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Val Thorens Apres Ski Report: 22nd December 2011

Celebrate Christmas in Val Thorens

featured in Nightlife reviews Author Andy Wilson, Updated

Despite the poor weather that has hounded Val Thorens throughout the past week, the town has managed to maintain its festive atmosphere and promise of a variety of après ski activities and nightlife. Whilst the popular piste-situated bars including La Folie Douce (www.lafoliedouce-valthorens.com) and Les Chalets du Thorens have not seen their usual high custom due to the adverse conditions of the slopes, the bars at the top of town have drawn the crowds in the afternoons and early evenings.

With the proud claim of being the “highest pub in Europe”, The Frog and Roast Beef is a fun, relaxed location for an après ski bite to eat or a drink. The pub is especially popular with English visitors and seasonaires who want to chill out, throw some darts and have a pint after a day’s work or a cold afternoon on the piste. Amongst their fun drinks promotions, the pup occasionally instigates a game called “Toss the Boss” in which punters are given the chance to a free round if they are able to beat the barman at a game of dice. Aside from their regular karaoke nights, there are often unique events held including live-band nights and DJ sets. Playing at the beginning of season Who’s Who partied on Wednesday the 14th. The four piece band gave an energetic set of cover songs to a happy crowd. Rather than keeping his antics on the stage, the cheerful guitarist mingled and danced with the crowd whilst the singer climbed atop a table for their last few songs.

With a complete change of tune, on Tuesday the 20th the Frog played host to DJ/Beatbox duo Carpetface & Audible1 (for more information visit their Facebook page. Whilst due to start at 10pm, the evening began slowly since the pub was lacking numbers. Nevertheless, by 11pm the dance-floor was packed and the duo were delivering some excellent hip-hop classics to get everybody bouncing. However, it was when they began performing some of their original material that their talent was truly apparent, combining rapping, DJ, instrumental, percussion, and Beatboxing skills to flawless effect. The two-piece – who also go by the name ‘the GOOSENECK STEPPERS’ – are an excellent example of the unique and diverse live entertainment you can find in Val Thorens if you are willing to explore some of the smaller, less obvious venues.

Other bars in the area, in particular Saloon Bar and Snow Cafe boast a fun, vibrant atmosphere and an eclectic mix of clientele. Whilst they can’t match The Frog in terms of the welcoming environment/staff, they excel in other areas. Saloon Bar was a particularly popular venue this week for tour operators to take their clients and excitable students to take off their clothes. The very warm and usually packed bar area can become extremely cramped and perhaps not the place to be if you are a claustrophobe, but the sheer drunken joy of the place is hard to resist. What’s more, if you do find the constant bustle to be too much, Saloon comes complete with a quiet beanbag room and a loud downstairs club, appropriately called ‘Down Under’. Slightly further down the hill, the Snow Cafe is a smaller, quieter alternative. The warm little bar is notable for its collection of quirky signs and artefacts that decorate its walls, as well as the promise of some extreme sports that they like to show on the flatscreens.

Of course, Val Thorens is not exclusively a party-town for students and teenagers, and there is a wide variety of quieter establishments that cater to a more mature crowd. Pub L’Eclipse, for example, makes for a good night out for a wide variety of age groups and frequently hosts live bands and music from the resident DJ.

Now on the homestretch to Christmas, the events calendar is certainly thickening up. Notable events in the coming week include a DJ set from drum and bass superstars Pendulum at the nightclub Malaysia tonight (21st December) and a mass torchlight ski event organised by Val Thorens in co-operation with the French Ski School on the 22nd of December (details can be found here) as well as plenty of family oriented, Yuletide specific endeavours. Just don’t forget to wrap up warm because, yup, it is still snowing!