France's Top Skiing Destinations
*Barrelli Ski - Self Catering
and fully catered Ski Chalets in Les Houches, Chamonix, Champagny, La Plagne,
Paradiski. Chalet accommodation in charming picturesque alpine resorts where you
can still enjoy a true flavour of France.
Alpe d'Huez
Older, quieter and with more charm than its neighbour Les Deux Alpes,
Alpe d'Huez has an even more extensive ski area. The Grandes Rousses massif has
86 lifts, 107 runs and 160 miles of pistes. And as Les Deux Alpes has a rustic
"back-door" to its ski area, Alpe d'Huez has two charming satellites -
Vaujany and Oz - to which skiers can retreat at the end of the day. The focal
point of Alpe d'Huez is the Pic Blanc from which, the resort claims, you can see
one fifth of France. Advanced and expert terrain (on and off-piste) radiates in
all directions. These include the long and challenging Tunnel, and Sarenne, plus
testing couloirs and faces around and beyond Pyramide, which should be skied
with a guide.
Avoriaz
Another purpose-built French resort with controversial architecture.
One of the most dramatic French resorts, rearing up with its space-age tower
blocks from its cliff-top eyrie above its stablemate, Morzine. Avoriaz is the
gateway to the Portes du Soleil, a network of 13 ski areas along the
French/Swiss border including the French resorts of Chatel, Abondance, Les Gets
and, in Switzerland, Morgins, Torgon, Les Crosets and Champoussin. The circuit
has 228 lifts serving more than 400 miles of pistes. Even the longest route
(about 30 miles) can be covered in a day by fast skiers. The most famous run of
the network is Chavanette, better known as the Swiss Wall, from Avoriaz down to
Les Crosets.
Chamonix / Argentiere
Chamonix's Vallee Blanche is not the most difficult offpiste skiing on
the planet, but the scenery is out of this world. It is also the only sensible
way down from the Aiguille du Midi, a craggy eyrie that towers above the old
climbing town of Chamonix. The "alternative" North Face is so steep
that it makes most skiers blanche. Building Europe's highest cable car to this
summit was a preposterous idea achieved against impossible odds. Chamonix has
many attractions, including half a dozen ski areas, but most "serious"
skiers are drawn either to the Aiguille du Midi or Argentière's Grands Montets.
Between these two massifs lies the Mer de Glace (the huge sea of ice formed
where glaciers converge) which forms the basis for the main 22km Vallée Blanche
descent. Keep an eye on your gtude's progress to avoid the myriad crevasses on
the Glacier de Geant. Your attention will be riveted by peaks, domes, needles,
pyramids and pinnacles. The Grands Montets provides some of Europe's best skiing
on and off-piste, with a huge vertical drop and one run - Point du Vue - which
allows skiers to visit the portals of the seracs of the Glacier d'Argentière.
Courchevel / Méribel
Courchevel is an excellent ski resort, but why it is rated the most
chic, upmarket and the most expensive in France is not clear. The flagship
village of Courchevel 1850 is not picturepostcard material. However, it has
several four-star hotels. The less fashionable Courchevel 1650 has more rustic
appeal: it is cheaper and has plenty of good skiing, including the excellent
off-piste Les Avals itinerary reached after hiking from the top-of Chanrossa.
Well-heeled skiers would not be seen anywhere but 1850, highest of the resort's
three main areas. Three of Courchevel's famous couloirs - Sous le Télépherique,
Grand and Emile Allais (all reached from the top of the Saulire cable-car) are
listed as black runs. Much of Courchevel's skiing is good intermediate fare.
There is an abundance of nursery slopes. Courchevel links with Méribel, Les
Menuires and Val Thorens to form the Trois Vallées ski region probably the
biggest expanse of skiing in the world. Méribel (Mottaret and Les Allues) -
which shelters between Courchevel and Les Menuires at the heart of the three
valleys - offers skiers wonderful choice. In one direction they can make for
Courchevel; in the other they can head for Les Menuires, Val Thorens or St
Martin de Belleville. Or they can stay in Méribel and enjoy acres of good
skiing there.
Flaine
Traditionally Flaine, in the Grand Massif, shared with Tignes the
distinction of drawing more flak over its architecture than all the other
purpose-built French resorts, with only the attractive old town of Samoëns and
the village of Les Carroz providing any real charm. Flaine is ideal for
beginners and intermediates, with trails linking Flaine via Les Grands Vans with
Samoëns, Les Carroz and Morillon. There is excellent off-piste for the more
advanced, but the mountains around Flaine are notorious for pot-holes. Take a
guide.
La Plagne
Brochure writers love to describe their resorts as "an
intermediates' paradise". La Plagne is the genuine article. It is really a
dozen hamlets and villages strung together in a vast maze of skiing. The
flagship is Aime La Plagne, perched high above the resort. This space-age ski
city houses accommodation, restaurants, shops and a cinema but is ugly. The
skiing is so extensive that those obsessed with achieving a daily mileage can
find their plans misfiring: there is a danger of spending too much time on the
vast lift network, especially for those who set their sights on the Bellecôte
Glacier.
Les Arcs
When the French started to pioneer purpose-built ski resorts in the
1960s, the results varied from good to bad to indifferent. Les Arcs is reckoned
a success, inspiring copy-cat resorts in other countries. The resort is split
into three: Arc 1600, 1800 and 2000. The architecture is brave and imposing. The
skiing is extensive and adventurous and dominated by the Aiguille Rouge
(11,240ft) above Arc 2000. Runs lead everywhere from the top, including the
celebrated 9 miles descent all the way to Villaroger, which starts off with
black or red alternatives but mellows. Les Arcs is renowned for its off-piste
skiing above and below the tree-line. Some of it verges on the extreme. The
resort is famous for its ski esolutif (graduated length) teaching concept which
allows beginners to start on very short skis, gradually switching to longer
ones.
Les Deux Alpes / La Grave
Les Deux Alpes is a bustling, brash and booming ski area with a huge
British following and an effervescent night life. Les Deux Alpes is a skiing
factory. On the other side of the towering La Meije (13,060ft) is the silent and
beautiful glacier kingdom of La Grave with almost none of the normal impedimenta
of a ski resort. La Grave is a picturesque climbing village invaded by a few
tough, thrill-seeking skiers there for the more than 6,650 vertical feet of
steep, untracked terrain. Only a 15 minute walk separates the areas but is
sufficient to discourage recreational skiers from wandering over from Les Deux
Alpes. Les Deux Alpes works in reverse compared with most resorts - the lower
you ski, the steeper the slopes. It has a rustic backwater: skiers can reach the
resort from the spectacular valley below Venosc via an ancient two-seater
gondola. St Christophe-en-Oisans below Venosc is also the destination point of a
spectacular alter native to skiing La Grave. From the Dome de la Lauze a guide
will lead you down the magnificent Vallon de la Selle one of the most
breathtaking descents in the Alps though not too demanding technically.
Val d'Isere / Tignes
The Trois Vallées and Portes du Soleil are bigger but Val d Isère
(with the help of its neighbour Tignes, France's most famous summer ski area)
may just be the best ski resort in the world - at least for adventurous skiers:
the better the skier the more extensive the challenging terrain. The resorts
swarm with specialist ski schools among the best of which are Top Ski (Val) and
Evolution 2 (Tignes). With their guides it is possible to spend a fortnight
skiing off-piste and scarcely touch a groomed run except to ski from one off-piste
area to another. There is also excellent couloir skiing. Intermediates can roam
between the various areas - Le Fornet, La Daille and Bellevarde in Val, Le Lac,
Lavachet, La Grande Motte Glacier, Brévières and Val Claret in Tignes -
without needing to ski a run twice and both resorts have world class bump
skiing. There is plenty for beginners. Tignes is purpose-built and not pretty
but Val d'Isère has an old quarter. The link between the two is manageable by
most. Val d'Isère's big rival, Courchevel, tends to attract older, richer
clients: Val appeals to younger skiers in search of challenging terrain and the
liveliest nightlife. Dick's T-Bar has long been the focal point for British
skiers.
Val Thorens / Les Menuires
Val Thorens, Europe's highest ski resort is a big exciting but
sometimes bleak ski area which like La Plagne and Flaine - is trying to soften
its image. Both Val Thorens and its neighbour Les Menuires began as soulless
collections of concrete apartment blocks but in the late 1980s and early l990s
have added rustic touches. Val Thorens now has a copper and pink church and Les
Menuires has attempted to make its satellite, Reberty, prettier. Further down
the Belleville Valley and easy to get to on skis is St Martin - a traditional
large village with exhilarating roller-coaster runs such as Bethlehem and La
Riondaz. St Martin s rustic atmosphere provides a welcome contrast to the
space-age skiing of its higher neighbours. Val Thorens big attraction is the
Cime de Caron (10,479ft) and a 160-person cable car. The runs from the top are
long and gruelling.
