Beginner gets his slopes up
cmichael@thekmgroup.co.uk by Chris Michael cmichael@ thekmgroup.co.uk Skiing – the most fun you can have standing up. I have been told that hundreds of times. In fairness, that was by the same person over and over again. Regardless, I headed high into the French Alps to find out.
I was looking for deep powder with sick runs to shred. Gnarly.
Sorry, I don’t know what that means, but it seemed appropriate. It won’t happen again.
This, as you might have guessed, was my first skiing holiday. My first time on skis. And if you are going to learn, the resort of Les Menuires in Les Trois Vallees is a great place to start... and improve.
With 600km of connected slopes, The Three Valleys in the Savoie region of France make up one of the largest ski areas in the world.
Les Menuires starts at an altitude of 1,850m and is one of three resorts in the Belleville valley. The majority of buildings were put up in the Sixties and favour function over beauty. But functional they are. You can slip and slide out of any of the complex’s 26,000 rooms and start any of the 67 runs immediately. And to be fair, when night falls and all you can see is gentle lights against the snow-covered mountains, the view is a little magical.
If you like your resorts truly picturesque then you need to venture down a little to Saint Martin de Belleville at 1,450m. There, the 2,600 rooms are dotted about traditional chalets in a rural village that has held onto its charm. At the top of the valley you have guaranteed quality snow at Val Thorens, the highest resort in Europe at 2,300 metres.
As a beginner, I spent my first day at Les Menuires on the nursery slopes. Under the tuition of one of the resort’s excellent instructors, I learnt to carry my skis so I didn’t look like a tourist and practised how to do the snowplough. Once you have mastered this, you are ready for one of the 37 blue runs that start and finish in the heart of the resort. Beyond that, there are 24 red runs and six black pistes – but you need more than six hours’ experience to tackle those.
But it’s not all skiing and snowboarding. For some, mountain biking down 8km of dedicated pistes in the Roc ‘n Bike seems like a good idea. I chose the less daunting Roc ‘n Bob toboggan run. But be prepared for a face full of snow as you battle to control your sledge along the 4km run of twists and turns down a drop of 1,000m.
Away from the snow, there is relaxing and eating. You may be high in the Alps close to the border of Switzerland, but this is still France and food matters. The region boasts Michelin-starred restaurants, including the two-starred La Bouitte in Saint Martin de Belleville. For a novel dining experience, there is La Choumette, a restaurant on a working farm, where you can watch the cows while you eat (if you like that sort of thing).
But for a first-time skier, this holiday was all about time on the slopes. And with its good snow and kilometres of easily accessible pistes, Les Menuires was the perfect choice.
Skiing – the most fun you can have standing up? Well, when you’re hurtling down pistes for the first time, standing up is actually a bit harder than it sounds.
Chris’s trip was paid for by Les Menuires tourist office. detAiLs
Les Menuires has accommodation for all budgets
Prices start from 226 Euros for seven nights and six days of ski passes.
V i s i t en. lesmenui res. com for more details and special of-