ESCAPADE 2025: Not quite the Hall of Fame due to Mt Vallon not operating

13 March 2025

We first attempted the challenge in 2018 & when we returned to Val Thorens this year we knew we had to actually complete it with the whole crew!

We weren’t able to go up Mount Vallon (due to weather), but took on an extra peak instead & hope that our story is engaging enough to still make it to the hall of fame! – nearly!

Hui the Bear Crew: The Saga Without Idi

The Humble Beginnings – 2018
Every great adventure has an origin story, and ours kicked off in 2018 with a trio of brave souls ready to take on the ultimate skiing challenge. Spirits were high, the slopes were calling, and victory seemed inevitable… until Mother Nature decided to test our commitment.

Cue the downpour
Somewhere near Golf, our dreams of glory turned into a very damp reality. We fought the good fight, pushing through the relentless rain, but eventually, even the toughest skiers have to admit defeat when they’re soaked to the bone. So, we retreated to the nearest refuge, where we nursed our egos with some hot chocolate. The challenge had won this round, but we vowed to return!

The Redemption – 2025

Fast-forward to 2025 – we were back and significantly more organized. This time, we had a full crew, a well planned route, and with a hunger for success, we were ready to take on the challenge.

The day, however, did not get off to a flying start. Before we even reached the first lift, disaster struck—one of our crew took an unfortunate slip on the ice, popped his knee, and was out for the count. The trip had claimed its first (& luckily only) casualty.

But the show had to go on
Determined to make amends for 2018, we lined up for the Peclet lift before it even opened, setting the tone for what promised to be a glorious day. The sun was shining, our skis were slicing through the powder, and with great pace through VT & Orelle we were growing confident we can breeze through the challenge.

Then came Mont Vallon
As we arrived, ready to tick it off the list, we were met with an absolute nightmare—the gondolas were being reeled in, and the piste was CLOSED.

Undeterred, we carried on, only to be hit with yet another setback—Chanrossa lift? Closed too. But we weren’t about to let a few closed lifts ruin our mission. A quick detour through Roc Mugnier, Pyramides, and Roc Merlet got us back on track. We blazed through the slopes of Courchevel for a timely Ariondaz gondola lunch. 

The crew quickly traversed the villages of Meribel, and despite the weather getting worse, the legends carried on. With time running low and Mont Vallon still off-limits, we made a bold move—an extra peak, 3 Marches, to make up for the lost kilometres. It was risky. It was exhausting. But it was necessary.

As we blasted through the final runs, the tension was real—would we make it? 

The final stretch had to be rapid and it was. We clocked in Bruyeres with 10 mins to spare, getting the whole Hui crew back to Val Thorens without the need for a bus!

The Victorious Finishers

Leszek, Jonas, Laerke, Emilie, Lucille, Ed & Livia – legends of the slopes.
Special shoutout to Omar, who sacrificed his knee
Idi? Never even tried.

ESCAPADE 2025 – 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 tracker data & screenshot plus a story of your day to toffa@latania.co.uk

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 back down to 30 lifts and the age range for successful completion is from 8 to 76 years old! The latest ESCAPADE route

This is NOT a race

ALWAYS CONTROL YOUR SPEED. 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, think of other people, take care, don’t wreck things for others & don’t even think of blaming anyone else if it all goes wrong…..

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!