Val Thorens Apres Ski Report: 12th April 2012

Whilst the usual Sunday and Monday nights were as lively as ever this week, the most notable night of this week was the annual W.O.F.T.A.M awards, hosted at Saloon Bar on Tuesday night. Whilst there were a few clusters of holiday-makers dotted around, the event was primarily aimed at seasonnaires who voted for the winners of the numerous awards. The prize giving began at around 11pm, hosted by the owners of Saloon and the neighbouring Cafe Snesko, both of whom seemed rather eager on getting everyone who was crammed into the bar pretty smashed. The nominations for each award were gathered from forms filled out by punters throughout the last couple of weeks in each of the bars that line the strip at the top of town. Once they took to the stage a second round of votes was called until a majority was counted. There awards for ‘Song of the Season’, ‘Town Drunk’, ‘Village Idiot’ and the hallowed ‘Mr & Mrs V.T. Awards’. With this kind of event, there’s always the chance that things could become a little malicious but in this case, even with the slightly more ‘top-shelf’ awards, nothing was taken too seriously. It was simply a great opportunity to get all of the season-workers in the same room to party. Events soon moved over to The Frog and Roastbeef (primarily the British seasonnaires) where we indulged in some Karaoke and dancing, continuing over to Klub Summit to finish the night.

On Wednesday evening (still exhausted from the night before) we decided to treat ourselves to an evening of bowling. Located just behind Place Caron at Place de l'Arche, the sizable bowling alley/arcade/sports bar was a refreshing change, Wednesday usually being a BNO (big night out) at the bars that line the top of town. At 11€ for a game (or 9€ for seasonnaires) it’s not especially cheap, particularly if you are also drinking at the bar (6€ for a beer), but it’s a great laugh and the venue is particularly well kept. After working up an appetite on the lanes we went out for a meal at Kinabalu, the sole Asian restaurant in Val Thorens, located in the Peclet shopping centre. The restaurant serves primarily Thai food which is all cooked with surprising authenticity and the ingredients seem extremely fresh, sometimes a rarity at this altitude. It is certainly not on the cheap end of the mountain restaurant spectrum, but if you are after some superb Asian cuisine with warm and welcoming service to boot, it won’t matter in the slightest.

The party is continuing next week and there are two big events for your calendars. Firstly, dig out your gladrags and head down to The Frog and Roastbeef on Tuesday night for their end of season prom. The idea of there being a ‘prom’ in The Frog might raisee eyebrows but, as with most of the events put on in the Highest Pub in Europe, the tongue is placed firmly in the cheek. Expect party games, jazz and swing from DJ Laserman and the bar staff to be dressed in their finery. The night after swap your tuxedo for a pair of Speedos for a beach party at Saloon bar. There is no sand and sea up here in the mountains but we have definitely had plenty of sun so get your tanned self to Saloon on Wednesday night and dance the night away to some Baywatch. You’ve earned it.