Les Menuires Snowboarding
Les Menuires has made numerous improvements in recent years, a much has been done to improve facilities for snowboarders, especially the snowpark. There are several runs for beginners and intermediates that have large flat sections that should be avoided.In the past, the snowparks of Les Menuires often came a distinct second to neighbouring Val Thorens. Since the resort hired HO5Park to manage the freestyle snowpark development, however, there has been a marked improvement at the BK Park, which is accessed by the Becca and Sunny Express chairs.
There is a boardercross, and as with most things in Les Menuires, the kicker and rails are aimed at the intermediate skill level. There are two blue kickers, as well as four blue rails which are divided up in to a flat descent, a rainbow and two boxes. There are also two red kickers and four red rails, which feature an S-shaped rail, a flat rail with a drop-off, and a Wave and C-shaped rail. There is still a long way to go before the boarders from Val Thorens come down the valley but it’s a good effort from HO5.
Areas that some boarders may find difficult to negotiate include the extremely steep and fast Masse draglift and the black runs in the La Masse sector, which are often covered in moguls. The Montaulever draglift, near Bruyeres, has some extremely steep sections and is also very fast.
Other pistes that beginner and intermediate boarders should avoid are the Gros Tougne blue that links Saint Martin de Belleville to Les Menuires. If has large flat sections and is only around two cat-tracks wide, which means if you are not confident changing edges you’ll be stuck on one for a very long time.
We have seen many boarders have to take of their board and walk and it is always better to take the Granges chair. The Boulevard Cumin blue from Val Thorens also has large flat sections, as does the Boulevard des Echauds, which links up with Pluviometre, one of the best blues in resort.