Les 3 Vallées sont ouvertes!

Iain Martin reports from the opening weekend of the season in Les 3 Vallées, France

I’ll admit I was nervous. With no snow since mid-November and warmer-than-average temperatures, the webcams weren’t painting a pretty picture.  

Driving up to Courchevel from Moutiers, the pistes leading into Le Praz were devoid of snow, save some desolate-looking mounds of the man-made stuff. 

More encouragingly, as we drove higher and passed Moriond 1650 a thin covering of snow appeared. And by the time we reached 1850, I had to walk carefully to avoid slipping on the ice. Yes! This is what you want in a ski resort: the risk of a twisted ankle.  

The lifts weren’t due to open until Friday, so for my first day, so decided to earn my turns. I dropped by the White Storm shop, where owner Simon Hooper opened specially to give me a pair of Elan Ripstick touring skis.  

The plan was to climb from the snowfront in 1850 to Saulire – a testing vertical kilometre of ascent. I’d completed this route once before, then as the third stage of the Dynastar X3 Triathlon – a gruelling event that starts with a bike leg climbing from near Bozel in the valley to 1850, followed by a trail run along forest paths, before the final ski tour to Courchevel’s highest point.  

Surely, I thought, without the bike and run beforehand, this couldn’t be too difficult. Wrong! When you live at sea level as I do, any exercise at altitude is tough. But I slogged my way to the top, being passed regularly by other tourers, who I decided must have had lighter kit than me. 

It took a couple of hours to make it to the top of Saulire and with high winds blasting me with icy air I didn’t hang around long. Skins off and packed, the snow on the way down was surprisingly good. Groomed and hard packed, it was cold and grippy. I’d be happy to ski it again…if the lifts were open. 

The following morning there was no walking up hill. Courchevel’s ‘pre-ouverture’ was limited, with only a few lifts and pistes open, but skiers were greeted with a welcome of croissants and coffee from resort staff to start the day. A warming drink was perfect preparation, as the weather was shocking, with a thick cloud sitting on the mountain and high winds pummelling gritty snow into my face. 

The visibility was poor, but there was excellent snow on Creux and Saulire down to around 2000m. I lapped on the Marmottes chairlift and Vizelle gondola until it was time to tackle the final sludgy ski down to resort. 

Later that evening I went over to Méribel-Mottaret, checking in at the beautiful Hotel Le Mottaret. Saturday was Méribel’s turn to open, and I’d been invited to join the inaugural ‘First Tracks’ event of the winter.  
 
During the season this is a regular event that skiers can book on to, offering the opportunity to be the first to ski freshly groomed pistes before lifts officially open.  

At 0815, I joined an excited looking group of skiers and boarders at the bottom of the Platieres gondola in Mottaret. Most were competition winners, who had entered a lottery on the Méribel Facebook page and been rewarded with free lift passes and a chance to start the season before anyone else.  

Led by a team from the S3V lift company, perfectly groomed corduroy pistes were delivered as promised, followed by a breakfast buffet at a mountain restaurant. 

I’m not often known to turn down a croissant, but this was an opportunity to rack up more ‘firsts’, so to misquote Marie Antoinette, I left them to eat cake and waited for the Plan des Mains chairlift to open. The minutes passed slowly as I watched the clock edge towards 09:20, before a friendly pisteur ceremonially drew back the safety rope and officially opened the lift for the 2024/25 season.  

The Les 3 Vallées links were open to Val Thorens, so, ignoring warnings that high winds could close the lifts (and ensure a very expensive taxi ride home), I took the Cote Brune chair and dropped into the Belleville valley.  

Val Thorens had opened two weeks earlier and unlike Courchevel and Méribel, which felt like they were waking up from a long sleep, the resort was busier and the slopes noticeably more congested.  

On the plus side, as you might expect from Europe’s highest ski resort, the snow was excellent. Close to the village it had the granular feel of man-made snow, but above resort the pistes were all in good condition, with hard packed groomed slopes. 

The forecast was for a much-needed snowstorm that afternoon, and I figured that I’d started before everyone else, so there was no guilt in cutting short my day. The timing was perfect as fat snowflakes started to fall as I made my way back to the hotel.  

It may only have been the first day of the season, but Jacks Bar in Méribel was packed with fans both cursing and laughing as they watched Man United losing again on the big screen. I retreated to the quieter Copina to meet a friend and admire the cocktail mixing skills of the bar staff (did they really just use a blow torch to burn lavender?) 

It was still snowing heavily when I went to bed. I felt like a kid at Christmas in the morning, such was the anticipation when I flung the curtains open. How much had Santa delivered? About 20cm at resort level, it turned out.  

What a difference a day makes. Méribel had been transformed from a resort with woeful green fields back into a ‘ski to the door’ destination. 

Temperatures are due to remain sub-zero for the next week, and so even as more flakes tumbled to the floor, the snow cannons were firing. Even if there are no more snowstorms, Les 3 Vallées is taking no risks to ensure a Merry Christmas for all. 

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FACT BOX 

Iain is the host of The Ski Podcast. He stayed at the Hotel Olympic in Courchevel 1850 and the Le Mottaret Hotel in Méribel-Mottaret. ‘First Tracks’ in Méribel is available to book every Wednesday (€40pp). Iain travelled by train to Les 3 Vallées at a cost of £236 return.