ESCAPADE 2026: The Men of the Realm

28 February 2026

Once upon a time, three esteemed men-of-the-realm, Marcus (The Piste Prophet), Rory (The Summit Seeker), Alex (The Ace of Shades), had a gauntlet thrown down in front of them, in the form of a challenge so enticing it could not be refused. The challenge was that of the infamous Three Valleys Escapade: 14 checkpoints, 32 lifts, 100km of downhill skiing all in one mammoth day in the mountains.

As with all ventures for glory, it did not come without its tasks, tests and temptations to stray. The first such temptation came a day prior, in the form of a red headed boon companion, a friend of our merry men. Our skiing trio shared many an Alpine ale with said friend, so many in fact, that they were led down the metaphorical garden path and left stranded in Meribel, a valley over from their bed of hay, well past lift closure, on the eve of the quest. A nauseating two hour taxi along winding mountains roads was to be the saviour. Having been caught with their salopettes down in Meribel, our trio woke up with them miraculously back on, ready for the big day. With bleary eyes, a record-low 1% WHOOP recovery score, and only orange juice and a pain-au-chocolat to fuel them, our trio set about completing the Three Valleys Escapade.

Quite the team they formed, did our men-of-the-realm: Marcus studied the map as if it held clues to buried treasure (it did), Rory memorised the lift order required to complete the task, and Alex rocked quite possibly the coolest sunglasses the valley has ever seen. The foggy remnants of the previous night were soon cleared as our trio ripped down a well pisted blue for the first run of the day. Game on.

With Marcus (The Piste Prophet) leading the charge, our trio arced their way into Orelle, on to Les Menuires,  before heading up to Mont Vallon and down into Chapletes. Spirits were high as our men, with jovial precision, carefully navigated the intricate route required to complete the feat, knowing that one wrong error could throw the whole quest into jeopardy.

Conditions were on their side: bluebird skies majestically unfurled over the soaring peaks of the Alps and, given it was Saturday (changeover day), lift queues were sparse. Good fortune or careful planning ? I shall let our readers speculate. Either way it meant that our trio were able to sweep through the valleys largely uninterrupted, carving up the slopes like your old man through a roast turkey. Such was the scale of this formidable quest that there was little to no time for breaks.  This meant lunch consisted of a nourishing sandwich on the La Tania gondola, and any notion of slopeside refreshments became a thing of the past.

As the sun passed its zenith, the tenacious trio were well through the list of required checkpoints and a cautious level of optimism began to settle over the group. By this point, it was theirs to lose. Checking their ski-tracks, it quickly dawned on them that not only was completion of the Three Valleys Escapade well within reach, but so too was an accolade some might consider even more prestigious: a 100 km ski day. To complete this, a potent cocktail of cunning choreography, sheer speed and plain perseverance were required. The Three Mu-ski-teers bombed through the thick late-afternoon slush on Bruyeres 1 and 2 to rack up enough distance to get within shooting range of the 100km mark. Having caught the last lift at Bruyères, completing the Three Valleys Challenge, the now-tired trio careered across the valley in order to get back into Val Thorens for the final Plein Sud lift of the day at 17:15, to keep the dreams of posting a 100km ski day on Strava alive.

Despite their weary, skied-out legs, persistence prevailed, and they hurtled down to the base of the final lift of the day. At this point, they were a mere 3 km short of the fabled 100 km mark, with only a 1.5 km ski run left to reach their abode. This led to a final passage of skiing that was scarcely the stuff of legend, as our trio traced vast, meandering arcs across the entire piste to hunt down every last possible metre to add to the tally. Checking their ski tracks fastidiously on the way down, they each ticked over the 100 km mark one by one. And with that, not only had these three men-of-the -realm completed the legendary Three Valleys Escapade, but they had done so with flying colours, completing a 100 km ski day besides

Once all was complete, a well-earned ale awaited them.

ESCAPADE 2026 – What’s this all 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 – doing it in a day was a bit tricky though!

It all started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion – the history and our original route from 2006 are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived and then the use of a lift was recorded – now we use Apps such as Ski Tracks or Relive to prove our route.

Note that the Escapade is no longer officially promoted by Les 3 Vallees from Winter 2017 but we still record successful tracks for anyone who is interested in being in the sought after La Tania Escapade Hall of Fame

Send a pic of yourselves on the day with your successful tracker data & screenshot plus a story of your day to toffa@latania.co.uk and you’ll get your place in the HoF.

The original Escapade took 30 lifts, around 13000m vertical with 70km length and by 2016 reached 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 80km skiing (140km total distance). With the newer, longer, faster lifts we’re now at 32 lifts (depending on the route) ESCAPADE 2026 Route

Changes through the years
2006 – First year and cards with hole punches stationed at lifties huts are used.
2008 – Electronic lift analysis is now used – no use hiking out the 4th Valley now!
2010 – The piste map did not include the top of the 4th Valley and the Col lift in Val Thorens.
2011 – The X-Wing Discovery was launched but only had 10 check points and doesn’t count!
2012 – Peclet included and Biollay / Vizelle used for Saulire access.
2015 – Foret used instead of La Tania gondola.
2016 – Mont Vallon is included for the first time plus the Montaulever drag lift.
2017 – Chapelets replaced by Petite Boss drag and La Tania’s Bouc Blanc chair replaces Tovets.
2018 – The new Roc de Tougne chair replaces the drag lift of the same name.
2019 – Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the Montaulever drag in Les Menuires has been removed.
2020 – Cime Caron now back in use.
2022 – New Pointe de la Masse and Orelle-Caron Gondolas (for example) could be used.
2023 – Using the new lifts, we ski all the resorts, all the perimeters and classic peaks – ESCAPADE 2023
2024 – No changes to 2023 route!
2025 – No changes to 2024 route!
2026 – Grandes Combs and Tortollet are added – ESCAPADE 2026