Difference between revisions of "Val d'Isère"

Revision as of 16:50, 12 February 2013

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Val d'Isère
Resort Summary
Resort Name	Val d'Isère
Location	{{{location}}}
Resort Altitude	1,550 - 3,450 m
Winter Season
Terrain	Overall: 300 km Beginner: Intermediate: Advanced:
Lift System	100 (2 railways, 4 trams, 4 gondolas, 50 chairs, 40 surface)
Highest Lift	3,450m
Lowest Lift	1,550m
Vertical	1,900m
Longest Run
Avg Snowfall
Terrain Parks
Snow Sports
Facilities
Nearest Town
Lift Pass
Adult 5 Day	$
Adult 1 Day	$
Child 5 Day	$
Child 1 Day	$

Overview 

Val d'Isere ranks alongside St Moritz, Stowe and Cortina among the "most famous names of skiing." With a huge ski area, much of it at a high altitude, world class lift infrastructure and a vast array of apres ski activity and you have the archetypal world class mountain resort. Val d'Isere is connected to Tigne, a neighbouring resort, to form the Espace Killy. While it is possible to purchase individual tickets, the combined resort is often referred to as Val d'Isere.

Location

Val d'Isere is located 140 km east of Chambery, on the French/Italian border. Travel time from Geneva is about three hours.

Pros

Espace Killy, the ski area of which Val d'Isere is part, is huge ... bigger than huge, it is enormous. Snow quality is generally good as temperatures remain low thanks to the altitude Excellent, easily accesible off piste Stunning scenery

Cons

Weak nightlife

Poor intervillage bus service between Tigne and Val d'Isere. The bus connecting the various bases in Val d-Isere is frequent and free.

In bad weather you are above the treeline and there is nowhere to hide.

At the end of the day there are few routes home from the plateaux of Solaise and Bellevarde. Those routes become icy and crowded, and at times downright scary.

Contacts

Phone: 33 4 79 06 06 60

Postal: BP 228 F-73155 Val d'Isère Cedex, Savoie F 73155 France

Planning

Getting There

Fly to Geneva and bus or train. Drive to Annecy, through Albertville to Bourg St Maurice and up the valley. Try and avoid weekends, particularly Saturday evening as traffic to the resorts in France can be absolutely horrendous. Trains go to Bourg St Maurice (the end of the line) direct from Paris without changes, and there are buses up to the resort from there. Trains leave from the Gare de Lyon in Paris and the journey takes a tad over 4 hours.

The Europcar website claims that they have a depot in Val d'Isere for car hire. However, it is closed from Sunday to Saturday. There might be a window of opportunity to pick up a car there on the stroke of midnight on any Saturday, but I don't like your chances. There is a depot in Bourg St Maurice, about 40 minutes down the valley.

Accommodation

On Mountain

Val d'Isere has a huge range of accommodation, from chalets to apartments to luxury hotels. There are Club Meds in Val d'Isere anf Tignes.

For a really cheap stay look at UCPA which gives bunk style accommodation for a typically (but not always) young crowd.

Off Mountain

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Lift Tickets

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Ski School

Unlike US and Australian resorts there is no monopoly ski school. There are a number of ski schools of various sizes offering different experiences, from standard ski lessons to adventure guiding. The biggest is ESF (Ecole Ski de France) with over 600 instructors, but there are several schools with niche offerings. There is a list on the Val d'Isere website

Equipment Hire

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Resort Facilities

Getting Around

Val d'Isere has several bases stretched out along the valley, from Le Fornet to La Daille. There is a free bus linking the bases called the Red Train. It operates frequently. There are also buses called the Blue and Green Trains which serve areas of the main centre of Val d'Isere. All these buses have frequent services, although I am not sure when the last ride is. Bus routes

Parking

There are several open air free carparks. There are also underground carparks available for a fee.

Activities

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Dining

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Bars & Entertainment

To be honest there is not a huge amount of nightlife in Val d'Isere. After ski on the slopes at the top of Daille at La Folie Duce is huge, but you either have to wait for the Gondala to go down, or you ski the 4-5km back down a red slope after a few healthy beers ... hhmmmm your choice ;)

Shopping

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Children

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Ride Guide

Val d'Isère Trail Map

Beginner Areas

There are free beginner chairs at the Val d'Isere base. The plateaux of Solaise, Bellevarde and at Tignes have miles and miles of gentle terrain ideal for beginners and low intermediates, all easily accessible from chairs and cable cars. Although the trip down can look intimidating, downloading on chairs and in cablecars is common.

Groomed Runs

Are everywhere. Grooming can occasionally be haphazard, but a vast amount of grooming is done every night.

Off Piste

The manic North American powder obsession exists, but is not as virulent here. You can often get a bit of untracked or lightly tracked skiing a few metres from the piste, even quite late in the day. With a bit of traversing you can find freshies days after a dump.

Be careful - slope signage can be deficient. Make sure you know where you are going, and how you will exit. There are dips and hollows with no way out even on Solaise and Bellevarde, well in bounds. If you go out of bounds you may need a helicopter.

Out of Bounds

There are two Val d'Iseres. The trail map version, and everything else. Everything else is probably bigger than the trail map version. Europe does not have a concept of out of bounds. If you can see it and get access to it, go for it.

Much of the expert terrain in Val d'Isere is not found on a trail map - on the map there is very little expert terrain - but the terrain exists in scads. The strong European guiding culture means that it is best discovered with the assistance of professional guides and instructors. If you go alone make sure you have an exit plan. My instructor took small glee in pointing out a couple of dots across the valley and saying that their only option was a heli rescue. Also, make sure that you are avalanche aware.

Cross Country

A track near the base of La Manchet.

Parks & Pipes

Beginner, intermediate and advanced parks. I didn't see a half pipe, but they may have one tucked a way in a corner somewhere.

Bumps

Groomers flatten them. There is a bump field on the back way down from Bellevarde to Manchet, but that's about it.

Powder Zones

Take any piste. Leave it. You will be in a powder zone.

Pistes are arbitrary strips through hectares of skiable terrain.

Terrain accessible off the La Manchet chair in the Solaise area is particularly easily accessible with short traverses. With a bit of traversing you can find powder for a couple of days after a dump.

Sheltered Runs

This is a bit of a problem with Val d'Isere. Most of it is above the tree line, and there is nowhere to hide. In bad weather you are on exposed plateaux with bad light and howling gales. One option is the low lifts in the La Daille area, but that is fairly limited and is an area used for races and race training, which takes a big chunk out of the available terrain.

Snowplay

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Other

Weather

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Geography

Val d'Isere and Tignes are located along the head of the valley of the Isere River and its tributaries. The Col d'Iseran, notorious for followers of the Tour de France, is located within the resort boundaries and you can ski down part of the race route. The resort itself is only a few kilometres from the Italian border.

A lot of the beginner and intermediate skiing is located on plateaux above the valleys. These are above the treeline and can be very exposed in bad weather. The valley sides are the home of the steeper expert runs and a lot of the famous off piste routes best accessed in the company of a guide.

There is also areas of "glacier" skiing in both Val d'Isere and Tignes.

History

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Resources

• ski.com.au/resorts
• Official Website
• GoSki

Maps

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