Welcome to the largest ski area in the world
Winter is (finally, some will say) officially with us. "Gloria", in addition to damage and destruction throughout the Western Mediterranean, has caused significant snowfall in Spain, France and Italy, giving us several weeks of delay a thick blanket of snow that could well have arrived at Christmas.
The mountain is capricious, and that's why the skier (or the snowboarder) He loves her, he looks for her, and he knows how to wait. The distressing precision of weather forecasts has not yet robbed lovers of snow mystery, uncertainty, and adrenaline that cause knowing that soon, the slopes of their beloved mountains will be ready to receive them.
And there are already many who, warming up their muscles after the images of the snowfalls, are already planning your next trip ski.
The landscape surrounding Albertville
In the french alps , very close to the famous city of Albertville (where the 1992 Winter Olympics were held), is what many consider the mecca of European skiing: Les Trois Vallées.
The history and fame they accumulate the great Austrian, Swiss and Italian stations, that could well revalidate the title, dwarfs when subjected to a weight comparison: There is no bigger station (more than 600 skiable km), nor higher (2300 m), across the continent.
Snow sports lovers know the importance of this factor: the quality they find on the tracks , whose altitude will always exceed 2000 m, will be the best.
The cold, consequently, is noticeable, but Les Trois Vallees It has a modern fleet of cable cars, shuttles, and chairlifts equipped with a hood that will keep us protected against the highest levels.
Val Thorens
Of all of them, the cable car that leads to the top of the Thorens Glacier (3130m) , from which it is owned an unrivaled view both of the Gallic Alps , as of Vanoise National Park , up to the peaks that indicate the border with Italy . And at our feet, the valleys of Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens , which make up the domain of Les Trois Vallées.
Val Thorens, occupies the southernmost sector of the great ski area of Les Trois Vallées, and offers everything that a skier would like to try during a day of skiing.
We can launch ourselves from the heights of the aforementioned Thorens glacier, look for the long shovels that fall towards the valley from the Col de Rosaël (3000m) , or reach the ceiling of the Alps taking the chairlift that leads us to the **sommet des 3 Vallées. **
There are no words to describe the white immensity that extends before the boots of one who reaches this point. And the best thing is that you wait ahead an endless descent, with red sections that give way to soft blue waiting to be crossed by our songs.
Thus, we will cross the glacier of the Pointe Renord , letting us fall until the village-resort of Les Menuires (1850 m) , where one will be able to wrap up warm and digest the ski belly that involves descending from three thousand meters of height.
The views from the cable car are spectacular
In Les Menuires the abound pizzerias and the typical restaurants that offer fondue, raclette and grilled meats : we are in France , and here eating is not a trivial matter.
It is always acceptable to warn the unsuspecting that the prices are those corresponding to a first class ski resort , and therefore will not be cheap.
The quality, however, is more than guaranteed: a meal in Chez Pepe Nicolas or in Le Diamant Noir after touring the endless slopes of Val Thorens It is something that any lover of snow and cooking (and we know that many of you are) should treat themselves.
Pumpkin soup from Chez Pépé Nicolas
Les Trois Vallées cannot be covered in a single day , unless we are Bode Miller or the reincarnation of Paquito Fernández Ochoa. Either the atmosphere of the station, very familiar , will induce us to force the machine in search of speed.
Will be on the highest peaks of Méribel , the valley next to Val Thorens, where we can give free rein to our desire for adrenaline; and the ideal place will be the red slopes that fall from the Mont du Vallon (2952m).
After dropping us from this towering viewpoint, it will open before us a coniferous forest where, if we stop, we can listen to the alpine sparrows sing and accentors that will visit us later at snack time.
is the Plan de Tueda Nature Reserve , which, thanks to a signposted itinerary, allows us to ski between trees without having to fear crashes or buried logs.
Meribel
The forests always fascinate us, perhaps because in the Iberian stations , with few exceptions, they do not abound In Les Trois Vallées, the most suggestive, always covered in white, are found in the Courchevel valley, the northernmost sector of the resort. **
It is also the most pleasing area to look at, further away from the mammoth constructions of Val Thorens and Méribel, which although mimicked with the traditional landscape of chalets, they cannot help but stand out in the solitude of the alpine landscape.
in Couchevel , instead, hotels are camouflaged as cabins, and hide among the fir trees, wishing not to attract attention.
It is here where many families decide to stay, since they are surrounded by blue and green slopes, perfect for beginners, and always among the same forests that guard the buildings.
The hidden gem of Les Trois Vallées is located in La Tania, a small complex of chalets and apartments hidden in the woods between Méribel and Courchevel.
Here we reach the lowest point of the valley (1400 m) , and therefore more bearable temperatures, than invite you to the après-ski ride.
A walk through Courchevel? Of course!
It is really nice tour the centers of Courchevel-Village and Courchevel-Le Praz stopping before the luxurious shop windows and the state-of-the-art material stores while the stoves and torches adorn the terraces , and in the bars they offer us tastings of Alpine cheeses and Alsatian beers.
Everything is well received in the exhausted body of the skier who knows that there are still dozens of slopes ahead to discover in Méribel and Val Thorens, and among the fir forests of the heights of Courchevel. Slowly but surely: this is how Les Trois Vallées should be skied.
We escaped?
This article is just a sweet prologue, introducing a spoonful of honey to your lips: the secret corners of the largest ski area in Europe only you can discover them.