What’s New in La Tania & The 3 Valleys 2022 – The Definitive Guide (Part 2 of 3)

Méribel / Mottaret

The 20th edition of What’s New in La Tana & The 3 Valleys – The Definitive Guide

Part 1: La Tania / Courchevel

Part 2: Méribel / Mottaret

Part 3: Val Thorens / Orelle / Les Menuires / St Martin

2022 Lift Pass Prices (new under 30 and flexible season passes, but no workers or residents discounts)

2022 Piste Maps (still waiting for some individual valley maps)

2022 Lift Opening Dates

Accommodation, Self-Catering / Apartments, Special Offers, Travel, Transfers, Flying

Part 2: Méribel / Mottaret

New Last Season (but new for most people this season)

With most people not skiing last season all the developments from last year will be new to most. In Méribel & Mottaret there was the new Bouquetin chairlift, the new Animaux piste above the Altiport, some access work around the Raffort gondola station, the Roc de Fer tunnel for the World Cup Piste around the new red runs Daguet and Gypaète, the Les Cretes Restaurant was flattened and the Elements Fun Park was refreshed along with the refurbishment of some of the rest / relaxation areas across the valley.

All Last Season’s What’s New Here

The Bouquetin Chairlift

The new lift is a Poma high speed 6m/s, detachable 6-seater with 37 chairs, 721m long with 302m of vertical giving a capacity of 2600 skiers per hour. It’s non-skier compatible with a bottom to top time of only 2 minutes 20 seconds giving direct access to Les Menuires / St Martin. The old Plattieres 3 gondola has been dismantled – the bubble cabins were sold off (and sold out in minutes).

New for Winter 2022

Lifts & Pistes

Piste des Animaux

We walked around the revamped Piste des Animaux during the summer and it was great fun identifying the animals from the signs with footprints, colours and sounds as clues, it does get quite competitive and there wasn’t a child in sight!

The La Masse Nature Park has similar challenges for the whole family while skiing down the piste, through tunnels and slalom gates etc.

World Cup 2023

La Chaudanne area in Méribel centre where the Ladies World Cup 2023 piste finishes has seen some major reshaping, re-profiling, drainage and snow cannon work going on this Summer.

The tunnel under Roc de Fer is now complete allowing skiers to cross the piste during competitions (similar to the one next to the La Tania gondola allowing skiers to cross L’Eclipse piste).

Bride Les Bains Gondola “Olympe”

The 3 stage gondola that goes from Brides-Les-Bains, Les Allues, Le Raffort and to La Chaudanne in Méribel Centre has been upgraded with new cabins fitted. It was originally installed in 1992 for the Winter Olympics and now has new cabins with 6 face to face seats plus a much easier entrance/exit to the cabins.

More Building Work

Restaurant Maya – Altitude

The quirky but quaint Cretes restaurant is no more. Situated on top of the ridge between Méribel and St Martin at the Tougnete interchange, the new Maya Altitude restaurant has been built. Looking very impressive and much larger than Cretes with a 400 cover inside capacity it will most likely be very expensive too… It opens on 4 December 2021.

Designed by Hong Kong-based architect Sylvestre Murigneux who oversaw the interior refurbishment of Refuge de La Traye, the restaurant is adorned with a “vibrant décor”

Michelin-starred chef “Akrame Benallal” and executive chef Christophe Dupuy from Maya Collection have combined their culinary talents to create an exceptional menu offering high-end brasserie-style cuisine, with traditional mountain specialities sublimated by a coal-fired oven for authentic flavours.

3 Valleys Cycle Track

The cycle track continues to be tarmacked over so a Courchevel to Val Thorens route will eventually be available in the Summer on road bikes. The section from Tougnete summit and down to Les Menuires is now completed with work on the Méribel side due to take place in Summer 2022.

Charging stations for eBikes were available this Summer across Courchevel and Méribel valleys (although why have them at the top of mountain is beyond us!). On a similar vein – mobile phone charging stations will be available across the Mottaret and Courchevel Valleys this Winter, it’s a locker type system where you can leave a phone and pick it up again after a couple of runs.

The ‘Cabane des Trappeurs’ (Trappers’ Hut) at the summit of Roc de Tougne, and the ‘Chalet Détente’ above the half-way station of the Saulire Express gondola have been refurbed.

The picture frames have been refreshed too – in the Méribel valley at the summits of Col de Loze, Roc de Fer, Roc des 3 Marches and Mont Vallon.

A new panoramic map at the top of Saulire near the Pas du Lac gondola shows the names of all the mountains right across to Italy.

A new footbridge built in Summer 2020 helps skiers on the Raffort piste who are staying in the village or returning to Brides les Bains. You don’t need to go down then up the steps to access the Olympe gondola, you can simply walk straight across from the piste! 

An upgrade to Côte Brun lift at the top of the Méribel valley is confirmed for Winter 2023. Often a bottleneck as the most direct way to the top end of Val Thorens this is a long (and often very cold) chairlift. The new fast 6 seater chair with have covers too (like Forêt for example – great for bad weather days but they are more susceptible to closure in high winds).

The Covid Travel Blog is always up to date with the latest travel restrictions & regulations – not a lot at the moment, let’s hope it stays that way.

The What’s On Dairy will be fully up to date by mid-November and we should have some gig schedules too.

As always, thanks for all the contributions and photos including from Freeride Republic, Snow Retreat, Tim Wall, Snowbound Transfers, Charlie Gorman, Pub Le Ski Lodge, MH2Ski, Jason Baker, Nick & Joey, Le Jardin, Harriet Graham and Ski Fan

Part 1: La Tania / Courchevel

Part 2: Méribel / Mottaret

Part 3: Val Thorens / Orelle / Les Menuires / St Martin