Val Thorens Activity Review: 13th August 2012
The busiest fortnight of the summer season is upon us and over the past week visitors have been arriving in Val Thorens in huge numbers to make the most of the huge array of events on offer.
Read reviews of the best Val Thorens activities
The busiest fortnight of the summer season is upon us and over the past week visitors have been arriving in Val Thorens in huge numbers to make the most of the huge array of events on offer.
The only opportunity for the dog sled in the Belleville valley is based down in St Martin de Belleville at 1400m. There is a regular bus service between the resorts for anyone staying higher up wanting to take part.
Not only is Val Thorens a great ski resort it's also a great spa resort and with 15 to choose from, you're almost spoilt for choice.
Sledging in France really ups the ante. There are two sledge tracks in the Belleville valley which are as much for the adults as they are for the kids. Quite often I have heard people pondering whether they will actually hang up their skis in favour of sledging as the new winter pastime!
For lesson two of three, Instructor Mike, or ‘Uncle Mikey’ - as he is now affectionately (and privately) known by all of us - took us up the Plan de l’Homme and Olympic chairlifts.
It seemed like the perfect time to head to the 3 Valleys to test out the mountain biking there - with the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on in Meribel over the weekend there were bound to be lots of bikes, great trails and a fantastic atmosphere...
Towards the end of last week I had the pleasure of accompanying Stefan and his instructor Thierry to get a better insight into accompanied skiing and wow what an inspiration they are!
My highlight of this weekend’s skiing in Val Thorens was enjoying a warming vin chaud watching the mountains turn pink from the Les Aiguilles du Peclet Restaurant followed by a sunset ski back down to resort.
A great summer activity in the Three Valleys is via ferrata however it is not something that I had ever come across before in the UK until I came to France.
Varied snow and weather conditions across the weekend made for a lot of fun and a lot of hard work for the less experienced skiers amongst us. Thankfully Intersport came to our rescue and helped us out with a variety of skis to 'improve our technique'!
There's been a changeover in the Three Valleys and rather than transporting skiers and snowboarders the ski lifts in Val Thorens, Les Menuires and St Martin de Belleville are now taking bikers and walkers up the mountain!
The summer season may just be drawing to a close but winter feels like it's already here as it has just been snowing in Val Thorens - in August!
Summer in the mountains is certainly here with the lovely ‘heat wave’ - just hoping it stays that way! The resort is all set to open this weekend and the mountains are looking as beautiful as ever.
After explaining the experience of taking the zip wire in Val Thorens to a group of families staying in resort last Winter, guess what was on the bucketlist this year! Well, on the kids' list anyway...
After a bit of rainy start, the sun seems to be back and summer is in full swing in Val Thorens…
Three new chairlifts, four new pistes, new beginner areas, fun zones and sledding areas: les 3 Vallées has plenty of new developments for you to enjoy this winter.
Snowshoe walking is an age-old snow activity which started with giant tennis rackets on your feet and has now progressed to light weight kit, although in my opinion it won't win any awards for the coolest looking snow sport any time soon!
Bringing your own skis or snowboards to resort can be a real faff, struggling with extra luggage and paying extra on some airlines to get your gear on board. Yes, there are benefits to bringing your own ski boots with you, but when ski hire in resort is cheaper and more convenient than bringing your gear by plane, why would you not hire in resort?