Val Thorens - France VIP services
Val Thorens, located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps, is the highest ski resort in Europe, at an altitude of 2300 m. It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie département. The resort forms part of the 3 vallées linked ski area which, with over 600 km of piste, is one of the largest linked ski areas in the world.
Given the high altitude of Val Thorens and the Glacier de Péclet the often large volume of snow means that the resort is usually open from mid-November until early May. The highest ski-able peaks are Pointe du Bouchet (3220 m) and Cime de Caron (3200 m), with its cable car of the same name, one of the biggest in the world with a capacity of 150+1 passengers. Many of the slopes in Val Thorens face north and north-west, providing for good snow conditions. This means that the slopes are not as sunny, so the resort tends to attract a crowd more interested in skiing than "terracing". However, the resort itself faces south, and many people enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine when they have finished skiing. Val Thorens has a total of 68 marked runs, and several terrain parks.
Kilometres of ski and snowboard trails in Val Thorens, France
Val Thorens is part of the 3 vallées ski domain, which is connected by a common ski pass. Jean Beranger set up the first ski school in Val Thorens: The ESF, and the Club des sport and the Tourism Office in 1972. Beranger is a former coach of the French women's ski team. He is now deputy mayor and president of the tourist office, and one slope in Val Thorens is named after him. Beginning in 1973 Val Thorens operated ski lifts all year round on the Peclet glacier. At time of opening the glacier included 3 surface lifts named Croissant, Chavière and Pointe and a chairlift named 3300. The summer ski area was then expanded in 1983 with the construction of an extra surface lift named Lac Blanc and an extra chairlift named Glacier. However, the glacier only contained difficult and very difficult slopes, hence naturally limiting visitor numbers. Compounded by the melting glacier, lifts were slowly removed until the summer of 1989 when only the Glacier & 3300 chairlifts remained on the glacier - at this time the operators decided that these two remaining lifts would from then on only be open during the winter ski season. 3300 was dismantled in 2002 making the Glacier chairlift the only surviving lift used for summer skiing on the glacier. Val Thorens has good helicopter transport service in and out of Lyon, Geneva and Chambéry airports.
Val Thorens has 31 lifts, which include magic carpets, draglifts, chairlifts, gondolas, funitels and a cable car. There are 4 funitels; the Bouquetin, Péclet, Grand Fond and Thorens. The funitel concept was developed in Val Thorens, by the lift company, SETAM. It is a gondola that hangs from twin cables, and its key feature is its wind resistance. The Péclet Funitel was built in 1990 and was the first in Europe. In the summer of 2011, the latest funitel, the Funitel de Thorens, was built at a cost of €6.5 million...
So pack your bags and grab your passport because you’re going to want to book a flight to France, Val Thorens!
