Val Thorens Snow Report: 22nd January 2015

This week I decided it was time I switched my snowboard for skis. Having briefly attempted skiing over the past couple of years I decided this year to have a better crack at it so rented some skis and boots from Twinner in St Martin.

It's a really great shop, they are not the cheapest in resort but you get a great service and all their kit is no more than two years old. They are happy for you to switch skis/boots mid-week if you want to try something different and are a really professional operation to deal with. A recommend from moi.

On Monday I thought conditions would be a little more forgiving so took my skis out for a test run. Being the queen of faff I didn’t have much time to do too many runs but think it turned out for the better, as it was definitely a gentle easing back into life on two planks. There is a great sweeping blue run into St Martin which is a good long ski and a great confidence builder. Having been overcast all day I caught the short time that the sun came out and it was a true wow day. My skiing on the other hand, not so ‘wow’!

I then thought I was ready to join other skiers and found two willing tutors the following day happy to wait for me to wobble my way down the slope. The light was not so great so we headed over for some trees run in the Meribel valley, something lacking from the Belleville valley. Thankfully the sun popped out to say hello as we decided to take a coffee stop at the Rond Point. A great place to ski into with a large terrace, huge tables and very refreshing prices and offers for seasonaires.

The following day it was Meribel again but a slightly disjointed day trying to meet up with friends sans phone. It’s amazing in a huge ski area, 600kms of piste to be exact, that you can still bump into people you were meant to meet an hour ago! Unfortunately having been in the Three Valleys for five years, I am really lacking on good value lunch recommendations. Yesterday we opted for an English run bar in Meribel and were hugely disappointed. Drastically overpriced and a long waiting time, means we won’t be returning. I shall continue my search for the best places to eat/drink and will keep you posted! A ski holiday is not a cheap excursion in the first place so exaggerated prices don’t help. I really feel for anyone taking a family for a round of hot chocolates, you could come away nearly 50 euros lighter if you pick the wrong spot!

It is surprising how conditions vary day to day at the moment and more snow would really help to improve the area. Temperatures are remaining steadily low which means that snow canons can operate to top up the piste overnight. As there has been no fresh snow this week, the condition of certain runs have deteriorated quickly where there are no snow canons and have been forced to close. The well-known Jerusalem run is currently one of those closed runs, so hopefully if the snow arrives as forecast these runs will open back up in the ski area once again.

There is sun, sun and more sun forecast tomorrow and then as per usual snow forecast for Saturday. There is more snow due midweek right up until the following weekend, just what we want to see! So the skis will be back out again tomorrow for that sunshine, I think I’m just about converted.

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Read more 3 Valleys Snow Reports from Meribel & Courchevel.