Mountain Upgrades For Méribel And Beyond

Hi everyone and welcome to another post from your favourite blogging Méribel Ski Instructor. This time I'll be talking about all of the ski infrastructure upgrades on the mountain that have taken place in the Méribel Valley, over in Courchevel, and the Belleville Valley (St.Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires and Val Thorens). Bearing in mind that the vast majority of skiers haven't been able to ski since March 2020, there's quite a lot to cover (with two summers of work since then). This is a particularly detailed report, including plenty of photos that I've taken over the last year. So perhaps grab a brew before continuing, this post might take a while to get through.

First up is a brand new mountain restaurant, well, kind of. For several decades there was a rustic Savoyard styled restaurant called 'Les Crêtes', up on the Tougnète ridge high above Méribel and St.Martin de Belleville. It was a fantastic place in bad weather to take shelter and grab a hot chocolate, or in decent weather sit on the terrace and admire the panoramic view including Mont Blanc. If you love Savoyard mountain food, ie anything that includes reblochon cheese and lardons (chopped bacon), 'Les Crêtes' was the place to go to.

However, it's all change now. 'Les Crêtes' was flattened a couple of summers ago, and rebuilt with what I think looks like a slightly bigger footprint, and also with a much higher ceiling. I took these photos of the new restaurant, renamed as 'Maya Altitude', at around 8am one Saturday morning in early September. Three pick-up trucks had already arrived, with their tradesmen busily buzzing away. This is quite impressive for a Saturday, and the restaurant looks to be on track for opening this coming December. Why is it called Maya Altitude?

I've done some digging and come across their website. They characterise themselves as high-end and being inspired by Himalayan decorations; in fact why don't I continue describing the project using their words not mine.............

In December 2021, the Maya Collection will launch its brand new restaurant on the slopes of the 3 Valleys finest ski demain. This delightful mountain chalet restaurant will have a capacity of 400 covers with a warm and comforting interior for guests to cocoon into on bitterly cold winter days. Designed by Hong Kong based architect Sylvestre Murigneux, who oversaw the interior refurbishment of the Refuge de la Traye, the restaurant is adorned with a vibrant décor to suite the exhilarating atmosphere and electric vibes. Michelin starred chef 'Akram Benallal' and executive chef Christophe Dupuy from Maya Collection, have combined their culinary talents and created an exceptional menu offering high-end brasserie style cuisine, with traditional mountain specialities sublimated by a coal fired oven for authentic flavours.

So there you go, it sounds very intriguing, and I'll be interested to see what it is like in just a few months time.

Next up, a brand new bubble, this time over in Les Menuires in the Belleville Valley. The foundations for this lift were constructed in the summer of 2020, with the second installation phase this summer. I decided to take a look in September by cycling from Moutiers (at the bottom of the valley), up to the base of La Masse.

This new bubble, called Pointe de la Masse, is a big upgrade on the old cranky two stage bubble called La Masse. Here are some facts about this investment; costing 22 million euros, this ten seater bubble will travel at a speed of 7 metres a second, and arrive at the top within 8 minutes! The top station is at an altitude of 2,840 metres, and positioned the other side of the Le 2800 mountain restaurant to where the old bubble peaked. The interesting thing about this express lift is that it is non-stop, in other words there is no mid-station halfway up.

The Pointe de la Masse will be a great improvement for the La Masse ski area, especially during the busier periods when long queues would form for both of the old La Masse bubbles. When I took a look at the construction site in person, I noticed that the old La Masse 1 (ie the bubble at the bottom of the mountain) is still there. And sure enough after looking into this, I've found out that La Masse 1 will remain in operation giving skiers access to only halfway up, which remember is something the new bubble doesn't offer!

One other thing to mention, it looks as though the very old rickety chairlift called Lac Noir has been taken out.

Let's return to the Méribel Valley, where the Olympe bubble has been improved. This is the bubble that comes up from the valley floor all the way down in Brides-les-Bains; calling in at Les Allues, Raffort and then Chaudanne which is the main ski lift area in Méribel. The old cabins have been taken away, with new stand up six seaters replacing them. These brand new cabins will have the seats facing each other which makes it much easier to load and unload compared to the original version. No photos I'm afraid.

Speaking of the Olympe bubble.......When you ski down the very pretty blue piste called Raffort, you have to take off your skis to cross the road. And up until recently you then had to negotiate an evil set of steps that took you down to get access to the Olympe bubble. Not any more I'm pleased to say. These steps from hell have been taken out and replaced with a much more user-friendly bridge. Yes, you still have to walk across the road, but now it's easier to get to the bubble (with the new cabins remember), see below.

Let's stay in the Méribel Valley. Two summers ago the very old bubble called Plattieres 3 (the one that had colourfully painted artwork) was taken out, and replaced with an impressive looking chairlift. This chairlift is called Bouquetin, and goes all the way up to Roc de 3 Marches.

Bouquetin is a six seater giving skiers access to head over to St.Martin de Belleville, Les Menuires, or further south in the Méribel Valley towards Mont Vallon or the Cote Brune chairlift. Although the old Plattieres 3 bubble didn't especially suffer from lift queues, the Bouquetin chairlift will be much simpler to use, in terms of ski on ski off. It takes just two minutes to reach the top.

Now let's head across to the Col de la Loze on the border between Méribel and Courchevel. There's a new massive water reservoir, installed for last winter. The water stored here will be used for snow making in Courchevel above La Tania and Courchevel 1850. Installed in time for both the 2022 World Cup Finals and the 2023 World Championships which Méribel and Courchevel will co-host.

Speaking of the 2022 World Cup Finals and the 2023 World Championships, the men's speed events will be held on a brand new black piste called L'Eclipse above Courchevel Le Praz. This new piste has been created using parts of the Bouc Blanc red piste, and also from the Jockeys black piste (which doesn't exist anymore). I was lucky enough to ski down the L'Eclipse last season, and in fact wrote a blog post about it at the time. Here is a link to this article, it's definitely worth a read and look at the photos.

In summary, Ian (friend and fellow ESF ski instructor) and I skinned up to the top of the piste, and skied down it together without anyone else around. It was a privilege to have had that experience, and one I'm sure I won't forget for some time.

Staying in the Courchevel valley. The cable car that rises from the Verdons building, all the way up to the top of Saulire, will be out of action this coming winter. Last month this ski lift had a planned stress test, running at twice the normal speed and twice the maximum weight, and unfortunately there was a mechanical issue at the top. Access from Courchevel 1850 to Méribel will still be possible via the Marmottes and Suisses chairlifts, and also the Vizelle bubble.

Finally, there is a brand new bubble coming up from the bottom of the Orelle Valley, all the way up to the Cime de Caron above Val Thorens. The mid-station of this bubble is at Plan Bouchet, next to the mountain restaurant and the bottom of the Rosael chairlift. It will give skiers an interesting second route back to Val Thorens via Cime de Caron, a different peak to the original option of the Col de Rosael.

Right, I think that I'll leave it there. I hope you enjoyed this update, and that it has whetted your appetite for returning to skiing in Méribel this coming winter. I also hope that you will get to see and try some of these fabulous upgrades in the 3 Valleys. Live With Passion. Martin.