Courchevel Archives - Page 3 of 8

4 things that we have learned about the 3 Valleys this winter

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

The snow making is amazing

Way back in December 2015 there wasn’t much snow. Many resorts postponed their opening dates leaving quite a few sad skiers. However, this didn’t happen in the 3 Valleys. Of course the snowfall in Méribel wasn’t any different to anywhere else in the Alps but we did benefit from the incredible investment in snow making the Three Valleys has made. Of the other European resorts that were open most were only able to open around 50% of their runs, while Méribel was boasting 76% and the runs down to 1350m in La Tania we in perfect condition. With all the great skiing to be had, despite the lack of snow, it meant that we had very happy customers and that even included a group of travel agents that we invited out at the beginning of the season before the snow arrived in time for Christmas.

P1010855 (1024x576) (2)

Spring skiing is outstanding again

It was as if the 2015/16 winter was reversed as heavy snow fell throughout April meaning that there was endless powder days accompanied by warm temperatures and blue skies. Much to the disappointment of many the snow even continued to fall after the lifts had shut, which wasn’t a problem for our resort director as he loves a hike. This late snowfall is something we have noticed in recent years and makes us wonder if it the amazing spring conditions are becoming a trend. Could April be the new December?

3 offpiste

Méribel is as popular as ever

If you read any article on top ski resorts, Méribel or the Three Valleys will feature in most. This is unsurprising as, in our biased opinion, it does have everything from amazing aprés ski to the world biggest ski area all in one of Frances prettiest resorts. Did you know that you get about 2.1km of piste per €1 spent on your lift pass in Méribel for comparison you only 1.2km per € in Val d’Isere. It isn’t just us and the ski press that love Méribel, you do too. The resort has sat in the top 10 destination for British skiers for many years and this year Méribel was a respectable 6th.

The sleeper train is no more

One of my favourite ways to arrive in Alps is by sleeper train. Alighting in Moutiers early in the morning feeling smug that I had an extra day to ski than those who chose to fly. Of course I never remember the hassle of dragging skis through central London on a Friday night, the stressful dash across Paris and the irritating kids playing GameBoy all night as I try to sleep in a half upright position but smug is how I still felt. No longer is this option open to me as the SNCF has decided to cancel the service due to cost.

3727884_0bf4cacc

Posted in Alpine Action, Meribel | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Countdown to the Start of the Méribel Ski Season 16/17

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

WP_20140331_021

Start of the Méribel Ski Season 16/17 Countdown

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel | Tagged Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 13

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

This week has been springtime skiing at its very best! Blue skies, sunshine and heaps of snow have brought us one of the best weeks of skiing this season and the good weather looks set to stay. If you’ve ever hesitated about booking a holiday later in the season this week has been an example of how fabulous it can be, with empty slopes to boot!

Check out our last minute offers – 26th of March from £549

Snow

We have got piles and piles of snow after 2 big dumps in the last couple of weeks, the snow pack is over 220cm at the top of lifts and 125cm at the bottom with more than enough snow to see us through to the end of the season. There is even still some powder to be had if you’re willing to look for it! Every lift and piste in resort is open with all 3 Valley links up and running and all of the parks and fun areas are looking in fantastic shape.

Weather

The sun is set to stay in the 3 Valleys for the next week, some impressive goggle tans are starting to form and we already spotted our first shorts n’ t shirt combo of the spring, maybe a little prematurely. We are expecting a few snowy showers overnight to top up the runs but blue skies during the day- perfect conditions!

Ag_MDfSIoTBmc4o3-DUkZJYS0ehXFW41XKwN_Jt3RV7g (1)

Forecast

Springtime means party time in the 3 Valleys, outside enjoying the sunshine with a demi peche and some good tunes. This week we have a veritable feast of musical talent! On Monday night from 10pm we have Newton Faulkner playing in Lodge Du Village with local favourite Hobo Chic, then playing again at the Spring Party at the Chaudanne on Tuesday evening. We also have Norman Jay MBE spinning at Rond Point for Wednesday Apres, arguably the funkiest apres of the season!

There has never been a better time to come out to the three valleys, just don’t forget your sun cream!

Click here to see our 20116/17 prices.

Posted in Alpine Action, Meribel, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, skiing, snow report, snowboarding, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 11

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

It’s one of the busiest weeks of the season in Meribel, half term! The slopes are full of snaking lines of ski schools and the pubs are a lot quieter (not a bad thing!). However we have found lovely empty runs coming down from the Tougnette 2, the amount of choice up there means if you go for the furthermost runs, Cretes and Blaireau in particular, you can really enjoy the amazing snow we have had over the last couple of weeks.

Check out all our March availability and pricing

Weather
The clouds have finally broken and the sun is shining through! For the last two weeks in Meribel and La Tania we have been under a blanket of thick cloud, snow and rain but the weather is on the move and pockets of blue sky are starting to appear! The rest of this week is looking promising with light snowy showers and sunny spells, perfect half term weather. The temperatures are set to get milder towards the weekend and the skies are going to clear completely.

Snow
The snow in the three valleys is in amazing shape! The snow pack is 2 metres at the top of the lifts and 1 metre at the bottom. The snow itself is soft and light with some icy patches as you head back into resort. Our advice would be to stick to the higher runs to get the best snow and avoid the busy lift areas and tracked out runs back into resort, and when you do descend if things are looking a bit busy consider skiing down into a quieter area such as Morel or Meribel Village and use the free bus service to get you home.

https://www.alpineaction.co.uk/special-offers-last-minute.htm

A photo posted by Mattéu.C (@matteu.c) on Feb 17, 2016 at 6:34am PST

Believe it or not we are over halfway through the season, after a shaky start snow-wise it has turned out to be a great season. Fantastic snow, the sun is coming out and we have good few weeks of great skiing ahead of us!

Alpine Action | Quality Catered Chalet Holidays from Alpine Action on Vimeo.

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, Meribel, Ski, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 9

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

It has definitely been a mixed-bag of a week in Méribel and La Tania! We have gone from blue skies and springtime warmth to resort-level rain and back again in a matter of days. The weather doesn’t seem to be making its mind up anytime soon, so be prepared for all conditions out on the slopes!

Check out all our latest offer to Méribel & La Tania – Prices start at £499pp

Watch our Snow Report

Weather

Temperatures have been unseasonably mild in the last week and as the snow clouds have rolled in it’s been falling a little damper than we prefer in resort and on lower runs however we have had 30cm of fresh snow at the top of the lifts. When the clouds have cleared the weather is almost March-like with us ditching our mid-layers, and even jackets at some points!

Taken – Wednesday 3rd Feb

Snow Conditions

The snow conditions are just as mixed as the weather, we’ve got a bit of ice, a bit of slush and everything in between. Up on the higher runs the snow is still in good condition so our advice would be go high and stay there! We skied the higher runs in and out of St Martin and Les Menuires this afternoon and they were really good!

Taken -Thursday 4th of Feb 2016

Forecast

We are expecting a drop in temperatures and snowy showers later in the week, which should top up the mountain nicely, and then more blue skies as we head towards the weekend. Next week is looking great with fresh snow and colder temperatures so we can put out t-shirts away!

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snow report, snowboarding, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 8

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Jim Duncombe

Bonjour from the sunny Three Valleys! This week has been non-stop sunshine and blue skies, not what you would usually expect from January but we don’t mind one bit. The conditions this week have been positively spring-like and we have been working hard on our seasonnaire goggle tans, you can find us perched on the mountain with a demi and a deckchair!

Snow Conditions

The snow conditions are still very good, there has been some icy patches to the mild temperatures (up to 10 °C in resort) and a little slushy snow down on lower pistes but the snow has held its own. Every single lift and piste is open in Meribel and La Tania so the season is in full swing! With over 600 kilometres of ski area there really is something for everyone, and plenty to keep you busy!

Weather Forecast

The weather is set to stay mild and sunny over the next couple of days with some welcome snowy showers expected on Sunday. We are anticipating over 20 cm of snow on Sunday which will top up the pistes nicely and cover any icy patches. We are anticipating the rest of the week to be mild, sunny and with blue skies!

With good snow, sunshine and blue skies this is not the January skiing we are used to but we couldn’t be happier!

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 7

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Keira Podyma

We have had another fantastic, and snowy week in the 3 Valleys! Since our snow report last week it hasn’t stopped falling and we have a snow pack of 2 metres at the top of the lifts so the rest of the season is looking very good indeed. We have been kept busy in resort clearing the fresh blanket of snow that keeps appearing every morning, not that we are complaining about it when we hit the mountain!

Snow Conditions

The snow conditions this week have been amazing, the pisteurs have left a number of runs un-pisted to give everyone the experience of off piste skiing within the safety of the piste. The constant snow fall has meant that if you’re out early enough there has been fresh powder to be had every day, so getting first lifts is definitely worth it!

Check out all our latests availability and prices in Méribel & LaTania

Weather

Inevitably with heavy snow comes clouds so visibility has not always been the best but blue skies have been poking through and the sun is on its way! Even when the visibility has been low we have had a great time exploring the little forest tracks on and off the piste in the powder.

Forecast

Over the next week it looks like the snow clouds are going to clear finally and we are going to have some bluebird days. Temperatures are going to get a little milder to around -2°C, that combined with the expected sunshine means we might finally get to work on that all important seasonaire goggle tan!

With a whole pile of snow and blue skies on the horizon there has never been a better time to be in the Valleys!

We have two places left next week in Chalet Cote Coure for £559pp. Click here to see all our availability in La Tania and Meribel.

Posted in La Tania, Meribel, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 6

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Keira Podyma

It hasn’t stopped snowing since our last snow report! We are a week in to heavy snowfall with it set to continue until early next week so there has never been a better time for a visit to Méribel! Weather this week has been hit and miss, with lovely fresh snow comes clouds and even some rain in resort and on lower pistes. However this hasn’t put us off, nothing a vin chaud by the fire couldn’t fix, and is worth it for the mounds of untouched powder we have been greeted by on a daily basis!

Weather

This week the temperatures have dropped significantly so another layer was very much needed out on the slopes, the start of the week was milder with the snow falling a little wetter than we prefer. This has all changed now and the snow is falling thick, fast and fluffy!

Snow

The snow is amazing! Some runs have only been pisted down one side leaving the rest pure powder, our chalet manager Eloise (who has worked 4 seasons and skied A LOT) described the champagne powder as the best she has ever skied on, and that’s saying something. The snow pack is over 2 metres deep at the top of the runs and 75cm on the bottom and this is only going to increase over the next few days. As incredible as the powder is the avalanche warning in resort is very high so off piste skiing is not advised at this moment in time.

Forecast

The good weather is set to continue with snow expected until Tuesday with some blue skies poking through on Sunday which is set to be spectacular! Temperatures will continue to be low so wrap up warm and layer up on the mountain.

For the time being we have a lot of snow clearing to be doing, not a bad thing at all!

Check out all our last minute ski prices here

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Three Valleys Commitment to Snow Making

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Jim Duncombe

The start of the 2015/16 season wasn’t the best in terms of snowfall with many resorts being forced to postpone their opening. The lack of snow at the start of the season has highlighted how impressive the snow-making infrastructure of the Three Valleys is. While other ski resorts suffered the Three Valleys was boasting that it had 70% of runs open and they were in pretty good shape.

When the Three Valleys opened up in full on the first week in December the last snow had fallen three weeks earlier and the temperatures were not consistently low. However, on opening day Méribel looked like this.

And after two weeks they looked just as good with the run down to La Tania being one of the best maintained slopes in the area.

So why is the snow cover so good?

The Three Valles has made a huge commitment to snow making. It currently has 2186 snow cannons located across one third of it’s 327 runs, which are attend to by a 72 strong fleet of piste bashers. The snow making starts long before the lifts open for the season as the cannons get turned on as soon at the temperature drops low enough. It is also rumoured the Méribel alone spends half a million pounds a year just making snow.

When we had a chat with the manager from Méribel Alpina, the company that runs the mountain, he was keen to point out that part of their promise to skiers coming to the area is to always have the highest number of runs open in Europe. We thought we would test this by comparing 29th of December 2015 in Méribel to five of Europe’s most popular resorts and looked at the percentage of lifts they had open.

Méribel 76%
Avoriaz 45%
Les Arcs 46%
St Anton 74%
Val d’Isere 37%
Verbier 68%

Booking a ski holiday at the beginning of the winter season has always been a gamble and this had been reflected in the prices of December ski holidays. But the work that goes on behind the scenes at in the Three Valleys means that snow is as guaranteed as it can be throughout the season. Take a look below at our snow report from the end of December and you can see that despite there being no snow since the resort opened the piste were in pretty good shape.

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Snow Report | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, holiday, La Tania, Meribel, snow report, three valleys

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 3

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Keira Podyma

Once again the 3 Valleys has delivered when it comes to sunshine! This week has been sunny with blue skies every day and the perfect weather to hit the slopes. We have had a sprinkling of snow this week that has topped up the higher runs but we are still waiting for a dump! With Christmas just around the corner we are all feeling very festive in Meribel and La Tania with vin chaud, mince pies and questionable Christmas knitwear to be enjoyed over the next week!

Piste Conditions

The snow conditions are generally good although the warm weather has left the lower runs a bit slushy. The lower you get the thinner the snow cover, there are a few patches of ice and some rocks around so slowing your speed is advised. There is plenty of good snow to be had throughout the 3 Valleys and you can ski into every resort. Most runs and lifts have opened up this week, a few are still waiting for a bit more snow (it’s coming we promise!) but as the biggest ski area in the world we still have plenty to choose from.

Advice from the ski schools is to pick your runs carefully, check your speed and just ski with a little caution when it comes to lower and busier runs. Of course over the Christmas break the slopes do get a little busier but there is plenty of pistes for all ages and abilities.

Weather Forecast

Over the next week the blue skies are set to continue with glorious sunshine expected on Christmas day. You may have to jump on a lift to get your white Christmas but you will definitely have one! We are not expecting any major snowfall in the next week but the amazing cultured snow system in the 3 Valleys will be working hard to top up the pistes. Temperatures will stay relatively high for the time of year, between 1 and 4 °C throughout the day so don’t put on too many layers!

Whats on

There is all sorts on in the 3 Valleys this week for the whole family. There are carol services, torchlight descents, live music and even a few visits from the big man himself. There is no better place to spend the festive season than with us in Meribel and La Tania!

Check out all our last minute ski prices here

P1020334

Posted in Alpine Action, Ski, Snow Report, Whats On | Tagged Courchevel, holiday, Meribel, Ski, skiing, snowboarding, three valleys

Tag Archives: Courchevel

4 things that we have learned about the 3 Valleys this winter

The snow making is amazing

Spring skiing is outstanding again

Méribel is as popular as ever

The sleeper train is no more

Countdown to the Start of the Méribel Ski Season 16/17

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 13

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 11

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 9

Weather

Snow Conditions

Forecast

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 8

Snow Conditions

Weather Forecast

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 7

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 6

Three Valleys Commitment to Snow Making

So why is the snow cover so good?

Meribel & La Tania – Three Valleys Snow report – Week 3

Piste Conditions

Weather Forecast

Whats on

Meribel Chalet Holidays

Contact Us

Our Favorite Topics

Tags

Recent posts