Les Trois Vallées

Les Trois Vallées
Overview of Les Menuires in the Belleville valley, one of three valleys
Overview of Les Menuires in the Belleville valley, one of three valleys
Les Trois Vallées is located in Alps
Les Trois Vallées
Les Trois Vallées
Location within Alps
LocationSavoie, France
Nearest major cityChambéry
Coordinates45.5 N 6.5 E 45°21′N 6°36′E / 45.350°N 6.600°E / 45.350; 6.600
Top elevation3,230 m (10,600 ft)
Base elevation600 m (2,000 ft)
Skiable area18.5 km2 (7.1 sq mi)
Trails
  • 335 total
  •   48 (14%) beginner
  •   135 (40%) easy
  •   119 (36%) intermediate
  •   33 (10%) difficult
Longest run12 km (7.5 mi) Cîme de Caron
Total length600 km (370 mi)
Lift system
Snowmaking2,300 cannons
Websitewww.les3vallees.com

Les Trois Vallées (French pronunciation: [le tʁwɑ vale]; "The Three Valleys") is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of Southeastern France, to the south of the town of Moûtiers, partly in Vanoise National Park.

Since 1971,[1] it has been possible to ski the interlinked valleys using a single ski pass. Thus, Les Trois Vallées is the largest connected ski area in the world[2] which is linked solely by ski lifts and slopes. It claims to have about 600 km (370 mi) of ski slopes, resulting in 18.5 km² of groomed runs, while an independent expert measured about 493 km.[3] In addition, there are 120 km for cross-country skiing. Les Trois Vallées has 183 ski lifts, which can transport 260,000 skiers per hour. Other equipment owned by the operating companies include 2,300 snow cannons[4] and 73 snow grooming machines operated by 160 snow groomers who work in shifts during the night.[5] Other employees in the area include 424 ski patrollers and 3,000 ski instructors.[6]

As implied by its name, the area originally consisted of three valleys: Saint-Bon, Allues, and Belleville. The skiing area has since been extended into a 'fourth' valley, the Maurienne valley. It is adjacent to Val Thorens, but can also be accessed using a long gondola lift from Orelle. The following ski resorts are in Les Trois Vallées:

Valley Resort Established Skiable range (m) Sub-resorts
Saint-Bon Courchevel 1946 1300 - 2738 Courchevel-Le Praz, Courchevel-Village (1550), Courchevel-Moriond (1650), Courchevel 1850
Saint-Bon la Tania 1990 1400–2305 -
Allues Méribel 1939 1400–2952 Meribel-Village, Meribel, Meribel-Mottaret
Allues Brides-les-Bains 1992 600–1450 Les Allues
Belleville Val Thorens 1972 1825–3200 -
Belleville Les Menuires 1964 1850–2850 Les Menuires, Reberty, La Masse
Belleville Saint-Martin-de-Belleville 1983 1400–2434 -
Maurienne Orelle 1997 900–3230 -

Tarentaise Valley Skiing

Within the Tarentaise Valley, there are various other resorts such as Paradiski (Les Arcs, La Plagne) and Espace Killy (Val d'Isère and Tignes). A weekly lift ticket in Les Trois Vallées used to allow one to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned although this has now been removed. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create the – by far – largest ski area in the world. However that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park.

See also

References

  1. ^ "History of les 3 Vallées, ski area in the french alps - creation of the skipass". Les 3 vallées. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  2. ^ The world's biggest ski resorts
  3. ^ Weakley, Cat (2013-09-13). "Ski resorts 'exaggerate piste lengths'". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ Ski Guarantee
  5. ^ Velvety Ski Slopes
  6. ^ Safety is Paramount for Carefree Skiing