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Val Thorens / Ski area
The resort of Val Thorens is built on the west-facing slopes on the east side of the valley and the skiing stretches across the western flanks, with plenty of north-facing slopes, meaning good snow conditions are virtually guaranteed here. Above the resort there are some good reds from the top of the Peclet glacier (3101m) which is well served by the 25-man gondola and behind the resort are the more gentle blues coming down from the Col de la Chambre (2803m), which is also the linking point to the Méribel Valley. The greater proportion of the skiing is accessed from the collection of chairs and bubbles below the resort base which service the broad flank between the Pointe de Thorens and Cime de Caron (3200m). Underneath Pointe de Thorens the Col chair rises to 3133m, giving access onto the Chaviere Glacier. Across the flank most of the skiing starts from above 3000m and is largely intermediate, though there is plenty of interesting off-piste between the marked trails.Cime de Caron and the Fourth Valley
Until recently Cime de Caron was the highest point in the three valleys. Although there can still be queues at the bottom of the cable car, it is still a legendary summit with good runs on and off-piste heading back down towards Val Thorens and also over the back into the Maurienne valley, the "Fourth Valley". From the top, the panoramic view takes in a thousand summits in France, Switzerland and Italy. The most deserted skiing in the resort area is on the excellent reds in the Boismint sector. The "Fourth Valley" is also accessible from Breche de Rosael (3000m) at the top of the Funitel Grand Fond and two new chairs in the valley have opened up another intriguing peak, the Pointe du Bouchet, whose Sommet des Pistes is now the highest lift-accessed point in the Three Valleys at 3230m.
Les Menuires and St Martin ski area
Most of the skiing takes place on the large open west-facing flank stretching from the Tougnete peak (2434m) above St Martin (1400m) to Mont de la Chambre (2850m) above the main accommodation centres of Les Menuires (1850m). Both these pistes also give access to the Méribel Valley and there are two other summits, Mont de la Challe (2573m) and Roc des 3 Marches (2704m) which also back onto Méribel. The skiing is quietest above St Martin where there are several excellent reds and blues and large swathes of lift-accessed off-piste. From the top of 3 Marches run three excellent runs, particularly the rolling Allamands which leads you back into the heart of Les Menuires.
The runs are more congested above the resort itself but higher up there is a nice variety of different challenges though the quality of snow tends to be rather poorer lower down the mountain because of its west-facing aspect and the volume of traffic. Stay up high on the Becca chair or any of the runs coming down from Mont de la Chambre. The most testing skiing is across the valley on Pointe de la Masse (2804m). Here, the snow tends to be better on the high lifts and there are great runs and off-piste accessible from both Masse 2 and Lac Noir. Most of the skiing is above the tree line so suffers a similar flat light problem to Val Thorens.
Val Thorens
| Base | 7,546 ft (2,300 m) |
| Summit | 10,597 ft (3,230 m) |
| Elevation | 3,051 ft (930 m) |
| Snowmaking | |
| Ski area | 6,000 a (2,428 ha) |
| Beginner | 20 % |
| Intermediate | 50 % |
| Advanced | 30 % |
| Number of trails | 68 |
| Longest trail | 8 mi (12 km) |
| Snowfall | 354 inch (900 cm) |
| Season start | late Nov |
| Season end | early May |
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