France
VAL THORENS
TOURIST OFFICE:
73440 Val Thorens, France
Telephone: (33) 4 7900 0808 Fax: (33) 4 7900 0004
URL: valthorens.com
Email: valtho@valthorens.com
SAVOIE
The modern purpose-built resort atop the Three Valleys is the highest resort in Europe. When linked with Méribel and Courchevel the 3 Vallées total 198 ski lifts (including two huge cable cars, 160 persons in Courchevel and the 150 passenger lift in Val Thorens). They total 336 slopes and 372 miles of marked runs.
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Elevation: Base/Village: 2,300 m (7,544 ft); Top: 3,230 m (10,597 ft)
Vertical: 1,468 m (4,820 ft) down to Les Menuires
Longest Run: 12 km (7.4 mi)
Terrain: Highest lift elevation is 10,890 ft. Resort has 69 slopes for 140 km (87 mi), 352 snowmaking guns; Trois Vallées area: 336 slopes for 600 km (372 mi) of runs; 1,600 snowmaking guns. Ski Runs: 118 red, 49 green, 135 blue, 34 black
Lifts: 28 in Val Thorens, 180 in Three Valleys
Types: In Three Valleys there are 2 cable cars, 33 gondolas, 38 high-speed chair lifts, with the rest in lesser chairs and surface lifts.
Lift Capacity: More than 260,000 per hour in Three Valleys
Ski Season: Mid November to early May
Cross Country: 132 km (82 mi) in Trois Vallées
Ski School: 5 schools, 200 instructors locally; 1,220 in Three Valleys
Mountain Restaurants: 12
Other Winter Activities: Indoor swimming; 3 indoor tennis courts; mono-skiing; sauna; sports center; gymnasium; whirlpool; golf simulator; snow scooters; roller blades; squash; Turkish baths, bowling, badminton, paragliding, ULM; ice driving school, snowshoe trekking; free jazz and classical music concerts weekly; Also, one toboggan piste unique in France, 6 km long, over a height difference of over 700 meters. The sports center here is the largest covered sport and relaxation complex in Europe, with 20 different activities.
Après-Ski: Bars, 2 discos, cafes, coffee houses, cinema, typical French gastronomic restaurant
Shopping Service: Food stores, gift and souvenir shops, sports shops, parking garages, gas station, radio station, banks, two medical centers, post office, booking center, pharmacy
Credit Cards: AE, MC, VISA
Child Care: Winter: French Ski School: Tel. (33) 4 7900 02 86, 6 days w/meals 253 euros
Lodging: Accommodations range from luxury hotels to private residences; Hotels in ½ board—4-star from 110 euros per night; 3-Star from 70 euros per night, 2-Star from 60 euros p/p-p/d, ½ board; 22,500 beds
Residence 3 stars : from 413 euros (4-person apartment)
Transportation: Gateway Airport: Geneva or Lyon or Grenoble. Regular or private transfers from each airport
Closest Provincial City: Chambery 112 km; 36 km from Moutiers RR station, 189 km from Lyon airport, 154 km (96 mi) from Geneva
Best Deal: The resort offers special terms for two adults and at least two children from the same family. The pass gives access to all lifts that are open in the Three Valleys. "Loyal" clients get special discounts. The Family Pass is for two adults and two children under 18; children under five and adults over 75 ski free.
Other Information: So High in everything their brochure says: So High in technology, style and energy.
Rates: See Rates section
Spotlight On Val Thorens |
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(Originally
written for OnTheSnow.com) |
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The highest ski resort in Europe. That is the unique selling proposition of Val Thorens in the famed Three Valleys of France, the world’s largest ski domain. Unless you are one of the unfortunate people who are susceptible to acute mountain sickness, this means that fun in the snow is guaranteed. This purpose-built ski village sits at 7,544 feet in a grand amphitheater that rises another 3,000 feet into fierce glacier country. It is just the place for skiers and snowboarders who are bored with red and blue slopes. The vast terrain here is both treeless white and challenging black. Val Thorens is high up on the right side of the Three Valleys, which figured prominently in the 1992 Winter Olympics. Courchevel sits on several levels in the first valley on the left. Meribel and Mottaret are in the middle valley. Below Val is Les Menuires. The entire region has 372 miles of prepared and marked runs, unlimited off-piste opportunities, and 180 lifts. Val Thorens’ share of the slopes and hardware amounts to 87 miles and 28 lifts, but like all the resorts here, it swings a broad brush and claims the whole domain. Vacationers do sample the gentler stuff below and across the Three Valleys. But if they decide to bunk here, they are more likely to go up to the Peclet glacier or to Cime de Caron in massive cable cars. High altitude allows Val Thorens an October to May ski season. The Peclet has summer skiing in July and August. “Purpose-built” resorts are de rigueur in France, and it is always interesting to see a village’s ratio of residents to guests. Val Thorens has 300 inhabitants, but it can sleep 24,000, a ratio of one to 77. Lodging is in a variety of comfortable hotels and many apartments. The self-contained community has all the facilities for keeping house. Après ski fitness buffs use a sports center; elbow benders have many good restaurants to choose from if they’re not on a half-board program in their hotels. The Savoy department of France is noted for its culinary achievements. You’ll see why here. The terrain surrounding the resort suggests a younger, more aggressive crowd. That is confirmed in the lively bar and disco scene. If there is a negative, it is that the high perch above the tree line limits a skier’s ability to soar during a whiteout. |
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