HAPPY VALLEES
A SKI SAFARI IN THE STUNNING SWISS ALPS BRINGS DELIGHTS ON AND OFF THE PISTES FOR PETER FENTON
SO there I am, hiking up a mountain, on snowshoes, in the dark, with a 30lb rucksack on my back... is this really a unique dinner experience, or did I accidentally sign up for TV reality show SAS Who Dares Wins?
Luckily there were no ambushes or extreme interrogations, and as for the backpack, well, we couldn’t leave the wine behind, could we?
Our small party soon reached some picnic tables, and as the sun sank behind the Alps, our guide and chef Stephane, who’d carried up the rest of the food and utensils, built a log fire and placed a half-wheel of Raclette cheese close to the flames.
This is the regional dish of Valais, in southwest Switzerland, and this is the traditional way to cook it, with layers of the delicious melted cheese continually scraped off to be served with potatoes or bread, silver skin onions and a glass (or two) of Fendant, the local white wine.
And what a way to enjoy it. Glancing up at a sky of glittering stars, conversation tailed off for a moment, the silence broken only by the soft crackle of the wood fire.
Stephane fuelled the magic with a glass of Genepi, the local ju-ju juice flavoured with mountain herbs. The descent home, with a considerably lighter pack, was a breeze.
The next morning, stepping out on the balcony of my room at the Hotel Nendaz 4 Vallees, the mountain peaks were sparkling white under a clear blue sky (the area boasts 300 days of sunshine a year) and the slopes of the ski resort of Nendaz were beckoning.
It is part of the 4 Vallees ski area, the largest in Switzerland with 400km of pistes stretching from small, quiet Thyon at the eastern end to the cosmopolitan chic of Verbier at the western end.
The best view of it, and a great deal more of the Alps, is from Mont Fort, the resort’s highest peak at 3,330 metres. At the top of the cable car there’s a viewing platform where you feel on top of the world. The distinctive Matterhorn lies in one direction and Mont Blanc in another. On the valley floor a long way below is the regional capital Sion, with the River Rhone flowing through it.
You can ski down from the top of Mont Fort but it’s one of the area’s steepest runs and with no fresh snow, the large moguls (bumps) were glistening with ice.
We sensibly took the cable car back down to the Black Tap restaurant, which serves excellent craft burgers.
You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the 4 Vallees. There are blue slopes for beginners and improvers around neighbouring Veysonnaz and Thyon, slightly more red slopes for intermediate-level skiers and a decent number of black graded slopes for the experts around Nendaz and Verbier.
Many have the latest snowmaking equipment so in these days of climate change and unpredictable conditions, there is still good quality skiing to be had.
For skiers and boarders looking for off-piste thrills, Verbier is famous and there are free ride routes marked across the 4 Vallees. We made our way down one of them, the Chassoure-tortin, a long steep and bumpy run.
There were tumbles and protesting limbs… but a great sense of achievement as ski guide Ami, coaxed everyone down safely.
Those aching muscles were soothed in the impressive spa at our four-star hotel, with its outdoor heated pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and steam rooms.
There was still time for a beer and an Aperol spritz just down the road at the bar, where a DJ whipped up the apres-ski crowd with vintage mixes.
Dinner was at Les Etagnes, a restaurant opposite the hotel, offering chicken or prawn Thai curry, rack of lamb, and beef fillet among its main courses, with a veggie or vegan curry option on request. Starters were £11 with mains from £25-£35.
A dessert treat was Sgroppino, an Italian cocktail with vodka, lemon sorbet, prosecco and limoncello… not as alcoholic as it sounds but really delicious (£9). Valais also produces some excellent wine. Best value was a bottle of Petite Arvine white at £20.
The neighbouring resort of Veysonnaz was the next stage of our Ski Safari package, an option offered by 4 Vallees where you can split your stay between resorts.
While we hit the ski lifts, our luggage was taken to the Hotel Chalet Royale, 10 metres from the main Veysonnaz gondola and offering another stunning panoramic view of the mountains from its bedrooms.
We made our way up a succession of lifts and skied down some wide flattering red slopes. Down into Siviez in the Valley de la Printse (one of the 4) and up to Greppon Blanc peak at 2,700 metres with a breathtaking view
down into the Val des Dix.
At the peak is a signpost for l’eteygeon, a free ride route where, when the snow is good, you can ski or board all the way down to the road that runs through the valley then catch a bus back into town.
But after three hours on the snow we were hungry and thirsty. One more run down from Greppon, we found Restaurant les Chottes – rightly famous in the 4 Vallees and not to be missed. A former cheese farm, the interior is replete with wooden beams and cowbells. Outside is an intriguing tunnel entrance in the wall of snow piled up at the side of the restaurant.
On the huge sun-trap terrace we settled down with beers and Fendant and shared an Assiette Valaisanne (£22), a platter with locally produced dried meat, cheese, cured sausage and rye bread.
I followed with the Roesti du Chasseur (£20), a Swiss classic of grated potato patty topped with cheese, bacon, tomato and egg.
It’s not exactly cheap, but is far less than you’ll pay in Verbier. The scenery is priceless and it was a reluctant band that finally returned through the tunnel to retrieve our skis for the rest of the afternoon. There were still treats to come though. After checking out the ramps on the snow park above Thyon (no one volunteered for a freestyle demonstration after our two-hour lunch!), we headed to the top of the Piste de L’ours, the custom built downhill race course. At 2.3km long, with a 51% gradient in parts, and two big jumps, it has hosted over 30 World Cup ski races as well as ski-cross and Paralympic ski competitions. We didn’t quite manage it in the two minutes the racers usually take – there were lots of turns and the occasional rest but I’m blaming the roesti and beer – but it is fabulous. A quick gondola back up, then another red cruiser took us into Veysonnaz, with our hotel across the road from the lift station.
It’s a compact, sleepy village but for families with young children and those who don’t require a techno drumbeat to wind down after a day on the slopes, it is just fine. The Chalet Royale has a large terrace with a view over the Rhone valley and we kicked back in the outdoor hot tub with a glass of prosecco as the sun went down on another great day in the mountains.
Those aching muscles were soothed in the impressive spa... On Hotel Nendaz 4 Vallees