Val Thorens Snow Report: 11th December 2014

There are varied races and the timetable of events can easily be located so that you catch all the action. I headed up there on Sunday for the finals which was great but after four hours was I ready to defrost my feet! It’s fantastic entertainment though. Despite their environmental benefits the electric cars however are a let down, really bizarre as the cars are flying round the circuit in near silence, no dramatic revving to be heard!

Then having purchased my Three Valleys season pass, (my Gem to Gem Christmas present - I’ve been good this year!) I thought it best to head up the mountain to check that I still know how to snowboard.

Having seen snow fall and disappear over the past month I was pleasantly surprised by the conditions in Val Thorens. Whilst Les Menuires had to put back their opening date until this weekend (13th December) it’s looking like the Three Valleys links will open on Saturday. Val Thorens itself will have 95% of ski lifts and 80% of the ski domain open by this weekend which is fab.

If you are driving up to Val Thorens just for the day then I would recommend parking in P4 which is a free car park near the Cairn lift. From there you can access the slopes straight away and it means you don’t have to drive all the way up into Val Thorens village where parking is limited and the roads are more icy.

Whilst skiing was great for this time in the season, I would just warn that some of the pistes are not as soft as they look! The snow canons have been on in force, and anyone who has skied on this type of ‘snow’ will know that it tends to be harder than the real stuff once temps really drop, as they have done in Val Thorens. I made the mistake of sitting to strap on my board under a canon that subsequently started up, and made me into a lovely ice lady once I’d finished my trip up the chairlift having been showered with snow canon-ness!

Despite being the only resort currently open in the Three Valleys, the slopes and the resort in general was really nice and quiet. Several times I had the piste to myself, my absolute favourite.

Being my first day on the slopes I didn’t quite get my act together early enough to catch the sunshine which just disappeared as I arrived around 11am. A bonus was that for my first day, I didn’t actually forget anything - a usual is to head to the slopes sans essential items such as board or pass!

Having driven up from 900m the temperature didn’t really change and stayed a steady -4 up to Val Thorens at 2300m so not too chilly. Whilst I was there the clouds started to roll in and hopefully that means more snowfall afternoon and overnight. I scarpered after only a couple of hours of finding my snow legs to warm by the fire. There is more snow forecast for the weekend and then next week starts with some sunshine, just what we like to hear.

After a slightly delayed start to the Three Valleys season it looks like we’re now up and running so here’s hoping for a very snowy season ahead!