guesswho Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Whoa, I just got an amazing oportunity to go to the alps on an awesome package deal. But I need some advice. Ive never really been anywhere but the north east United States (sad, I know) so Im not sure what to expect in terms of conditions. I would imagine that they get loads and loads of fresh powder pretty frequently. Can I expect to carve at all? Ive got a 163 Head freecarve (probably older than it sounds, lol) and a 158 burton elite freeride board I can also use for powder. Obviously, I would much rather use the freecarve. Think I can get by with just the freecarve? Anybody been to the Alps? Im staying at Val Thorens. What can I expect? Any alpine snowboarding done over there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Im staying at Val Thorens. What can I expect? Expect WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! Endless open wide runs. All above tree line. Great pow if it dumped, but it does less then in the West. You can pick and choose your conditions, moguls, hero groomers, alpine bowls... Ski pass is good for all 3 valleys, say over 100 ski lifts... Clothing is optional in public hot tubs/ saunas at the hotels... French wine, French girls... Need I say more? Very expensive, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 val tho aka val thorens is an ugly buildings resort with amazing mountain ans slopes.. it goes as high as 3600m if i'm correct and is france's last place to close at season end ( may). - great night life ( its THE Dutch resort, sometimes even in the shops people have problems speaking french ( scary)..): hence hot dutch crews ;) - bad architecture ( buildings litterature): i guess this is not a pb - great slopes and long long rides ( 3600-1300m i think) - world's or almost biggest number of slopes lift with connectivity to méribel, and courchevel ( called 3 valleys) ( pass is very expensive in the 60 euros range per day for that): 3 valleys since you are in the last valley on the right will be hard to do in one day anyway ( too many cross lifts: aka you spend half the time crossing valleys instead of riding)...However Meribel also has great slopes and trees ( val tho is like the moon: not a single tree ) - very incredible (and dangerous too) powder / backcountry: shovel, pole and Arva ( french for beacon) is mandatory. Near the slopes its not as dangerous but still... - your board is ok for basic condition ( the biggest one) but its definitely too short for powder in those big open faces: i am using there usually my 196cm swallowtail and find it too short in some cases!! - great impressive place for carving...since there is many Dutch and they like carving too, should be able to find other carving buddies Hope there will still be enough $$ for you to have fun there after the little finance crisis we are facing ;).. Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogokoenig Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Val Tho: Great place for carving and freeriding, but - as Nils said - very expensive. I recommend the black slope from "Cime de Caron" down to Val Tho. Very steep beginning, becoming narrow and then turns into very wide and long steep downhill. Altogether more than 1200 altimeters. One of my all time favs. Also the slopes in Meribel are recommended highly. Don't forget to take your own sandwich with you. Otherwise you will starve or become very poor after your trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Istvan Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Start learning French.... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Start learning French....:lol: Vous bâtard chanceux ! http://livecam.valthorens.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menno Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Lucky you! Hope you go there outside french school holidays (mid-feb till mid-march); because during those weeks the slopes can be crowded. I have been in ValTho 2 times, and in neighboring Les Menuires 4 times. From Valtho to the furthest end of the 3V (Courchevel 1650) takes 6 lifts and can easily be done in under 2 hours. Thanks to fast and well-layed-out lifts. It is even possible to do that twice on 1 day, but then it becomes hard work There are loads and loads of good carving slopes. Some of my favorites: -Opposite Les Menuires: La Masse (red and black upper runs). -Backside of Mt de la Chambre: Bruyeres. -Meribel: runs off Mont Vallon. -Courchevel: La Saulire; runs above 1650 (quiet) -Valtho: Grand Fond. Boismint (if good snow); Caron red and black. Eating out on the slopes can be very expensive. The restaurant on top of La Saulire is notorious for that. But at least the quality is good. The mountain restaurant on the Rosael side (4th valley) used to be good value. Now, to ensure you still got appetite after all this negative info ;) http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=26184 Mont Vallon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Ive never really been anywhere but the north east United States (sad, I know) so Im not sure what to expect in terms of conditions. Maybe you should bring Palin? Second thoughts, best not ;-) You have some good data there already. Weather-wise, well it's a lottery like anywhere else. The Three Valleys is an excellent destination place - there are lots of runs and piles of cruisy and harder slopes all over the place. When I last looked there were over 200 lifts; it's best to get a feel for it by spending a week or two trying to ride them all. Val T is as people have said; it's slightly poorly connected, so you have to watch your return up the valley in the afternoon if you go to Courchevel. If you're good you should be all over those resorts though. The Caron mountain and La Masse are good and close. As always you need to figure out where the sun is and make sure you're on the best stuff at the right time. Any Alpine... well sadly not that much... all the little French kids dress like LA street kids and presumably speak French with American accents. I'd say it's about like the US for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tufty Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Philw, that's unfair - there's a fair amount of alpine in France in general, not certain about Valtho, not been there for a while. Hell, my "little" (and I really do mean "little", 70km of slopes) resort would have 4 or 5 "tourist" alpiners a week, plus the 3 or 4 of us that work in the resort, and a couple of skwallers - you will probably see a few alpiners about, but expect to have to speak french to them. Or Dutch, in Valtho. The slopes are mainly big, long, wide, open and well groomed. It's really bloody good for carving, but depending on when you go, plan to get up early to get any decent cord. Weather is liable to be your main problem - it's relatively high up and exposed, high winds will shut down a fair chunk of the resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guesswho Posted October 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 Thanks for all the info guys! :) Im literally saving every penny I make from here till new years to go on this trip so I dont think I'll be getting the 3 valleys pass. But I see that Val Tho alone has a massive amount of trails so Im hoping it will be ok. I'll try and be vigilant weather-wise too. I guess I should start boning up on my french, huh? How do you say: "Come brother, let us bomb this sweet sweet mountain side"? You know, just in case, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted October 18, 2008 Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 How do you say: "Come brother, let us bomb this sweet sweet mountain side"? That's easy, "Alors, allons y!" Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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