What About Sue and George: Méribel, France

In early March we spent a week in Méribel skiing to our hearts content. I've written about Les Trois Vallée (The Three Valleys) before, but we did not stay in this delightful small town then.

Méribel - Centre

Méribel is an adorable town with somewhat Swiss looking wooden buildings, unlike the concrete buildings we've seen in other Alpine villages. Several Winter Olympics events occurred here during the 1992 Albertville games including ice hockey and the alpine women's ski events. Regrettably, it is also where Grand Prix driver, Michael Schumacher hit his head during a fall (he was wearing a helmet) in December 2013, his recovery is still in question.

Méribel - the left, large roofed building is where the olympic ice hockey facility is located.

We made every effort to arrive in Méribel by early Saturday. Our plans were to check-in, change our clothes and hit the slopes, but often the best laid plans don't happen as you wish. True to the notion, we drove on Friday evening until close to 10PM, found a hotel and was back on the road by 9:30AM. But upon entering the highway, there was slow moving traffic. We had been warned about the Alps traffic in March due to school holidays. The school holidays can cause havoc winter or summer.

France is divided into three regions for school holidays, with each region taking a different two weeks off. So there are a lot of people going in the same direction, at the same time. And we got caught up in this frenzy of getting to the slopes. However, who would have thought at 9:30 in the morning two hours away on a four-lane highway that there would be this type of crazyness. While sitting in traffic we saw people getting out of their cars and walking beside the moving vehicles.

By noon George and I had enough. And to our left we could see vineyards. Hmmmmmm. For some reason, all of a sudden the car, on its own, drove off the highway and headed straight for the vineyards, we could not stop it. Have you ever experienced a car like this? We are one lucky couple to have a vehicle with this foresight. So what else could we do but taste some wine, buy some wine, have a nice lunch...then get back into traffic again. We arrived close to 7PM. What a day!

It snowed all day on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday. The rest of the week was blue skies, endless sunshine, and warm temperatures. So we had the best of both worlds; powder and sunshine. We were able to skirt the crowds on the slopes the majority of the time. Les Trois Vallées is a huge area and it is relatively easy to get away from the crowds except first thing in the morning and the last run of the day.

It was Carnival (Mardi Gras) in Méribel so we saw many, many people wearing kooky outfits, unrelated to skiing, on the slopes.

Méribel - Carnival time

One of the best outfits was a fly - he had sheer fabric for wings and they floated behind him as he skied. We also saw stripped jailbirds, large groups of people with matching hats and of course beads, tigers, lions, and dogs. I wish I could have gotten more photos, but you had to be fast.

Our rented apartment was located high above the town with wonderful views of the valley below. We had everything we needed, and ski-in and out, it was great.

View from our apartment

We spent more time skiing in Courcheval this time around, since it was just a lift away. Courcheval also hosted Winter Olympic events in 1992 and one evening we drove to Courcheval and happened to see the ski jumping facility.

On two occasions, we saw a biplane take off from the tiny Courcheval airport above the town and perform acrobats; upside down, flying straight up into the air, loops, vapor out the back, it was exciting to watch. Because of, or lack of our vantage point, sometimes it seemed like the plane was going to run smack into the mountain. This small airport with private planes, the cars on the streets, and the general attire (i.e. furs and sensationally expensive ski outfits) of the people in Courcheval, you can't help but recognize that this town is a cut above the rest.

Something unusual to us on the slopes of Courcheval was an American Indian display. Teepee, bow and arrow shooting range, and placards describing the life of the indians and the Battle of Little Bighorn. It was all for kids, we guessed. There also was a pack of three dogs pulling kids on skis around this area.

Courcheval - American Indian display

Courcheval - Kids on skis pulled by dogs

It took roughly one hour to reach Val Thorens on skis, but it was well worth the effort. This is the highest elevation of Les Trois Vallée and the highest altitude ski resort in Europe. And because of this, you can ski there much later in the season than the other resorts in the Alps. Spectacular views from the Cime de Caron, the highest skiing point in Les Trois Vallées. Here's a video from the top.

Méribel, without a doubt would be our favorite of the four areas that encompass Les Trois Vallée. The skiing is fantastic and the town atmosphere is laid back. The people are friendly and there is something for everyone.

Here's some more photos.