Val d’Isère ~ Paris
The Top of the World
It may have been the leanest snow year in parts of the US since 1977, but we picked a great year to ski in Europe. After the heavy falls at Christmas in both the Swiss and French alps, the snow kept on coming.
We shared the ride in from Bourg St Maurice with a French lady and her two sons who by chance were staying at the same place as us, and had been there at Christmas too, so had lots of tips on where to eat and navigating that part of the village.
Woke in the morning and headed next door to get some food for breakfast at the supermarket, which had been dug out from snow walls as high as its roof. A good sign for the week to come.
Quick trip to “le ski man à côté” and it was off to the slopes. Val d’Isère has some great little chairlifts in the village for an aspiring 4 year old racer, but a huge advantage for learning and intermediate skiers are the massive expanses of gentle, rolling slopes at high altitude that were opened up for learners 2 seasons ago.
They spread as far as the eye can see in every direction, and mean that non-expert skiers can access high altitude skiing and then take the gondola back down when the legs start to give out.
A couple of warm-up runs for Aisling (and the rest of us!) and then we were up to the top of Solaise gondola to check out the top of the world…
The recent snowfalls coupled with COLD weather (about -15C or so) made for great skiing conditions as longs you rugged up. This time we were really lucky with the weather as it was sunny and still which made the cold manageable, and kept the powder in great condition.
Charles eager to continue his form from Saas Fee was straight into it…
Lunching in style
Bright sunny weather calls for slope side dining after a busy morning’s skiing, and Val d’Isère serves up lots of options.
Charles and Niamh lounging on the sheepskin covered chairs in Solarise with acres of rolling powder beckoning behind them…
Charles and Simon taking a well earned break at Tignes after zooming across from Val one morning…
And if the temperature ever dipped too low, stopping inside for a hot chocolate the size of your head never goes astray…
One of our favourites was a little yurt in Solaise serving hot dogs and churros. The lunch of champions!
And then of course, there’s making like the French, and just lounging in the sun to see & be seen in front of endless powered covered slopes…
Markets & Dining, Haute Savoie style
Back down in the village, Wednesday was market day.
It’s not a cheese stall if you don’t have at least 100 choices. Can you say fondue?? Aisling very taken by the array of soft sheepskins to snuggle in to…
Indeed, the Haute Savoie is all about the cheese.
The welcoming restaurant across the street had a highly dedicated raclette man, who zeroed in on us from the first night we were there and eagerly brought over samples to our table. Not long before Charles was signing up, and had never seen so much stuff arrive for his dinner…
High altitude playgrounds
Back to the slopes, and kids found a great way to mix it up between runs: the swings carry you just that little bit further in the playground at 2,500m up the top of the gondola…
They were even able to rescue their mum using the handy piste basher that was at the ready for the job…
Fireworks & festivals
Just to lay it on a bit more, French school holiday week meant winter festival in the village. There was a flare run by the non-ESF instructors (they of course have their own separate flare run unadulterated by les étrangers), illuminated mountains and fireworks…
There was a group of illuminated LED magicians who suspended a woman between two chairs before whisking one of the chairs away, leaving her suspended horizontally in mid air, supported only one one side by the remaining chair.
The act would have been altogether more impressive if it wasn’t clear that the game volunteer hadn’t frozen solid in that position in the frigid conditions, but we clapped them on nonetheless.
For Charles though, the stars of the show were the fire jugglers, who if you stood close enough, kept you not just entertained, but also warm 🙂
By day there was plenty to explore as well, down twisting streets and finding new furry friends to meet
Val d’Isère vistas
Then back to the slopes! Val d’Isère must be one of the few resorts in the world where your fist 5 runs of the day can be 3km, 3km, 4.5km, 3.6km and 5.8km long, with only one lift up between each (that was our Thursday). This is a resort where it pays to have fit legs when you show up!
One way to catch your breath on the way to the top: take the funiculaire train through the mountain 3.5km to the peak.
And when you get to the top, the question is whether to ski or just take in the view for a while. Not too many places in the world that can match Val d’Isère for high alpine vistas:
Even when the clouds rolled in, the valley views were stunning…
Sights and Tastes
Around town, never a dull moment exploring different sights, or munching on an icicle. Even some high altitude sculpture inspiration for Simon…
Graduation!
Friday was Aisling’s graduation from ski school!
She was an absolute star through the week. A fairly handy skier for her age (4), she ended up with a group of 6 and 7 year olds. This made for long days and usually by about 3pm she was ready to trade in the skis for a hot chocolate.
Her two Italian instructors from Oxygene were terrific in helping her along through the week, a big relief for Mum & Dad who were often a long distance away in such a huge resort
Tired children at the end of a busy week…
Heading back to Paris
Saturday and time to make our way back to Paris. Nice to relax on the train, watch the scenery go by and have a restful day after a busy week. We’ll be back!
