Tag Archives: spring skiing

7 Reasons to embrace spring skiing

Spring skiing officially starts in the middle of March. Coincidentally that is when skiing gets more fun (if that is possible).

But why is springtime so good in the mountains and spring skiing so amazing? The resort vibe begins to change, manic February is over, the weather is good, and everyone is a little more chilled out. Plus the skiing is fantastic and holiday prices are a little lower.

If you need more convincing, here are some more reasons to hit the slopes in the spring.

Blue sky and fewer layers

The absolute best things about spring skiing are the bright sunshine and warm temperatures. Navigating piste after piste without having to shy away from taking cold lifts to the summit is a dream.

More skiing time for you

Because of the longer days, the lifts open later, so you can take your time at lunch instead of rushing back to ski the last few times.

Spring Skiing Meribel

Apres ski

Once the warm evenings arrive, apres goes to the next level. There is more outside partying, with bands and concerts all on the agenda.

Or if a more reflective after-ski is your style, then chilling out in the warm sun with an Aperol into the early evening is more than possible.

SPRING SKIING IN MERIBEL FROM £699PP

Spring skiing in Fresh snow

In contrast to the claim of sunny sky and warm weather, the spring mountains are also prone to a fresh dump of snow from time to time, so remember your fat skis.

Less skiiers

There are fewer skiers on the mountain in the springtime. This means fewer queues, more space on the piste and more fresh tracks in the late-season snowfall.

Ski Touring

Spring is the perfect time for ski touring: skin-friendly grip snow, mild temperatures, and the ideal chance to see marmots and ibex and the rest of nature waking up from hibernation.

Spring Skiing Meribel

Easter eggs are easier to find

Finally, if you have ever been on an easter egg hunt in your garden, you will know the difficulty of trying to find bright easter eggs in a blossoming spring garden. There is no such problem in the snow as the brightly wrapped eggs stand out in the snow.

Easter in Meribel

SPRING SKIING IN MERIBEL FROM £699PP


Signs that spring is in the mountains

7 Signs that spring has arrived in the mountains

Fresh dumps of snow

Fresh Snow

The end of March and the start of April were once times that dedicated skiers would try and avoid the slopes. But over the last few years, these six weeks have seen an increase in big fresh dumps of snow. The snow that falls in spring may not stay around as long, but it is light, fluffy, and often accompanied by blue skies when it falls.

Outrageous tan lines

A goggle mark has always been more of a statement than a lax sunscreen application approach. But why stop at a goggle mark when there are T-shirt lines to collect on your arms, neck and rear. And the best time to get yours is during the spring months.

The sighting of Marmots

Marmot

To some these are mythical creatures that only exist in souvenir shops or the name of the piste where you were meant to meet your partner after their ski lesson. To others, the appearance of these giant rodents is a sign that spring is here and summer is on its way.

Mini Festivals

The alpine festival is a growing trend. Méribel alone can boast of the Ronnie Loves Music Festival and the Folie Douce Courchevel festival. Once the posters for these start to go up, we know that we are in for a good time and spring has arrived.

Rocks

piste sign meribel

Rocks are a part of the spring experience, and other than the ptex manufacturers, no one enjoys their appearance. First, the big ones that form the landscape start to appear, then slowly, smaller ones start to pop up on the lower slopes and busy intersections. By the season’s final week (if it hasn’t dumped), part of the game is to dodge the rocks.

Sunbathing lifties

An iconic ski resort image in spring is the sunbathing lift op. Over the years, the resorts have become more customer-focused and the role of the lift operator more responsible this sight happens less and less. But when it does, you can’t but think…. “I’d quite like that job”.

Puddles to skim

2010 Puddle Jump

You know the drill. You spot a puddle or melted pond, point it out to your group, and watch someone effortlessly skim across it on skis. The challenge is on. One of your group heads back to the chalet early to dry off. In some resorts, this is now a major event. Don’t let your mate enter!

Take a look at our spring ski deals or call us for more information.


Guide: Spring Skiing in Meribel

Why is Spring Skiing in Meribel so great!

Sunshine, smiley faces, parties, funny goggle marks and more snow than you might expect. Just a few of the things we love about Spring skiing in the Three Valleys.

In fact, Méribel in the spring comes with more than just a few perks.

In this blog we’re taking a closer look at the pros of a late season session on the slopes that’ll have you searching for all the Spring Ski deals and stocking up on the Factor 50 before you can say ‘have I got any annual leave left?’

Spring skiing is all about Location, Location, Location

Méribel’s enviable position, at the centre of the largest lift-linked ski area in the world with over 600km of marked pistes and 200 ski lifts serving a 110 square mile area, is a great base for exploring the tail-end of a season. Méribel, like La Tania, is of course well connected via lft and piste to the third valley of Val Thorens.

With 99% of its ski area above 2000m, it’s Europe’s highest major resort and one of its most snowsure from the start of the season right through to May. It even comes with a snow guarantee…

JOIN US FOR SOME SPRING SKIING: FROM £600 PER PERSON 

The Snow…there’s more than you might expect.

With a winter’s worth of snow as a base, accumulations on Méribel’s upper slopes can regularly reach depths of 2 meters by March and April. We took a look at the spring snowfall records for the last five years and found that an average of almost 50cm fell during the last six weeks of the season, easily matching the snowfall recorded in December in those same seasons.

With the warmer temperatures and stronger sunshine though, snow quality can be more unpredictable, but fear not! Spring skiing just calls for a little pre-planning. We recommend taking to South facing runs such as Jerusalem in the morning and switching to the North facing ones, such as the Cote Brune, in the afternoons.

JOIN US FOR SOME SPRING SKIING: FROM £600 PER PERSON 

The Pace of Life

Skiing on a bluebird day in the spring takes on a quality different to that of the winter. It becomes less about the standard adrenaline-fuelled stuff and more about an awe-filled exploration of the mountains.

The longer, warmer days mean that you can take the time to ‘smell the flowers’ as it were. There’s a sense of new growth, a natural unfurling of the summer to come which brings with it the inevitable buzz and potential of a seasonal shift. And this is what those mountain-top bar terraces were made for…

A World Away from the Piste

If you do get the odd day where conditions are less than perfect, it’s handy to know that there are some great alternatives to the slopes.

There are some really good non-ski activities that include paragliding, Ice skating, water parks and Ice Karting on offer in Meribel and The Three Valleys. And oh, did we mention the lovely, sunshine-filled Apres?

There are a lot of parties

There’s always something going on in the Three Valleys but it’s March and April that see the focus lie heavily on parties, charity music events and top notch festivals. Firm favourites such as March’s Ronnie Loves Music Festival and the legendary Three Valleys Charity day in April are just two great examples that complement a whole host of closing parties and the inevitable ‘drink the bar dry’ nights that see the season drawn to a very merry close.

Spring time skiing in Meribel and the Three Valleys is basically about excitable early mornings on the slopes and leisurely lines back towards an especially awesome apres scene that starts in the afternoon and continues late, late into the night.

JOIN US FOR SOME SPRING SKIING: FROM £600 PER PERSON 


Why you should consider spring skiing

Officially winter ends on the 20th of March. The beginning of spring traditionally heralds the arrival of warmer weather, bird song and flowers coming into bloom.

So why would you head to the mountains for some skiing or snowboarding at this time of the year? Because spring in the mountains is great fun, there is some wonderful skiing to do and plenty of other things to get up to.

The Snow

We can’t promise you endless bluebird powder days in spring but more snow fall in the spring than you think. We looked at the snowfall for the 6 week spring period in the alps over the last five years and found that on average 49cm of snow fell in the period. Spring snow accounts for 14% of all the season’s snowfall. This can easily match the snowfall recorded during December in the same seasons.

When we looked at the base depths on the piste in spring they compared almost like for like with the depths of December. Naturally the snow is starting to melt as spring settles in and it is often the case that at the very end of April the charts start to tail off. However, for many of the season we looked at spring starts when the snow depth is at its peak.

Spring Snow 2016

Simply put skiing in spring is as fun and varied as the rest of the season only a little bit warmer.

The Sun

During the spring the average temperatures is around 11° which is a lot warmer than you can expect in January when the average is just above freezing at 2°.

 

In the middle of winter in Méribel there is around 75 hours of sunshine over 28 days. Once spring arrives there is in excess of 175 hours of sunshine throughout the month.

The Fun

It is during these months that the sun terraces start jumping into action with more outside gigs starting happen, BBQ’s appear and of course there is loads more sunbathing to be done.

Photo : 3 Valleys Charity Day Facebook

In Spring Méribel gears itself up for some great outdoor parties including the Ronnie Loves Music Festival with Norman Jay MBE, The Sunset Sons and Craig Charles.. There is also the amazing Three Valleys Charity day hosted by the LDV’s in Méribel Village.

 

If you fancy a week skiing in the spring then give us a call on 01273 466535 or take a look at our latest offers. 


Albert Action – Snow Dog

Bonjour,  Je m’appelle Albert Action, 6556584924676096

I am a St Bernard dog and I live in your chalet, I hope you don’t mind if I hang out with you on your chalet holiday. You will be pleased to know that I am chalet and chairlift trained. I also love playing with children of all ages. I enjoy making new friends and having adventures.

It would be great if I can come on some of your adventures? I would hate to miss out. I can guarantee that we will have a good time.

I am a big poser and love having my photo taken when I am doing cool stuff. I have lots of friends all over the world and they like to see what I am up to. It would be great if you could share our adventures on-line using the hashtag #AlbertAction.

You can also see what other adventures I have been on by searching #AlbertAction or by following me on Twitter @AlbertActionSki as I like to share my photos with my friends.

10404112_975810132430765_8709051424696891455_nAlberts list of things I like doing…

Skiing and Snowboarding

Sledging

Making Snowmen

Eating Cheese

Barking

Ice skating

Most other extreme sports

Being stroked

 

Alberts list of things I don’t like doing…

Going in Washing Machines

Hanging out with cats

Hot tubs

Going home

Button Lifts

I am looking forward meeting you this winter . I think we will have a great time.

PawPrints-AC-E96

 

 

 

 

A.Action

 


What is the most satisfying feeling a skier can have.

How satisfying is skiing?

We recently asked a load of skiers what makes makes them the most satisfied when they go on a ski holiday. Here are the results.

Click here to take the survey.

Booking a ski holiday.

Before even going skiing nearly 70% of skiers reported that they feel very satisfied after they have booked a ski holiday, with only 2% not getting any satisfaction from booking the annual trip.

First Lifts

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The other 50% were all satisfied if they got out for the first lift however, there was a small percentage that weren’t. We can only assume that the unsatisfied 8% were more keen to a lie-in.

Ride, Eat, Party

We asked everyone how satisfied they felt after half a days riding, a long lunch, one more run and some Aprés? There was nearly a 30/70 split with the majority feeling pretty pleased with this approach to skiing.

Dump of snow

Unsurprisingly waking up to a fresh dump of snow was the most satisfying with 93% of skiers feeling satisfied/quite satisfied or very satisfied. There was a small group that weren’t very happy about this. We suspect that these are the same ones that were planning on a lie-in.

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Becoming a ski instructor

We wondered how satisfying it would you be if everyone who had been skiing followed their dream and became a ski instructor? 31% claimed it would not be satisfying at all but on the positive end of the scale 42% of skiers would be very happy to end up working as a instructor.

Hiking and getting fresh lines

The results were pretty clear  for the question “How satisfied do you feel after a day hiking and making fresh tracks?”. With the majority claiming that hiking was high on the agenda when looking for thrills on the mountain.

Capture

Home Time 

How satisfied to you feel at the end of the trip? On the whole most people felt satisfied at the end of a weeks skiing with a massive 52% being very satisfied.  Not surprisingly there was an 18% who craved more mountain time which is why they should consider working a ski season.


What does the end of the ski season mean to the staff in the ski resorts?

What does the end of the ski season mean to the staff in the ski resorts? 

Spring is in the mountains and that means many things. Things such as drink the bar dry nights, increased sightings of marmots, stones appearing on the piste, increased worry about getting your deposit back on your hire skis and of course the end of the winter ski season. But what does the end of the ski season mean to the staff in the ski resorts?

Rhys and Leanna- Serpolet (1024x768)

Our staff will be starting to realise what this means very soon. To them it will seem a distant memory when they filled out their application form and then came and had an interview for a ski job with us. Since then, the potential we spotted in them will have been realised and they will now be developed professional caterers. Never, during playground chat, will they have thought that making a bed and cleaning bathrooms would be a path they would take and they definitely wouldn’t have considered the rewards it would also lead to.

Now as the last few weeks of guest arrive and depart and the chalets are prepared for a lonely summer, our chalet host will be starting to have one of two feelings. For some it will be Joy, for others it will be dread and some it will be both.

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The feeling of joy will come from the feeling of relief that they did it. It is hard to underestimate the pressure a chalet host is under. Many people take the job with mixed emotions of trepidation and excitement because is it far outside their comfort zone.  So to have completed a winter season in a ski chalet having cooked and cleaned for 200 people 6 nights a week is a massive achievement, especially when you have got consistently good reviews as our staff have done this season.

Joy will also be because they are looking forward to going home, for quite a few of our chalet host this will have been the first time that they have left everyone behind. When they do return they may have not seen their parents or partners for 6 months.

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But there is that feeling of dread too. In some jobs you work, then you go home, then you have a weekend and then you go on holiday. Working and living in a ski resort as a chalet host is all of those things in a day, every day, twice. It is a completely absorbing environment to be in. For many it will be the most intense few months of their lives. In some cases it is addictive and can lead to a whole life in the mountains.

When we reflect on the friend we have made and how far they will be away when we return home. When we consider the epic days we have had in the hills and how suddenly we won’t be skiing fresh tracks 30 minutes after getting that cake out of the oven. We will even reflect back at the great guests we have had, from the party animals to the clean freaks, and how we have enjoyed having them all to stay. When you consider all this you start to get a feeling of dread. Suddenly it will all be gone.

Still there is always next season…

Find out what its like to work for us.

Working for Alpine Action from Alpine Action on Vimeo.


What Emily Sarsfield Loves About Méribel

Emily Sarsfield is the UK’s number 1 female Ski Cross athlete, has been ranked 20th on the World Cup circuit and is a member if the British Ski and Snowboard squad. For the last 10 years Emily has lived, worked and trained in Méribel and is a big fan of the Three Valleys.  Recently we had a chance to sit down with Emily and talk to her about what she loves about our Alpine home.

Capture

Val Thorens World Cup, credit: Daniel Smye-Rumsby

Not only does Emily train in the Three Valleys she also runs a small ski school offering private lessons out of Méribel, this is obviously when she isn’t competing and is often during the school holidays. The reason she does this is because unlike many other athletes she doesn’t receive funding, so has to find ways to fund her own training and racing. As Emily bases herself in the Three Valleys and is always returning in Méribel, we started be asking her why she keeps coming back, her response was that the resort has a strong community, although she doesn’t behave like the usual seasonnaire and is likely to be found in the gym when everyone else is in the pub.

We then chatted about her missing out on the Winter Olympic Games and becoming a ski instructor but we soon ended up back on the subject of Méribel. One of the first thing Sarsfield mentioned was the fact that all of the resorts in America would fit into the Three Valleys before pulling out the usual but true clichés and declaring that Méribel is “postcard picture perfect”.

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Megeve World Cup, credit: Daniel Smye-Rumsby

In the 10 years of skiing in the Three Valleys she doesn’t think she has skied every run, which is probably very true, after all the years we have been working out there we probably haven’t either. If you live somewhere for a long time you will inevitably notice the changes, one of the big things Emily has noticed is how the access to cross the entire ski area has developed and even beginner skiers can now move from resort to resort on mainly green runs.

“There is always something different” – Emily Sarsfield on the Three Valleys

Of course one of the main reason Emily loves the Three Valleys is because of the Ski Cross park in Val Thorens, which is one of the best in Europe and regularly hosts World Cup Events. Over the years she has fallen in love with off piste skiing which the the 3Vs has plenty of when the conditions are right and Sarsfield top tip is to head up the Loze chair on a bluebird for some easy access powder.

We saved our “best” question until last, when we asked her in our serious interviewer voice, what is her favourite run in the resort and the answer was the Mauduit. The run is from the top of Saluire and goes all the way down to Méribel Center, or you can choose to head down to Méribel Village. She described the run as “long, open, well groomed and a thigh burner”.

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If you would like to keep up to date with Emily then check out her Facebook or Twitter.

To book a holiday to Méribel visit our website. 

 


What’s on in Meribel and La Tania – January 2015

What’s on in Meribel and La Tania – January 2015

There are always great things going on in the resorts of La Tania and Meribel. You will find that there are great bands and promo nights on all the time. Your chalet host and our resort reps will be able to tell you what is going on every day. However, there are some great events on in January you may not want to miss. Here is a list of events in January that are worth looking at.

5th to 8th January – Inuit Adventures 

The Meribel Altiport area has gone all Arctic this season! It is holding a variety of free events that will make you feel as if you are a real Inuit. The main attraction is ice fishing.

6th January – Russian Christmas

A large number of Russians are now holiday in the Three Valleys, we even have quite a few come and stay in our Alpine Action Chalets. This is great news for Christmas lovers as the Russians don’t get around to celebrating it until the 6th of January and it is well and truly embraced in Meribel!

17th January  – Moguls Competition

Want to feel inferior about your technique and ability to tackle small bumps on the piste? Then head up to Motteret and watch the French Freestyle Mogul Cup. It is even more impressive than watching it on the telly. Find out more.

18th January – Colour me Rad

We spotted this event thanks to Merinet. It is a charity fun run where you get a variety of colours thrown at you as you run. Start out in a white running kit and finish in either a vibrant rainbow of color or a sort of brown purple. It is only 5km up the mountain and there is a party at the end! Go on have a go!

20th Jan Meribel v’s Courchevel Hockey

During the season there are quite a few Hockey matches but this is a big one, Courchevel against Meribel. This is quite a grudge match, I remember watching these two battle it out at the Courchevel rink a few years back and it was brutally exciting. I didn’t really understand what was going on but it was exciting nonetheless. This event is held at the Meribel Olympic Ice Rink and is only €5 per adult.

Jan 26th – Australia Day

It seems that it isn’t only the Russians that have brought their traditions to the Alps, the Australians have too. Expect drunken people called Tad and Jason to run around bars drinking Fosters dancing to Men At Work covers and wearing beanie hats with chalet wine corks hanging from them.