Val Thorens Snow Report: 9th March 2014

Only last week we were skiing powder in what felt like the depths of winter but this week spring has definitely sprung. We’ve now passed the tipping point when the great piles of snow in the resort start to diminish rather than increase. The gondolas lifts reek of Hawaiian Tropic sun cream; the first cases of sunburn have arrived and it’s now a good idea to carry a baseball cap in your rucksack so you don’t get sunstroke over lunch.

The snow on piste has been very good over the past week though it is starting to show signs of sun exposure. There is a little film of slush on the sunnier slopes in the afternoon and these exposed pistes can be quite hard early in the morning. For the moment, however, the snow is generally lovely and the groomed and shady runs are still in great shape.

Off-piste, there is still fluffy snow in high and north-facing areas and the beginnings of spring snow in lower and sunnier ones. If this weather continues, we should enjoy some epic spring snow conditions this year.

Do you remember the old itineraries in the 3 Valleys, those wonderful un-signposted off-piste routes, some many miles long? They disappeared from our piste maps many years ago, due to public confusion about whether they were pistes or not and, no doubt, worries about litigation. Well, this year the idea of official off-piste routes have made a partial comeback, now marketed trendily as ‘Liberty Ride’ areas. There is one in Les Menuires under Masse 2 gondola and another above St Martin, under the St Martin 2 chairlift and they are marked on the piste map in yellow to denote they are a ‘fun area’. The idea is to provide off-piste skiers a safe, avalanche-controlled zone. Though they were much publicized before the season, they only opened quite recently. We tried out the Riondaz Liberty Ride above St Martin a few days ago and, oh, what a disappointment! Rather than being a wide open space where freeriders can let off steam in safety, this was basically a very narrow ungroomed piste. Short, gently sloping and marked with regular piste poles, this is little more than a boring new blue run. After a dump of powder, this would become tracked out after just a handful of skiers. Compared with the old, long Lac de Lou or Brides itineraries, this was dull stuff indeed. Come on les 3 Vallees, if American resorts can provide proper avalanche-controlled off-piste zones, why can’t we?

Now that the sun is here our thoughts turn to which are the best bar or restaurant terraces to spend some time. Here are two I visited recently and enjoyed.

1) La Ferme de la Choumette restaurant and bar above St Martin de Belleville. Perfect if you’re looking for an authentic, rustic, rural experience. Chickens, cows, goats and frisky kids can all be seen here – so perfect for city children who have never seen a cow being milked or thought where their eggs come from. There is sometimes a rather overwhelming odour of animals but the staff are nice and the prices reasonable. The view is great too and it’s mild thanks to the low altitude. Turn right off the main Biolley blue run just above St Martin where you see the sign shown above.

2) Chalet 2000 above Les Menuires. A small, family-run restaurant with a sun-trap terrace located just a short distance off the piste. Much quieter than the main, larger piste-side restaurants, this unpretentious restaurant has been a favourite of local ski instructors for years. The prices are sensible and the food always straightforwardly good (e.g. 20€ for the three course set menu). Ski down the left-hand side of main Menuires blue run and you will see a large wooden sign on your left.

The coming week is the last of the French holidays. The slopes should be much quieter than last week as only one of the three French zones is on holiday. How our snowpack will stand up the onslaught of so much sunshine remains to be seen….