic snow is.
Follow the valley down to the village again, passing the major park which is pretty good. 5-6 booters side by side followed by the same again and again, lots of rails, hips, spines, a boardercross track, a couple of DJ’s from lunch onwards means that it is pretty popular with the locals and day trippers.
When heading back to Meribel, head below the village and take the Cairn Gondola up to the Bouquetin Funitel. NEVER take the 3 vallees 1 or 2 as they are slow, exposed and a waste of time. The only time you ever take the 3 vallees 2 is if you are hiking off the top of the Col de la Chambre.
From Plattiers 3 looking towards Val Thorens. You can see on the left the bottom half of the Lac de la Chambre from the transfer point from Val Thorens to Meribel and on the right are the pistes back to Les Menuires.
From the top of the Bouquetin, you can either head 2 ways down towards the Meribel valley. One towards Mt. Vallon and the other to the Cote Brune chair and then onto the Plan des Mains. If going towards Mt Vallon, take the Lac de la Chambre (red) which is steep and fast at the top for about 3 km before flattening out at the bottom. As a boarder there comes a point near the bottom of the steep area where you just have to point it and run or you may have to do a bit of skating unless you have a good wax job. This almost always happens to people who are good but not quite aware of the contours of the pistes. Once at the bottom of the Mt Vallon Gondola you can go up to the top or up to the Plattiers 2 point via the Plan des Mains. Mt Vallon is awesome for advanced skiers and boarders and pretty good for intermediates but somewhat daunting.
Once at the top of Mt Vallon 2952m, there are 4 ways down. On piste left on the Campagnol (red) which has a skinny cat track at the top into a huge downhill course that comes out at the bottom of the flat part of the Lac de la Chambre; on piste right down the Combe Vallon (red); straight down under the Gondola off piste which is huge and amazing but there are plenty of rocks so it is only advisable doing this when there is more than 175cm of a huge dump; and then traversing the ridge back towards Mt Vallon and then dropping into the glacier on the right. This is possibly one of the best runs and one not for the faint hearted but if you are up for it there will be endless smiles and high 5′s at the end.
This is from our balcony looking towards Mottaret, Mt Vallon on the left and Tougnette on the right where you go into the Val Thorens and Les Menuires side of the 3 Valleys.
Back at the bottom, take the Plan des mains to Plattiers 2 and then take the Gondola up to the top. This is the same point that the Granges Chair takes you to and allows for some extremely difficult lines, a couple of bowls or some cliff drops and chutes. Pick of the on piste is Mouflon (red) back towards the Plattiers 1.
If you want to hit the park then it is just below Plattiers 2 and you can then enjoy the leisurely Marte (blue) all the way back to Mottaret.
One area that often gets forgotten is the Roc de Tougne, a double button lift that is hard on the front leg if you are a boarder but rewards you with lots of powder opportunities as many people cant be bothered riding the button lifts. There are lots of secret spots around this area but they will stay secret.
From Mottaret, take the Pas du Lac Gondola to the top of Saulire 2783m and this is one of the access points to Courchevel or back to Meribel.
This is looking at the Tougnette side of the Meribel valley from Saulire, the peak that separates Meribel and Courchevel. The very left side of the photo is almost showing the top of the Tougnette Gondola, now a 6 man High Speed hooded chair.
From the top of Saulire take the Combe Saulire (red) which is a steep but wide and open bowl that crosses under the Saulire Telecabin, famously used in one of the James Bond movies. I don’t like to do the same things twice but you have to take the Telecabin back to the top to really see the most of the resort.
From the top of Saulire, follow the piste toward Meribel, keeping to the left, the right goes to Meribel and Mottaret, following the motorway like Creux (red), past the Chanrossa high-speed quad to the right and the Marmottes high-speed quad to the left until you reach the bottom of this small valley. There are 3 lifts that take you out, the fastest being the Aiguille du Fruit triple chair.
At the top, follow the Lac Creux towards the Chanrossa and take it to the top. From here, there are very few people, wide, open and long rolling pistes that will continue for 5 or 6 kilometres on the Pyramide (blue) before continuing on as the Belair (red) to the bottom of the Chapelets high-speed Quad chair. At the beginning of the Belair piste is the very impressive Bel Air restaurant.
Take the Chapelets chair to the top where there are 2 options, the first is to take either the Chapelets or Rochers (both red) to the bottom and back to the top again. This is a beautiful area often missed as it is at the very edge of the resort but has spectacular scenery and great intermediate terrain. The second is to follow the Rochers (red) towards the Bel Air restaurant before joining the Ariondaz (blue) and following the Gondola all the way to the bottom of Courcheval 1650. It is a great place to enjoy the sun, have a quick Panini to eat and then hop back on the Gondola and head over towards Courcheval 1850. From the top of the Gondola, exit right and follow the un-named green piste that winds its way across the open skiing area towards Gravelles (blue) and follow this down to the Aiguille du Fruit again.
Again, exit left and follow the Lac Creux which joins Biollay (blue), a huge autobahn like piste that continues for several kilometres into the main Courchevel resort of 1850 where the rich and famous like to be seen. There are several Michelin Star restaurants here and the shopping and nightlife are second to none in terms of European resorts. As you are coming into 1850, follow the signs towards 1550, heading under the pedestrian bridge and following Proveres (blue) to the bottom.
There isn’t a lot in 1550 so take the Grangette Gondola back to the top and then join the queue at the Chenus Gondola which will take you to the top of the Col de le Loze, one of the access points between Meribel and Courchevel. After all the skiing, this is a great rest point as this will take about 30 mins from the bottom of 1550 to the top using both Gondolas.
There are many options from here available. The slow double chair Coqs towards Meribel, heading back to 1850 via Lac Bleu (blue) or Chenus (red) but my suggestion is at the top, exit right, enjoy the spectacular views of Mt Blanc, and follow Cretes (green) for 500 metres until it joins Duo du Midi (red) which follows the Planterey chairlift and bypasses one of the many ski and snowboard parks in the 3 Valleys. At the bottom continue on the Brigues (red) to Amoureux (red) and down into the village of La Praz or Courchevel 1300.
There are 2 Gondolas out of La Praz, Foret heading back towards the Col de la Loze or Praz, heading back into 1850. Take the Foret Gondola to the top before heading to the village or La Tania, a purpose built village used to host the Media during the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. Follow Arolles (blue) to the right where it joins up Folyeres (blue) and Blanche (red) which take you down to La Tania.
La Tania is a great place to ski if the weather is poor due to the pistes all being lined with trees. It really makes a difference to have the contrast of the white and green/black which are not present above the tree line. This is not a secret in the area but despite there usually being more skiers than usual when the weather is not the best, it is better than experiencing vertigo.
I will give special mention to a small Michelin star restaurant, Le Farcon, which has some of the best food I have ever eaten. If you are in La Tania, this is the place to be wowed yet still at a very reasonable price.
From La Tania, take the Gondola to the top and then the Duo des Lanches high-speed Quad chair back into the Meribel Valley. There are two options again here, and it may depend on the time of day as to which option is best. In the late afternoon, when the sun has been on Pic Noir (blue) for the whole afternoon, the snow and piste are often very thin so it would be best to take the Boulevard de la Loze. Once you reach the Geai (blue) junction, follow it down the piste toward the top of the Altiport then follow the Blanchet (green) and the Lapin (blue) into the beautiful little area of Meribel Village. If it earlier in the day, follow the Pic Noir under the Loze chair until it meets the Blanchet piste and continue towards Meribel Village.
Unfortunately, the Golf quad chair is the slowest lift in the valley (possibly) but the piste on the way down winds through he trees and small cafes and restaurants make it worth the trip. Once at the top of the Golf, join the Altiport high-speed 8 man chair and then head towards the Altiport when you get off. If you follow the crowds along the Belette (blue) you will eventually come to the Rond Point (round-about in French) where Vin Chaud (hot mulled wine) and live music await. If you continue on another couple of hundred metres you will find the Adret high-speed 6 man chair.
The Adret is a great chair as it takes you to most of the skiable area in Meribel without having to come back to La Chaudanne and meetings with ski schools and the huge queues at the Gondola stations. Take the Adret chair to the top and then ski down to the mid station of the Saulire Gondola. Take this to the top of Saulire again and then enjoy one of the best skiing moments possible with a top to bottom, 1400m descent over about 4km. Follow the signs back into Meribel ensuring you don’t head back into Mottaret and veer left onto the Mauduit (red) piste, continuing over the Chardonnerret (blue) until just after the mid station where the piste splits and either continues on as Mauduit to La Chaudanne or joins the Cerf (red) towards the Rond Point again.
If this is a little intimidating, then rather than veering left onto the Mauduit, follow the Biche (blue) on the right side of the piste until it joins the Cerf and the Marmotte and chose which would be more appropriate for you level. Once at the Rond Point, the Doran takes you back to La Chaudanne where the free shuttle buses carry people all over the resort.
Some recommendations if visiting are to enjoy the Savoyard Cuisine throughout the 3 valleys. There are some amazing restaurants to enjoy but as with everything in ski resorts, it can become expensive.
If you are looking for accommodation, look no further than a fully catered holiday with Ski Cuisine. Ann and Ed are truly amazing people who live and breath food, wine and service and Ed also manages one of the best ski schools in the Alps, Parallel Lines.
Bars, of which there are plenty, are dotted all over the resort but my favourites are Fifty50 on the road between La Chaudanne and the centre of Meribel, the Rond Point for an afternoon drink on the huge terrace and Le Poste right in the centre of Meribel and right next door to La Poste (Post Office).
Despite not getting the volume of snow that we get here in Niseko, Meribel is absolutely amazing and definitely worth the visit.
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