Val d’Isère is somewhere I’d only previously seen in the summer sunshine.
In the summer of 2002, my parents packed up our old Renault Scénic, my two brothers and I crammed ourselves into the backseats, and we took a road trip from the Highlands of Scotland to the (even higher) lands of the French Alps. We had the first three Harry Potter audiobooks on cassette, as well as the greatest hits of classic ska and pop band Madness, and after exhausting all of “Philosopher’s Stone” and hearing “Baggy Trousers” for the eighteenth time, we finally found ourselves skirting around the edges of Lac de Chevril and approaching a beautiful alpine village. For a brilliant week we hiked, played crazy golf, ate an unfathomable amount of cheese, and even managed to do a bit of skiing on the Grande Motte glacier. For a family that would typically stay-cation during the summer holidays, that particular trip holds a special place in the memories of my brothers and I (maybe not the youngest, but then he was only one year of age at the time).
It has been 22 years since that wonderful trip, and I now find myself sitting beside my wife on a coach, winding our way along the edges of Lac de Chevril. Unlike the previous trip, this time we are arriving in January, and the mountains are covered in snow.
On this occasion, we’ve found ourselves here courtesy of the exemplary team at Ski Beat. These folks provide some of the best and most affordable holiday-packages on the market, and my wife and I cannot rate them highly enough. Once we had booked with them, a simple call came through from their offices in Brighton to finalise flights, transfers, lift passes and rentals, and once everything had been sorted we were all set to go. The most difficult part was having to answer the phone to an anonymous number, which for anybody younger than 35 is probably the most anxiety-inducing thing imaginable. Never-the-less, I answered that phone call, and everything turned out fine.
Our coach pulls up in the La Daille village on the outskirts of the main resort in heavy snow. It is late-afternoon, and stepping off the bus we find ourselves standing before a bustling bar known as Le Barillon (an establishment with which we would become quite familiar over the next few days). However, before familiarising ourselves with the various watering holes of the village we have to drop off our luggage, and fortunately our accommodation is a 30 second walk away. One of Ski Beat’s team members on the ground directs us, and we pull our cases across the road and around a corner to Chalet Cristal.
The chalet itself is as warm and welcome as anyone could wish for. Spacious living room and dining area, with a large balcony looking out onto the nearby La Daille chairlift and Etroits funicular. The bedrooms meanwhile were cosy, with extremely comfortable beds and impressive en suite facilities. We get unpacked, and then head through to the living area to meet our fellow guests, as well as the exceptional hosts.
Here’s the thing with Ski Beat – their chalet staff work extremely hard. In each chalet they have a couple of folks who are turning up at the crack of dawn to prepare breakfast for the guests, which is followed by cleaning up the kitchen, making the beds, baking some treats for afternoon tea, then enjoying a brief respite before cooking everyone an excellent 3-course meal, and finishing the day by cleaning up a second time and taking breakfast orders for the morning. Imagine doing this for yourself and one other person.
Now imagine doing it instead for a dozen people almost every day, all whilst being fully conscious of the various dietary requirements of each guest, which will inevitably be changing from week to week as new holidayers come to stay. They receive a midweek day off, and it is utterly deserved – their work ethic is truly incredible, and the cheese and courgette crumble is to die for!
Turning attention now to the skiing itself, and firstly it is worth mentioning the acquisition of rental equipment was completely painless. Guests pre-pay for the gear during their initial phonecall with Ski Beat, and are provided a voucher with their itinerary. The local staff in the rental shops will recognise these vouchers, find the bookings on their systems, and have guests fully kitted up within 5 minutes. All very quick and easy.
Once we had our gear and a good night’s rest, it was time to hit the slopes. We took the La Daille chair to the main area, and soon found ourselves heading up the Marmottes and Borsat lines to explore some of the smoothest greens we’d experienced for years. For anybody who is not a fully confident skier, or is perhaps not fully out of the beginner stages of learning, this was the perfect place to start.
Val d’Isère does provide more challenging areas also of course – the reds and blacks from Rocher de Bellevarde down to the main base of Val d’Isere are not to be taken lightly. If you’re looking for some more challenging pistes that let you explore more of the range then it is worth getting up early and taking the Tommeuses chair across to the nearby Tignes. Here you’ll find plenty of interesting blues to check out, as well as access to the Grande Motte glacier for those who are interested. Meanwhile, if you’d rather head in the opposite direction to explore the furthest areas of Val d’Isère itself, then don’t miss the Leissieres chair, taking you up and over the Crete de Leissieres ridge, which provides amazing views whilst having slight rollercoaster vibes. It is also far less busy on this side of the resort, so if you’re finding the slopes a little crowded then this might be the best direction to head in.
Overall, we had an incredible return to Val-d’Isère with Ski Beat. My only regret was running out of time to actually make a return to the Grande Motte glacier after my 20-year absence. Which I suppose just means we’ll have to visit again. What a pity!
FACT FILE
Ski Beat has catered ski chalets in seven of France’s highest altitude ski resorts with prices for a week’s stay from £842pp, and a week in Chalet Cristal in Val d‘Isere from £1043pp. Prices include private chalet hosts to prepare cooked breakfast, afternoon tea with home-made cakes, freshly prepared three course evening meals with wine, return flights from Manchester or Gatwick and transfers. www.skibeat.co.uk, 01273 855100. ATOL protected.
