Escapade in a Day – Another for the Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Phil and family…

From Phil:
What an enjoyable day skiing in the beautiful 3 Valleys sunshine with my two sons and daughter. Our attempt at the 3 Valleys Escapade in a Day Challenge was blessed with quiet lifts, fast pistes and a few cheeky beers at Col de la Loze to end our day.

We believe our only mistake was having to take an extra lift and do an extra run on our way to Becca and, aside from ourselves the only other obstacle put in our way was the relatively slow off piste route via Lac du Lou to Plan de L’eau due to the lack of fresh snow.

All in all a fun day.
All the Best,
Phil, Bradley, Jordan & Brooke.

Lifts & Pistes
◦ La Tania – 9.00am🚠 ◦ Bouc blanc 🚠 ◦ Lac bleu ⛷ ◦ Sources/Roche de l’ombre 🚠 ◦ Saulire 🚠 ◦ Biche – chamois – renard ⛷ ◦ Dent de burgin 🚠 ◦ Renard – blanchot – Lapin ⛷ ◦ Golf (meribel village) 🚠 ◦ Foret(rope pull) 🚠 ◦ Doron ⛷ ◦ Legends 🚠 ◦ Roc de fer- gelinotte ⛷ ◦ Olympic 🚠 ◦ Verdet – biolley ⛷ ◦ St Martin 1 🚠 ◦ St Martin express 🚠 ◦ Dahu – martre ⛷ ◦ Roc de tougne 🚠 ◦ Teppes – gros tougne –                 la violette ⛷ ◦ Masse 1 🚠 ◦ Masse 2 🚠 ◦ Off piste bit ⛷ ◦ Plan de l’eau 🚠 ◦ Boulevard d’telepherique ⛷ ◦ Cime Caron 🚠 ◦ Combe de rosael ⛷ (4th valley) ◦ Peyron 🚠 ◦ Bouchet 🚠 ◦ Bouchet ⛷  ◦ Rosael 🚠 ◦ Chamois – eterlou – rhodos ⛷ ◦ Moraine 🚠 ◦ Col 🚠 ◦ Col – moraine – green into VT⛷ ◦ Funitel de peclet 🚠 ◦ Beranger ⛷ ◦ Pioniers 🚠 (3 valley link) ◦ 3 valleys 🚠 ◦ 4 Vents – Alpage ⛷ ◦ Bruyeres 2 🚠 ◦ D Douillet ⛷ ◦ Becca 🚠 ◦ Alouette ⛷ (to mont vallon) ◦ Mont vallon 🚠 ◦ Combe du vallon – Ours ⛷ ◦ Pas du lac 🚠 ◦ Creux ⛷ ◦ Roc mugnier 🚠 ◦ Gdes bosses ⛷ ◦ Petit bosses 🚠 ◦ Shoosh ⛷ ◦ Aiguille du fruit 🚠 ◦ Courchevel 1850 – le praz ⛷  (altiport – amoreux) ◦ Foret – 3.30pm 🚠

What’s all this about?

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 saw the use of the Roc de Tougne fast new chair instead of the drag and we lost the Montaulever drag altogether. In 2019 we gained the new faster Legends chair out of Méribel and then an improvement in speed on the Mont Vallon lift too. 

Getting easier, but it’s still a big, big day out with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

Updated 2020 PDF route with the 19 “Escapade Lifts” in bold

You do this entirely at your own risk, act responsibly, take full ownership for your own actions and all of those with you, respect other people (& the mountain), ski & ride within your limits, always obey the skiers & snowboarders code, observe all signs, pay attention to all notices, advice & instructions from Pisteurs, only ski off piste if fully equipped & knowledgeable, it’s not a race (you won’t be insured), think about the safety of others as well as yourself but above all, take care, don’t wreck things for others & don’t even think of blaming anyone else if it all goes horribly wrong…..

More pics of the new Cime Caron Gondola under construction from Orelle

The 3 Vallées never stop investing in new infrastructure – this new gondola will give an alternative, faster, more comfortable route out of the 4th Valley from this December. For those coming out of the Orelle base there is also a new replacement gondola with the top station connected to the Cime Caron lift.

The foundations for the stations and some of the pylons are already in place with work continuing this summer. When complete travel from Orelle to the centre of Val Thorens will be possible entirely via gondola and cable car.

La Tania veteran Andy Lee does the Escapade in a Day

Andy & Kyle completed the Escapade in a Day on Saturday 11th January in perfect conditions with blue skies, quiet lifts and perfect pistes throughout the 3 Valleys. We see they skied back down La Masse rather than an unpleasant cruddy, crusty off piste run down via Lac du Lou to Plan de L’eau.

From Andy:
Got to La Tania Gondola at 9am and didn’t stop all day, no need to ski at break neck pace, just get the route right and don’t stop between lifts. Tiring but great fun! I have listed the lifts we took and the times we got on them, it may help people to see how they’re getting on time wise, we arrived at Foret with 16 minutes to spare.

Congratulations Andy & Kyle and thanks for the timings, very useful – you’re now in the Hall of Fame

1, 9.00 Tania
2, 9.11 Bouc Blanc
3, 9.23 Rocher
4, 9.31 Saulire
5, 9.48 Dent De Burgin
6, 10.03 Golf
7, 10.09 Tow rope
8, 10.17 Legends
9, 10.27 Olympic
10,10.42 St Martin 1
11, 10.49 St Martin 2
12, 11.01 Roc de Tougne
13, 11.17 Masse 1
14, 11.26 Masse 2
15, 11.44 Reberty
16, 11.49 Bruyeres 1 (get off at first station)
17, 12.01 Plan de L’eau
18, 12.13 Cime caron
19, 12.35 Peyron
20, 12.42 Bouchet
21, 12.59 Rosael
22, 1.14 Moraine
23, 1.26 Col
24, 1.44 Peclet
25, 2.00 Pioneers
26, 2.07 3V Funitel
27, 2.22 Sunny Express
28, 2.34 Becca
29, 2.48 Mont Vallon
30, 3.14 Pas Du Lac 1
31, 3.25 Pas Du Lac 2
32, 3.36 Roc Mugnier
33, 3.45 Petite Bosses
34, 3.50 Aiguille du Fruit
35, 4.09 Forêt

The “Escapade Lifts” in bold

This route as a PDF to download and save on a smartphone

What’s all this about….

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 saw the use of the Roc de Tougne fast new chair instead of the drag and we lost the Montaulever drag altogether. In 2019 we gained the new faster Legends chair out of Méribel and then an improvement in speed on the Mont Vallon lift too.

It’s still a big, big day out though with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

Updated 2020 PDF route with the 19 “Escapade Lifts” in bold

You do this entirely at your own risk, act responsibly, take full ownership for your own actions and all of those with you, respect other people (& the mountain), ski & ride within your limits, always obey the skiers & snowboarders code, observe all signs, pay attention to all notices, advice & instructions from Pisteurs, only ski off piste if fully equipped & knowledgeable, it’s not a race (you won’t be insured), think about the safety of others as well as yourself but above all, take care, don’t wreck things for others & don’t even think of blaming anyone else if it all goes horribly wrong…..

MessyWeekend Ski Goggles Review

You may have seen our reporter Tim Wall wearing new goggles in last week’s Snow Report courtesy of MessyWeekend, the Copenhagen-based eyewear startup. We’ve now had a bit of time to ski with them and we’re very impressed so far…

First impressions were good with the FLOAT goggles coming in a hard case with a spare flat light lens and both of these in soft lens cleaning bags too. Even the strap buckles seems to be have been thought about and allows for quick size adjustment with gloves kept on. Helmet fit was perfect on the couple of lids we tried with no “tw*t gap” visible!

Putting on a new pair of goggles is always a welcome event and the chances are they are replacing an old worn, scratched and dirty pair so the initial view is always going to be better. However, these really did seem to enhance your vision with the clarity and sharpness of everything really standing out while any glare was almost eliminated – feeling like someone just turned the contrast button up!

Remaining comfortable all day in variable conditions and the flat light lens really coming in to its own late in the day in the January shaded runs. Absolutely no fogging issues too – when really hammering down a piste you could just about feel the venting towards the top of the lens doing it’s work.

The XE2 lens has two layers of high-quality, optical-grade polycarbonate, is easily interchangeable, light-weight, practically unbreakable and comes with a NASA developed Revo and Mirror coating that protects from harmful UV light.

If you’re quick you can get 20% off at the MessyWeekend website with the code MESSY2020 and they’re cheaper than you’d think…

MessyWeekend in partnership with ProArtso facilitate the clean-up of 2kg of plastic waste from the Ocean with every product they sell.

The new INUIT goggle with an option of a MessyWeekend XEp Photochromic lens is coming soon with a crowdfunding opening offer

And yes, we do love the name, reminds us of 3 Valleys Charity Day stalwarts The Dub Pistols and their Mucky Weekend….

As for doing Plake goggle straps – he was our hero too!

Checking the groomed pistes – and then finding Jean Blanc untouched…

A reminder that the grooming schedule of the previous night’s piste basher work is available on the ski area smartphone Apps and on-line at: latania.co.uk/skiing/LTLiftsLive.htm (look for the piste basher symbol).

Jean Blanc was groomed immaculately from top to bottom last week and hardly anyone noticed for a while!

Always worth getting up for…

Another Val Thorens Escapade in a Day – we believe you Leon, Klemen and Maxi

From Leon:
Hello La Tania!
My name is Leon and I am a 20 year old student from Switzerland. I’ve been visiting Les 3 Vallees together with my closest friends for the past 3 years now and this year we stumbled upon your “escapade in a day” hall of fame. 
We planned to make our try on a Saturday, the 4th of January, as there would be way less people on pistes because of standard hotel cycles. And luckily, we were right. Staying at Val Thorens, We used the provided route that we found on the latest escapade in a day (Chris, Katie and Matt) but decided to start at the “Funitel Peclet” lift in and have “col” as our end goal.
With our Backpacks full of food and drinks, and having checked out the “Point de La Masse” off-piste route the day before, we were ready for our first attempt. We started at the Funitel Peclet at 09:15 and actually arrived at col at around 15:50. We had actually made it on our first try and sure arrived at col packed with joy, happiness and sore legs. 

The Problem now lays in proving that we actually made it. As neither me nor my friends own a smart watch, we wanted to use the track function on the official 3 vallees app. To our disbelief we learned that the tracking instantly stops as you close the app. Thinking that the ticket office will be able to print out the evidence needed, we went on with the escapade without any worries. Arriving there at the evening though, we learned that they are not allowed to give out the information due to the french law. All we now got is the escapade diploma that the lady was able to give us.
Anyone know if they still have them in Courchevel?

I know that you normally acquire GPS data of some sort to insert people to the hall of fame but all I can give you is my word, the diploma and some photos we took before and during the escape.
Below you will find: All three Diplomas, The Victory picture from me and friends, The Map that we used for our Trip, and a hungry Klemen (name of my friend) eating french chestnut creme to gain power!

I am sure you have better things to do but if you’d call the funitel ticket office (the one located inside of the gondola station on the piste) and asked for three guys that did the escapade in a day, I’m pretty sure that they’ll remember us. We were in there for quite a long time talking to them, explaining them why we needed the proof etc. Not to mention that they were pretty astonished that we managed to do the whole escapade in a day. I really hope that this is enough proof.

The Name of us three: Leon, Klemen and Maxi. If we got into the hall of fame, our Team Name: Les Cremes de Marrons (we ate a whole tube during the trip as a sugar boost). I hope I’ll hear from you and I wish you a wonderful season, Leon

What’s all this about….

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 sees the use of Roc de Tougne fast new lift instead of the drag – still a big, big day out though with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

PDF list of lifts here for downloading to a smart phone – this needs a 2019 update as Roc de Tougne chair is not a drag now, Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the drag in Les Menuirs, Montaulever is no longer there (which is a bonus!).

Escapade in a Day – Congrats to Tamás Ocsovai from Hungary

Congratulations to Tamás Ocsovai  from Hungary on completing the Escapade in a Day starting from Val Thorens of 8 January 2020.

Tamás said it was a perfect day and one of the greatest experience of his life! Well done Tamás!

What’s all this about….

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 sees the use of Roc de Tougne fast new lift instead of the drag – still a big, big day out though with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

PDF list of lifts here for downloading to a smart phone – this needs a 2019 update as Roc de Tougne chair is not a drag now, Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the drag in Les Menuirs, Montaulever is no longer there (which is a bonus!).

Courchevel La Tania Tourist Office Email Address / Contact Details

Please note that the Tourist Information Office in La Tania now has the email address of latania@courchevel.com

The previous address of info@latania.com does no longer work.

Lots of information from friendly, english speaking staff with loads of leaflets, maps, booklets, timetables and brochures available concerning La Tania and the local area. Details of a huge amount of things to do in Summer too – The 3 Valleys are not just for skiing…

They can also be contacted by phone on +44 (0)479 08 40 40

And another Escapade in a Day! Congrats Pascal…

From Pascal:
Yesterday I tried and passed the ‘3 valleys in 1 day’ challenge, starting from Orelle.
It started very badly, with 30 minutes stuck in the 3 vallees express gondola at 9am, but finally I made up my delay all day long. Only “Col” and “Petites Bosses” were closed, I compensated by doing “Peyron” and “Bouchet” twice at the end.

Not much time to look at the landscape, some fruit and drinks in the lifts, but in the end a great day.
Thank you very much for keeping the information about the 3V Escapade in a day on your website latania.co.uk.

I’ve put some screenshots and a selfie at the top of Bouchet, as well as a PDF file with details of the openings and closures of all the lifts, and the descent times. It may be useful for further attempts, depending on where they start from, I’m happy to share it with the community.

Warm regards,
Pascal

What’s all this about….

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 sees the use of Roc de Tougne fast new lift instead of the drag – still a big, big day out though with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

PDF list of lifts here for downloading to a smart phone – this needs a 2019 update as Roc de Tougne chair is not a drag now, Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the drag in Les Menuirs, Montaulever is no longer there (which is a bonus!).

First Escapade in a Day of the Season – Congrats to Chris, Katie & Matt

Congratulations to Chris & Katie on Ski and Matt on a snowboard who completed the Escapade in a Day on New Year’s Eve. Their route below:

• La Tania (9:00)
• Bouc Blanc
• Sources/Rocher De L’Ombre
• Saulire
• Dent De Brugin
• Golf
• (Foret rope pull at top of Golf)
• Legends
• Olympic
• St Martin 1
• St Martin Express
• Roc De Tougne
• Masse 1
• Masse 2
• Plan De L’Eau
• Cime Caron
• Peyron
• Bouchet
• Rosaël
• Moraine
• Col
• Funitel Peclet
• Pionniers
• 3 Vallees
• Becca
• Mont Vallon
• Pas Du Lac 1
• Pas Du Lac 2
• Roc Mugnier
• Petites Bosses
• Aiguille Du Fruit
• Foret (16:06)
• Bouc Blanc
• Dou Des Lanches (16:28)

Total Length: 139.0km
Length Skied: 96.1km
Vertical Descent: 15,056m

What’s all this about….

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 sees the use of Roc de Tougne fast new lift instead of the drag – still a big, big day out though with all talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

PDF list of lifts here for downloading to a smart phone – this needs a 2019 update as Roc de Tougne chair is not a drag now, Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the drag in Les Menuirs, Montaulever is no longer there (which is a bonus!).