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MIGHTY THOR

Ski resort that really has the lot

AFTER all the recent doom and gloom, I've been living the high life in the French Alps.

Val Thorens in Les Trois Vallees - the Three Valleys to you and me - is the highest resort in Europe, making it a good bet for guaranteed snow throughout the area's six-month winter season.

The village itself is the highest resort in Europe at 2,300m (you can ski as high as 3,200m) and is nestled among 140km of piste but that figure balloons to an incredible 600km of green, blue, red and black runs if you buy a lift pass for the Three Valleys area, which includes playground of the British royal family, Courcheval.

Friendly

So off I headed with Directski.com and two mates a fortnight ago to sample the snow, drink, food and craic of Val Thorens.

We flew from Dublin to Geneva (Directski.com also flies from Belfast) at midday on Saturday, arriving in the city which sits on the lake of the same name and is surrounded by the Swiss Alps.

Those mountains soon became the French Alps, as we were whisked towards our high-altitude destination on the three-and-a-half
hour bus transfer to Val Thorens.

During the journey, a friendly rep explained to skiers and snowboarders alike where to collect lift passes and rental gear, before informing the eager holidaymakers that snow conditions were excellent and that all of the 31 ski lifts that service the Val Thorens area were open and ready for business.

Val Thorens has beds for a whopping 22,500 visitors, so we were pleasantly surprised to arrive in a village more akin to a sleepy
Alpine retreat rather than a sprawling manufactured winter metropolis.

Most of the accommodation is self-catering and because the resort sits in the middle of a mountain, a huge amount of rooms are 'ski in, ski out', so you avoid saving precious piste time in the morning queueing for the 'main lift up the mountain'.

We were dropped outside our self-catering apartment at Residence Le Tikal and found everything in order.

Heated

Our home for the next week consisted of a living room-cum-kitchen-cum-dining room with fold-out beds, a bedroom with twin beds, a bathroom and all the mod cons you'd expect, including a fully kitted-out kitchen, TV and wi-fi access.

Each apartment also has a designated ski room, where you can leave your gear at the end of a day in a heated locker.

As we headed out for a bite to eat before bed, what had at first appeared as a small and quiet ski resort revealed itself as a night-owl's dream. There's a plethora of restaurant, bars and shops, plus a couple of nightclubs for those with energy to spare after a hard day on the slopes.

Adequately fed and watered, we headed for bed and were dreaming of the white stuff before you could say 'sacre bleu'.

One of my companions, Gary, was skiing for the first time. An intermediate snowboarder, he had brought his board with him but had also hired skis and booked lessons with the Ecole du Ski Francais ski school.

So after fuelling ourselves up with a hearty breakfast in advance of a glorious day in the mountains, it was back to school for Gary as we delivered him to his class on the baby slopes, leaving myself and Timmy with nothing to do but explore the mountain.

Happy days.

It was my turn for some schooling the next day. I'd opted for one three-hour private lesson rather than a six-day school and met up with my French instructor, Marie, at nine bells.

Visibility wasn't great down at the village, so Marie brought us up to one of the higher slopes to see what my skiing was like.

Three hours - and some expert advice - later we were finished and Marie's parting words were: "Now you can ski wherever you want - reds, blacks, offpiste." Lesson over and job done.

My technique was now well and truly polished but the legs were getting a bit tired, so I took an early lunch, met up with the lads and retired to the uber-cool après ski bar, La Folie Douce.

This is where thirsty punters flock to when the lifts begin to close at 4pm for some dance tunes belted out by local DJs on the open-air deck as the merry crowd dance on tables.

If you're not into skiing for the entire week, there's no shortage of other things to keep you occupied in Val Thorens.

Take tobogganing, for example. For €11.50, you're handed a toboggan, a helmet, a lift pass and head up the Funitel de Peclet lift to
3,000m, before throwing yourself down the mountain in a ball of snow, somersaults and laughter.

Or how about snowmobiles for some extra-curricular action?

Hi-jinx

There's also mountain biking down the slopes, paragliding and microlighting, ice driving in the Alain Prost Ice Driving Academy plus several spas...the list is endless.

I've been to many European ski destinations over the years, as have Gary and Timmy but we all agreed that for high-altitude skiing and snowboarding hi-jinx, Val Thorens takes some beating.

FACT FILE:

Directski.com has a week's stay in Val Thorens from €429 per person and a week's stay at the Pierre & Vacances 3* Residence Le Tikal apartments from €459, including return flights and transfers, based on 6 sharing.

Visit www.directski.com or call 1890 201 205

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