So far I've visited Val Thorens (VT) twice. Both times I have driven over with mates and both times we've stayed with a friend in VT. This means that we have been able to drastically reduce our outlay, please ourselves when we go and (most importantly) to bring back vast quantities of booze bought cheaply just before getting on the ferry!
VT is the highest resort in Europe at 2300m+ (I think the height is right) It was purpose built about 25 years ago and is very popular with locals and more experienced skiers/boarders due to the vast amount of off-piste available. In fact there are no trees around VT so virtually everything you can see is skiable! This is in addition to being part of the well-known '3 Valleys' complex. You'd have to be there all season to ski it all, it's huge!
On both our visits (one at New Year 98/99 and one in March 99) we have had phat powder man! Of course we had the advantage of having our own local guide so not only did we find untracked runs and huge drop-offs with deep powder, we also managed to stay late at the top and eventually rode down an empty mountain. Wicked!
There really is a huge amount of deep snow to ride, but there's also lots of great pisted runs too. Apparently the ski schools are very good although we didn't use them.
The nightlife is pretty good too. Plenty of restaurants, bars and a couple of nightclubs to hang out in. Beware, it is quite expensive, but no more so than at other ski-resorts.
New Year was absolutely mental! Naked drunk people running around letting off fireworks, kissing everyone and waving bottles of Champagne.... all on sheet ice!
The snowmobile tours around the mountain at night are supposed to be good fun too, although seeing as how we had access to our own snowmobile and were too busy tearing around having fun, we didn't bother with the guided tours....
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Mar 13th, 2002
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