Val Thorens Snow Report: 23rd December 2015

Saturday saw the usual volume of traffic heading up the mountain road for the first peak week of the holiday season and the weather was clear making conditions flow smoothly. The main surprise for visitors was probably the temperature which is a little on the warm side at the moment.

Yesterday saw a low cloud however unfortunately there were no falling snowflakes. The piste team are keeping up their good work keeping the slopes in great condition with as much snow-making as possible to keep runs open. All ski schools are operating as normal even in lower resorts such as St Martin where snow cover is limited.

With slightly busier slopes this week I have been taking advantage of the fantastic facilities at the Sport Centre in Les Menuires having taken up their really good value seasonal offer. I have visited many times in previous years but haven’t really ever realised the full extent of the facilities on offer. They have a really good-sized gym area with modern equipment and the most amazing views of the mountains! They also have squash courts, badminton courts, table tennis and basketball courts, which you can use to just ‘shoot some hoops’ you don’t need to use the full court to play a match.

Also much to my delight is the fact that I have finally found trampolines for adults! There are four trampolines next to the children’s soft play area and I very much enjoyed myself bouncing about for the first time since I was about 10yrs old. Many years later however the moves are not quite as easy as they were back then and it involves much more exercise than you might think! If you like freestyle they are a good area to try out some tricks.

Along with all this they also have a great swimming pool, huge steam room, two jacuzzis and two saunas depending how hot you like it. There are also some sun loungers to chill out and relax whilst watching the skiers heading past the window! A great place for non-skiers, families or anyone wanting to relax ski legs after a day on the slopes.

One more thing for the sports centre is that on a Saturday they offer a great service where you can leave your luggage for the day if you have an early checkout from accommodation but late departure and want to squeeze in an extra ski day. For a small charge you can leave your bags there for the day and for just a small amount extra you can also have a shower too, a great offer worth knowing about.

The restaurants are seemingly quiet so far this week and yesterday we dined at Capricorne in Les Menuires who offer a large range of pizzas along with local specialities and fish dishes. The restaurant in the evening is located opposite the bus station and they have a bar above, Le Kube, along with a take-away section, so all bases are covered. The service is really friendly and reasonable prices for the mountain. We both opted for pizzas which did the trick and meant we didn’t get to sample the dessert menu this time. You can also access their terrace during the day from the slopes as you pass through Les Menuires heading towards La Masse so it is a good meet up point for skiers and non-skiers.

Taking a look at what’s coming up, temperatures this week are rarely dropping below zero and it is forecast just slightly cooler for next week with sadly still no sign of snow heading Val Thorens’ way.

Don’t forget though there is still a high percentage of pistes and lifts open in the Three Valleys so your skiing will not be restricted, the sun is shining and with Christmas and New Year coming up there’s plenty of celebrating to be done. Also there’s one thing for sure – the restaurants and bars are certainly open!

Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas.