I love skiing. For me it is the one time in life when you are out in wilderness interacting with abundant snow. There is nothing that compares to experiencing the wind on your face, on a sunny day, as you ski down a pristine untouched slope! I am very fortunate to have tried and taken to this sport.

My Skiing History

Until last December, I had never skied in Europe and my skiing was confined to U.S. mountains. In the East, I had skied in Vermont: in Killington, Stowe and Stratton, at Hunter mountain and at WestPoint’s lovely Victor Constant Ski slope. In the West, I had skied Mammoth and Heavenly, in Lake Tahoe. But my favorite place to ski has always been in the Rockies, where I learnt to ski with my lovely American host family, Sue and Bill Shanner, who introduced me to the beautiful slopes of Copper Mountain in Colorado. Later I skied at Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Park City. As I advanced in skill to become an intermediate skier, I ventured into the back bowls of Vail with my children. Although I made it out in one piece, I would not recommend this for everyone as they legendary and very intimidating!

Les 3 Vallées

Skiing in Europe has always been a dream and this materialized last year when our friends from Spain suggested spending Christmas together at Les 3 Vallées in the French Alps which prides itself as being the world’s biggest ski area: with nearly 400 miles of runs spread between the three parallel valleys of Courchevel, Mirabel and Belleville. Additionally, it includes Val Thorens, Les Menuires, La Tania, Brides les Bains and Orelle. Together the ski area boasts of enthralling guests with 339 downhill pistes, 163 ski lifts and 35,000 hectares of nature.  All these various resorts are accessible with a single ski ticket so it is possible not to ski any run twice in a given week.

Of all the resorts, Courchevel reigns supreme and is the priciest. It is a collection of five alpine villages priced on their elevation. Yes, you guessed right! The higher they sit on the mountain, the pricier the resort.

We picked Meribel for our resort as it was relatively moderate in price, while being quaint. Meribel was founded in 1976 and came to be because Merry Belle was an easy play on words for the initial British international clientele to remember. It has been the site of XVI Olympic Winter Games for ice hockey and women’s alpine events and in 2023, Meribel along with Courchevel, will host the FIS ski world alpine championship, a fact proudly advertised on all ski instructor jackets.

2020’s Coronavirus and Skiing this Year

According to the New York Times, the first clusters of the virus appeared in February in the Alp ski resorts and consequently many European leaders have asked ski resorts to reopen only next year. But since the Christmas ski season brings in a large portion France’s revenue,  many French resorts are organizing other activities like cross-country skiing and snowshoe hiking to keep tourists entertained. The French have announced that ski resorts, not ski lifts, will open for tourists to enjoy the clean, beautiful mountain air.

Getting to Meribel

Getting to any ski resort is hard but in France, things can get tricky if you don’t speak French. Our cheapest option was to fly into Milan, Italy, and then drive a couple of hours. As my son was arriving a day later, we found a French shuttle bus service called Altibus.com that does ferry people to different ski resorts in the Alps and Pyrenees and is reasonable. But be sure to get clarification from the bus driver as to exact location for pick-ups and drop-offs as my son missed his outbound bus for his failure to clarify this significant detail.

A fellow American who was staying at our hotel, Laura Carpinelli, shared an excellent tip. The Epic Pass which is valid at many U.S. ski mountains is valid for use at Les 3 Vallées. She and her family are avid skiers in Park City, Utah and were enjoying their time in Meribel. My sons only complaint about our ski trip was the inability to ski off-piste in trees – his holy grail of winter fun! Unlike many American ski resorts, 3 Vallées sits at a much higher elevation which discourages tree growth.

Hotel La Chaudanne

With the help of a travel agent, Laurie Rezende, we picked Hotel La Chaudanne in Meribel as our hotel as it is a convenient five-minute walk to gondolas and ski lifts from where one can ski to Courchevel or Val Thorens.

An interesting note: the dining room at La Chaudanne, called Le Quatre-vingt, is decorated with whimsical little hot air balloons – a homage to the French writer Jules Verne, author of ‘Around the World in 80 Days.’

Seven Days Skiing and Folie Douce

On our first day we were restricted to the lower elevations of the mountain, because of heavy rains and windy conditions. The next day being bright and sunny we spent time exploring Courchevel and Meribel Valleys and stopped in for lunch at La Mochu, a mountain chalet.

The next day we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Le Cepe, a French Brassiere, where the boys enjoyed beef ribs alongside trout with hazelnuts.

Christmas is a wonderful time to spend in Meribel.

The decorations are tasteful and the holiday spirit is everywhere and on Christmas Day the town hosted a small and colorful parade. Video: Meribel Christmas Celebrations

On the third day, I was in for a surprise treat: Lunch at La Fruitiere with Folie Douce: an après ski high-altitude club that entertains with dancers and DJs while customers enjoy a hearty lunch.  The dancers perform on tables, wear outrageous outfits and get everyone into a party mood. One can spend hours here! There are currently 7 Folie Douce locations in France. Video: Folie Douce at La Fruitiere

Our fifth day on the mountain turned out to be most memorable as we did some of the longest runs on the mountain. The day was sunny and we crisscrossed through ravines, frozen lakes and undulating mountains. We entered valleys and silently stood upon mountain peaks watching glaciers and saw an untarnished view of Montblanc. We passed vast swaths of snow untouched by ski and the views were so dazzling that I had to stop many times to catch my breath and enjoy the view before it disappeared. I did this while maintaining my focus as the snow could be slick or icy and hide stone bumps. On our first day of skiing, my friend, Barrie, had a nasty fall and twisted her knee that left her unable to ski. An unfortunate accident that left her spending much time in the hotel.

The highlight of the day was having lunch in ritzy Courchevel at Alessandro where we had the best pan-fried squid and calabrese spicy sausage.

We spent our last day in Val Thorens and again watching Folie Douce outdoors. Video: Folie Douce Courchevel

After enjoying a French self-service cafeteria lunch at La Petite Cuisine, we moved outdoors to watch the show and were simultaneously entertained by para-gliders. Only in Europe!

After the show I ventured to Panoramic, a restaurant and bar positioned on a magnificent cliff that provides lovely views of the valley. There is a dedicated snow car that brings people from the base to this spot just to enjoy the view. Getting down the mountain from the top takes a good 45 minutes so we started our downward ascent at 3:15 p.m. Another wonderful day in the Alps. I will be back!