Val D Isere Ski Area

There are more than 300km of ski runs served by 96 lifts in the Espace Killy.

After the second war, Val d’Isère built up an international reputation as a ski area, producing champions like Henri Oreiller, who won France’s first gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games in St Moritz in Switzerland. But it was families from Alsace who really put Val d’Isère on the map: the Goitschel sisters (Marielle and Christine) and, of course, Jean-Claude Killy. Val’s most recent heroine (and World Championships hopeful) is Ingrid Jacquemod, who won the women’s World Cup downhill in Santa Caterina, Italy in January 2005.

In 1971 an agreement between Val d'Isère’s STVI lift company and the Grande Motte lift company in Tignes enabled skiers to liaise between the two French ski resorts. Today there are more than 300km of ski runs served by 96 lifts in the Espace Killy. Val d’Isère’s vast ski domain is linked not only by its ski slopes, but also its superb free shuttle bus system that services the three sectors making up the ski resort. From 8:30 am to 2:15 am, the red, green or blue ‘trains’ link the different areas of the resort– La Daille, Centre, Le Chatelard, Legettaz, Le Laisinant and Le Fornet. This enables skiers and snowboarders to organise their day according to weather patterns and the type of ski slope they prefer.

La Daille (1785m) is packed with wide and long ski runs ideal for a good early morning warm up. Then at 1850m, the ski trails from Bellevarde and those of Solaise converge in the village centre. At 1930m, theLe Fornet has preserved an authentic Haute Tarentaise character. It is an unspoilt area from which visitors can reach the highest spot of the ski area.

While everyone, from complete beginner to those in search of the steepest and deepest runs possible (and everyone in between) will find ski runs galore to suit them, it must be said that the stronger the skier or snowboarder, the more he or she will get from Val d’Isère’s vast amount of terrain.

Bellevarde and Solaise
The two core mountainsides - Bellevarde and Solaise – face each other, perfectly placed at the heart of the ski resort to allow the viewing public and the world’s TV screens to witness ski racers hurtling down to a single arrival point from both directions. The two mountain faces are both contrasting and complementary. The steep and challenging ski slopes of Bellevarde, flooded with sunlight in early morning, will send the adrenalin flowing through any skier’s veins – racer or recreational.
Solaise, equally imposing and “balding at the summit” is flanked on its lower slopes with a profusion of larch trees. During major sporting events like the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 2009 Alpine World Championships, the women battle it out on the Solaise and the men on Bellevarde. Spectators will have a rare vertical panoramic view: from the bottom, you can see right up to the top, enabling viewers to following the competitors down almost 1000 vertical metres on each face.

Criterium de la Première Neige
The Criterium de la Première Neige – the first World Cup Downhill on the first snow in the Alps – celebrated 50 years in December 2005. Traditionally this is Val d’Isère’s finest hour: the race, which opens the European alpine skiing season, is still considered one of the main events for the world’s best skiers competing in the men’s and women’s World Cup circuit. Jean-Claude Killy distinguished himself here throughout the 1960s.

Val d'Isere

Base	6,069 ft (1,850 m)
Summit	11,319 ft (3,450 m)
Elevation	5,250 ft (1,600 m)
Snowmaking
Ski area	(5,000 ha)
Beginner	58 %
Intermediate	27 %
Advanced	15 %
Number of trails	70
Longest trail	3 mi (6 km)
Snowfall	0 inch (0 cm)
Season start	late Nov
Season end	early May