What's New - Summer
2002
Update on what's new
around the Three Valleys for Winter 2002/3
New Snow Cannons
Fifty new snow cannons currently being installed on the Lapin
piste down to Meribel Village so access to Lodge
du Village should be easier at the beginning and end
of season. A new reservoir up the hill near to the Altiport lifts
has been built to supply these new snow guns - lets hope it's finished
in time for the October / November rain. The La Tania snow cannon
reservoir has sprung a leak but this will be fixed in time - the
cannons did a marvelous job keeping the run to resort open all season
last year. Also new cannons over in Mottaret down from Plattieres
1 gondola station down to resort level have been installed
and lots of new cannons around Les Menuires too including some at
the bottom of the La Masse side. The Biollay area over
in 1850 has also increased it's snowmaking and 23 new cannons have
been installed on the Fond and Plateaux pistes
in Val Thorens.
The piste leading down to Meribel Village
Piste Improvements
The piste from Plattieres 1 down to resort level at Mottaret
is being widened and reshaped to make things easier for beginners.
There's also a lot of work around Chenus / Saulire
on the Courchevel side but this may just be to stop erosion. The
Pralong area in 1850 has been altered to separate good
skiers & boarders belting down from the Altiport from the large
beginners area here. Over in Val Thorens a new north facing blue
piste will be opened, served by the Grand Fond Funitel
and the pistes under the Peyron & Bouchet
chairlifts in Orelle are being upgraded. Another 2 Gazex remote
avalanche blasters have been installed over that way too. The pistes
down to St Martin have been enlarged with the new lift going in
there (see below).
New Lifts
1. Plan des Mains is being replaced with
a new high speed 6 seater detachable and will definitely be ready
for this Winter. This is the old slow 4-man chair with the magic
carpet / conveyor belt that links you back into the system from
Mont Du Vallon, on very cold days the water on the carpet used to
freeze on the base of your skis leading to some interesting falls
at the top exit. It brings you out at the left of Plattieres
2 station with access straight down to Mottaret or via the
Cote Brune lift over to Val Thorens.
2. A new Funitel (Jumbo gondola) to replace the Bouquetin in Val Thorens (the slow 2-man chair up from Three Valleys 1 and next to Three Valleys 2 chair) won't be completed till next year (too many long french lunch breaks delayed the work no doubt!). Also in Val Thorens, the Plateaux drag lifts are due to be replaced or upgraded.
3. The Tortollet in Menuires will become a 4-man and the Doron (also Menuires) gets a double queue so 2 x 4 can get on.
4. The old St Martin 1 triple chair has been replaced with a brand new gondola leading out of St Martin de Belleville. This means you can definitely stay for another beer in Brewskis before heading back over to the Meribel side in late afternoon! The new Telecabine will be a full-on modern 8 seater like Vizelle or Verdons. The 2km ride from the centre of Les Grangeraies will take you straight to the bottom of the St Martin II high speed 4-man chair in only 6 minutes. With a capacity of 2800 skiers per hour those old queues will be a thing of the past. Get in! |
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The replacement of the steep Creux and Fruit drags on the return from 1650 to 1850 seem to have been put on hold.
Lift Pass Prices
for 2002/2003
A Three Valleys season pass is 850€ and Courchevel Valley 705€.
The adult 6-day Three Valleys pass is 193€ (about £126
on 1/10/02). The rest of the prices are now here.
New for this year is a family ski pass for 2 adults and 2, 3 or 4 kids. Kids count as under 18 for this pass (not under 14 as for a normal pass). For two adults and two 17 year olds skiing the Three Valleys the cost is 620€ instead of 772€.
Building Work
Going on everywhere in the Summer months as usual - more chalets,
more refurbs wherever you look. Some lifts - including Jardin
Alpin in 1850 are having stairs replaced with ramps for easier
access (also makes queues look shorter and you can ride straight
up on your mountain bike in summer).
Summer Events
Reports on who actually won the summer Football Tournament are very
hazy - pictures
and a match report of a kind now exists. No one has
actually sobered up from the Bastille
Day Fetes at the start of summer until Lou & Cloggs
(TCs sister and Christian from Chabi) wedding at the end of summer.
Meanwhile downhill mountain bike mayhem is still on-going, possibly
the most dangerous sport out here... More news, gossip and photos
in The Summer
Pages.
Who's Where?
Toffa returned from The World Cup in Japan (report
and photos), Nic & Karen bought another bar in
Greece having been robbed in the South of France, Becks & James
were last seen in St Tropez, Jules & Suzie are working hard
on a new bistro venture in Bournemouth, Phil, Debs, Sharon, Kath
& Paul are laying about in Zakynthos
and Jesus, AM, Will & Stef are causing trouble in Queenstown,
New Zealand. Have a look where everyone is in The
GuestMap - so what do you do in the summer?
New Pool Table
Now installed in the Ski
Lodge - but only for summer!
Page last updated 05/09/02
