Throwback: Skiing in Val Thorens

Bonjour les gens merveilleux

 

I love skiing and ski holidays have to be up there in my favourite type of getaway. I may not be the best skier in the world (I once skidded on ice on a black run and collided with a pylon; it was pretty terrifying) but I love it and it's so much fun that I won't let a little near death experience put me off. My favourite ski resort has to be Val Thorens, part of the Three Valleys in France. I've been there twice, once on a uni trip with friends and a second time with my mum and brother. As you can imagine, they were both pretty different trips, but they were both amazing as VT is geared up for all types of people and holiday types.

My first trip to VT was in December 2011 with a group of uni pals. We didn't have the best weather; in fact we had pretty pants weather all week. Every day we'd open the curtains hoping to see clear blue skies; however this never happened (apart from the day we left, typical) and we were left to ski under grey skies and white outs. Not ideal. However, as I was battling with a hangover every morning the weather wasn't the top of my worries. We managed to explore most of the resort, as it is pretty big, and even skied over to Courchevel. However, I did think we were all going to die as we made our way back to the resort. The winds were so strong and the visibility was so poor that I genuinely thought I was going to get blown off the mountain.

The night life and après ski in VT is amazing. La Folie Douce is a mountainside bar nestled at the top of a piste near a popular chair lift. Après ski was between 3-4 and it turned into an almighty snow rave. You could buy cheap mulled wine and beers; this combined with the altitude resulted in a lot of merry skiers and snowboarders. Expect to see people dancing on the wooden tables and a lot of champagne being sprayed over the crowd from the DJ booth. If you love the atmosphere of après ski, then head to La Folie Douce and you won't be disappointed (to get a flavour of the madness have a gander here). The ski back down is also amusingly chaotic, as scores of drunken skiers attempt to navigate down the slopes.

We went to a fair few bars and clubs during out week in VT, and I would be lying if I said I could tell you their names. All I know is they were great but expensive. 5 bloody euros a pint, are you joking me?! As we were all poor students, pre drinks was essential, however France has a silly noise curfew, so make sure to keep it down otherwise you'll be in trouble with the po po. I can remember the name of one place, Malaysia. We ended up there pretty much every night, despite it being a massive trek away from our apartment. It was an underground club with a raised DJ booth in the middle. I also vaguely remember the bar being on fire a different points throughout the night. You'll have a cracking time there, but getting up to hit the 9am lifts will be a choreee.

My second trip to VT was much more sedate affair, as I was with my mama and brother. We went in April 2012 and had absolutely perfect weather. Having clear blue skies every day made such a difference to the skiing experience, as I could actually take in the amazing views of the mountains and resort. Sadly, I forgot to wear sun cream on my first day on the slopes and hideously burnt my face. I'm not even slightly exaggerating here. My face became so swollen and red that I couldn't even open my mouth. So a trip to the doctor was needed, who told me I was stupid for not wearing cream and I'd suffered second degree burns to my face. Joy. This slightly put a downer on the trip as I had to completely cover my face all of the time I was in the sun. Boo.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't sample any of the nightlife while on my fam trip to VT. However, unlike my uni trip where we always made food in the apartment to save money for essentials (beer), we went out to a few of the restaurants in the resort when I was with my mum and bro. There was one little French restaurant near our apartment and I had the most amazing cheese fondue, it was also huge (I think your were probs meant to share it) but I gobbled as much as I could, like a little sun burnt piggy. We also went to a cute little café on the slopes for lunch and I had a beautiful pumpkin soup and tasty crepes for pud. Ideal.

So if you're planning a ski trip in the near future, be it with friends or family, head to VT for a guaranteed good time. While I can not ensure that the weather will be perfect, I can pretty much guess you'll have a cracking time in this resort. Just remember to pack the sun cream, as the red faced lobster look is not in this season (or ever, in fact).

Au revoir!