Activity Reviews in Val Thorens

It is one thing taking in the views on Val Thorens on skis but from up above it is even better.

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!

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.

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'!

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.

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!

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.

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...

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!

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.

If you want to add something a little extra to your holiday then why not try the highest zip wire in the world! 

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!

A couple of days ago I received a phone call asking if I would like to take part in a 3 part ‘Ski Touring’ course run by New Generation Ski School. Having taken part in, and thoroughly enjoyed various New Gen courses in the past I was quick to snap the opportunity up.

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.