Best early season skiing (Dec / Jan) in France?

[SeanN]

Hi all,

Looking to ski Dec & Jan in France. Thoughts? Main things I'm looking for are (1) reliable snow (or at least, as reliable as you can get that early), (2) challenging terrain, and (3) a resort that has affordable housing available for two months or so.

Cruising the web, have found a couple articles that recommend Val Thorens for at least (1), but not sure if this is the right choice.

Thanks!
SeanN

[Arno]

If you are wanting somewhere which will be sure to open in early Dec, you are restricted to high altitude places with glaciers like Val Thorens, Tignes, Les Deux Alpes. Chamonix (or Grands Montets at least) also tends to open early.

Your big issue is that you are crossing Christmas/New Year. Aside from the weeks covering those, Dec/Jan is low season so accommodation should be plentiful and cheap

[SeanN]

If you are wanting somewhere which will be sure to open in early Dec, you are restricted to high altitude places with glaciers like Val Thorens, Tignes, Les Deux Alpes. Chamonix (or Grands Montets at least) also tends to open early.

Your big issue is that you are crossing Christmas/New Year. Aside from the weeks covering those, Dec/Jan is low season so accommodation should be plentiful and cheap

Thanks very much, Arno. Follow up question: If I'm gonna go with the Three Valleys, do you happen to know which town / station would be best to stay in? Seems to make sense to be closer to Val Thorens early season, but it would be good to be able to have easy access to the other resorts when they start getting more snow. And there's that pesky budget thing...

[Roo]

If budgets are an issue, why not try Orelle in the Maurienne valley? It's the back door into Val Thorens, and from there you'll be able to explore some far less trafficked ski resorts in mid winter.

[Buster Highmen]

If budgets are an issue, why not try Orelle in the Maurienne valley? It's the back door into Val Thorens, and from there you'll be able to explore some far less trafficked ski resorts in mid winter.

Ding-ding-ding.
Val Thorens can provide the access to the high stuff from Orelle via the "backside" lifts, then as the sagacious Roo points out, there's a ton of really great skiing at nearby Val Frejus and Mont Cenis.

[SeanN]

Ding-ding-ding.
Val Thorens can provide the access to the high stuff from Orelle via the "backside" lifts, then as the sagacious Roo points out, there's a ton of really great skiing at nearby Val Frejus and Mont Cenis.

Sounds great-- would love to get away from hordes of people, as long as it's not a pain in the ass to get from my bed to a ski-lift (and back) each day.

Does the 3 Valleys pass cover all of this? And do I need a car to get around, or can I just rely on buses (and ski-lifts)?

(Thanks very much for the help!!)

[Buster Highmen]

Does the 3 Valleys pass cover all of this? And do I need a car to get around, or can I just rely on buses (and ski-lifts)?

(Thanks very much for the help!!)

No, Trois Valles ticket does not cover the Maurienne ski stations like Val Frejus, Mont Cenis nor Bonneval Sur Arc.

I don't know about bus service to go up valley from Orelle.

[SeanN]

No worries-- I can figure it out. And looking at the 3 Valleys map, I see that everything's connected one way or another, which I didn't realize. So I figure I can't go all that wrong looking for anything that I can afford that's close to a lift and as high up as possible, for the early season...

[Semnoz]

Good recommendations so far. I personally would not recommend Chamonix early season unless lots of snow has fallen early.

Orelle is a short drive / bus / train ride to Modane. From there you can take a bus to Val Fréjus or buses up to the Haute Maurienne (Val Cenis, Bonneval, etc.): http://www.hautemaurienne.com/en/winter.html

If your goal is to live among the locals, the Maurienne Valleywill certainly allow you to do that. Orelle is not very big, so might not be ideal.

Anything in the Tarentaise Valley (Espace Killy, Paradiski, 3 Vallées) has decent to great conditions early winter. Val Thorens will be great for access, but if you don't have a car you'll be pretty much holed up there all winter.

Bourg St. Maurice is a nice village, you'll have a much more "local" experience, and in just a short funicular/monorail ride to Les Arcs / Paradiski. There's also great access to backcountry skiing in the Beaufortain as well as a 45min bus ride to Espace Killy (Val d'Isère Tignes).

It really depends on what you want for two months. Tignes is also a good option for great (and pretty much guaranteed) skiing. But, like Val Thorens, it's like living on the moon.

[SeanN]

Thx! V. Helpful.

Good recommendations so far. I personally would not recommend Chamonix early season unless lots of snow has fallen early.

Orelle is a short drive / bus / train ride to Modane. From there you can take a bus to Val Fréjus or buses up to the Haute Maurienne (Val Cenis, Bonneval, etc.): http://www.hautemaurienne.com/en/winter.html

If your goal is to live among the locals, the Maurienne Valleywill certainly allow you to do that. Orelle is not very big, so might not be ideal.

Anything in the Tarentaise Valley (Espace Killy, Paradiski, 3 Vallées) has decent to great conditions early winter. Val Thorens will be great for access, but if you don't have a car you'll be pretty much holed up there all winter.

Bourg St. Maurice is a nice village, you'll have a much more "local" experience, and in just a short funicular/monorail ride to Les Arcs / Paradiski. There's also great access to backcountry skiing in the Beaufortain as well as a 45min bus ride to Espace Killy (Val d'Isère Tignes).

It really depends on what you want for two months. Tignes is also a good option for great (and pretty much guaranteed) skiing. But, like Val Thorens, it's like living on the moon.