Val Thorens Valley

Part  of the three valleys (along with Meribel & Courchevel), these resorts all stretch along one valley from 1300m to 3200m. At the higher end of the valley you have the purpose built resorts of Val Thorens / Les Menuires and Reberty and lower down is the old village of St Martin de Belville .

As you may imagine the purpose built resorts that sprang up in the 1960/70’s can look just a tad ugly , but wow do they serve a purpose. Skiing to the door is what these resorts are all about and if you want to click your skis/board on at the front door of the apartments then these resorts are for you .St Martin lower down the valley retains its true Savoyard style and furthermore has a village atmosphere too.

The whole area can feel quite treeless and bare , so in bad weather you might want to pop over into the Meribel valley ( just don’t get stuck there !)

Slopes

Several must ski areas are the Cime de Caron at 3200m where you can drop over into the fouth valley or back into Val Thorens . La Masse is a great area to ski ,it mostly faces north east as a result the snow is always in good condition. Once you have skied here then head down to St Martin and have a spot of late lunch in the sunshine .

If you are looking for an easy step into powder then the powder fields just in between the pistes on the runs down to St Martin can be a great way of building confidence .

New this year (2016/17) the old Jerusalem run has been down graded to a blue run.

 

Top Tips

Pierre Lory from the top of the Col chair into the Maurienne Valley can be superb in the right conditions  plus  La Masse to Lac du Lou & La Masse down Vallée des Encombres  all great in the right weather. You should be mindful about the wather up here though as it is wide open and offers no shelter , so plan ahead.

If you are up to it and can go with someone who knows their way ( or a guide ) then from the Vanoise glacier you can drop down eventually to Pralognan La Vanoise. Be prepared for a hefty taxi back or bribe someone to drive round to pick you up ( good 90 minute drive).

 

 

 

Jobs

Not quite so many opportunities here as there are a lot of apartments and Dutch ski companies here , that said there are still the usual big tour operators and a handful of chalet operators .

 

Bars

Val Thorens:

Le Saloon is massive for après ski and the party will be in full swing until the early hours

Frog & Roastbeef is a bit of a classic and always a good meeting point

Grotte du Yeti is wild if you like your europop dutch style

La Folie Douce is an institution , if you have see this in Val D’Isere then you know what to expect , if not then either take a couple of stubbies and watch from the slopes or take your platinum credit card  and hit the champagne bar !

 

Les Menuires / Reberty:

Challenge bar is great for live music at Apres Ski and fills up quickly

Crazy Bar does what it says on the tin , guaranteed party at Apres ski

Skilt , Good sized terrace for some Apres action and gets busy with brits looking for sport later.