SWITZERLAND: ???: LIVING IT UP ON THE SLOPES
A slew of new restaurants and lift connections will make the capital of the 4 Vallées even more appealing, says James Bedding
VERBIER is the main resort in Switzerland’s largest ski area, the 4 Vallées. Thanks to its sunny location, exciting terrain and lively nightlife, it has long attracted a youthful, sporty clientele.
Nearly 100 lifts access more than 400km of runs, including some of the best lift-served off-piste in the Alps. The slopes are snowsure and the scenery is spectacular, and from the top of the ski area — Mont Fort at 3 330m — the views reach as far as the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.
From the resort at 1 500m, two consecutive gondolas take less than 11 minutes to reach a height of more than 2 700m — the altitude guarantees abundant snow.
This season, an ambitious complex opens at the foot of the main Médran gondola from town. New shops, restaurants and a luxury hotel, plus bars, cafés and other public spaces, will give a welcome new focus to a resort that has long been heavy on private chalets.
This winter also sees the completion of two long-awaited lift connections that make it easier to explore. One accesses the heart of the Bruson ski area, up till now a secret among locals. A second gondola now transforms the link between the 4 Vallées resorts of Siviez and Nendaz.
THE MOUNTAIN
Verbier classifies its pistes as 43% easy, 29% intermediate and 28% advanced, but the resort best suits confident skiers and boarders. Oriented to the south, virtually all of the resort enjoys sunshine all day, as well as views towards glaciated peaks on the French and Italian borders.
GETTING STARTED
There are two areas at the foot of the mountain for beginners. Near the town centre is the stand-alone Les Moulins nursery slope, home to a children’s club run by the Swiss Ski School and a crèche, Les Schtroumpfs. It has one magic carpet and one button lift.
On the edge of town is the main beginners’ slope, Les Esserts, which has the same setup on a bigger scale. Annoyingly, you can’t reach it from the rest of the mountain by piste — the only access is by shuttle bus. However, for this winter a synthetic track is planned from the bottom of the slope to the nearby Le Rouge drag lift, from which you can access the rest of the ski area.
RUNS FROM THE DOORSTEP
The majority of visitors spend their time on the main network of pistes directly above town, served by the Médran gondola up to Les Ruinettes. The spaghetti of reds is a glorious intermediate playground, but even beginners should ride up Médran to access a couple of scenic blues higher up. And everyone — non-skiers included — should continue up the sequence of gondolas and cable cars to Mont Fort (3 330m), if only for the views.
Above Les Ruinettes is the gentle, sunny bowl of La Chaux, which is popular with families. The terrain park here has three routes (blue, red and black) with jumps and rails, a giant airbag — for experts only — and a ski cross/boardercross run.
North of town lies the Savoleyres area. The journey here from the centre is slow — 10 minutes by bus, and 12 more on a gondola. But the reward is a network of blues and reds in a sunny bowl, which lead down to the resort of La Tzoumaz.
HONE YOUR SKILLS
The Swiss Ski School ( verbierbooking.com) is the resort’s largest, with more than 250 instructors. Five half-days (three hours) of group ski lessons cost CHF290 (R3 260), and five full days for children including lunch is CHF520 (R5 850). For younger children (three to five), the school combines ski tuition with play time at the Les Moulins in the centre of town.
For those looking to sharpen technique, the Warren Smith Ski Academy ( warrensmith-skiacademy.com) offers intensive week-long group courses costing R7 000 for five days.
Les Guides de Verbier ( guideverbier.com) represents the resort’s mountain guides and offers weekly skiing trips. There’s also Powder Extreme ( powderextreme.com), which specialises in off-piste tuition for skiers and snowboarders.
The Swiss Snow School Verbier ( snowschool.ch) is the resort’s biggest and oldest specialist in teaching snowboarding, while Fresh Tracks ( freshtracks.ch) focuses on off-piste training for boarders.
TOP MOUNTAIN RESTAURANTS
If it’s a piste-side pit stop you’re after, try La Vache ( lavacheverbier.ch), opened last winter by musician James Blunt, rugby player Lawre superbike racer Car with a bit of charm, ( namaste-verbier. home-cooked Valais rustic atmosphere.
THE RESORT
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WHERE TO STAY
The handiest place to stay is the area between the Médran gondola, which is also the ski school meeting place, and Place Centrale.
For those on a tight budget, it’s worth considering Le Châble, down in the valley — it’s a more attractive option from this winter, following the construction of the new gondola to the Bruson ski area. The existing gondola to Verbier departs from the same building, reaching Médran in nine minutes and continuing up to Les Ruinettes at 2 200m.
HOTELS
Hotel prices are per person per night (based on two sharing) and include breakfast.
W Verbier ( whotels.com/verbier), the first Alpine hotel from the funky W chain, opens on December 1 at the best location in town, opposite the Médran gondola. From CHF250 (R2 800).
Hotel Mirabeau ( mirabeauhotel.ch) is an independent three-star with a cosy Nordic feel in an ideal location, two minutes’ walk from the Médran gondola. From CHF97.50 (R1 100).
Hotel de Verbier ( inghams.co.uk) is a cosy place bang on Place Centrale. From £454 (R7 500) for a week’s half board, including flights from London and transfers.
Hotel de la Poste ( crystalski.co.uk) combines an attractive central location (three minutes from Médran) with a homely Swiss ambience. From £737 (R12 200) for a week’s half board, including flights and transfers.
CHALETS
Powder White ( powderwhite.com) offers 12 properties in Verbier. Particularly handy are the five apartments in the Cupidon block, a mere 20 seconds from Médran. From R5 800.
Bramble Ski’s ( brambleski.com) chalets come with a ski instructor. They greet guests on arrival, offer advice with kit hire, provide instruction and on-piste guiding for the first two days, and act as concierge for the rest of the week. Apartments in the luxury Valentine and Victoria complex are close to Place Centrale. Victoria 111 costs from CHF14 310 (R161 000) for up to eight people.
Skiworld’s ( skiworld.co.uk) 10-bedroom Chalet Les Quatre Saisons may have retro décor, but the location — five minutes from Médran — makes this a good-value option for larger groups. From £599 (R10 000) including flights from London and transfers.
Chalet prices are per person for a week’s chalet board and exclude travel to the resort, unless stated otherwise. —