Lifts & Terrain
Val d’Isere has three main ski areas on the side of the valley; Le Fornet, Le Solaise, and Bellevarde.
All the terrain maps are now conveniently downloadable onto your iPhone, however beginners note that some runs, particularly down to the village, are shown as easier on the ski map than they actually are, especially when it is extremely busy and at the end of the day (when it is full of moguls). It makes for a viewing spectacular!
Le Fornet Ski Terrain
Le Fornet is situated at the top end of town and has some easy long, open and often empty pistes, and is guaranteed some good snow since it offers glacier skiing up to 3,456 metres. The area offers 1,500 metres of vertical descent along blue runs all the way from the top of the glacier to the bottom of the resort at 1,930 metres. Le Fornet also offers some of the most easily accessible and best off-piste in the Espace Killy, with some runs offering more than 50 minutes of off-piste skiing for just under a twenty minute walk.
Ski Le Solaise
Le Solaise is the resort’s central skiing area, is easily accessible from the town centre, and as most of the ski schools meet at the bottom of the area, it is probably the busiest. Overall, it is the best area for beginner and intermediate skiers, and enjoys the sunshine for most of the day. Whilst the run down to the village sounds like a grand idea, it is recommended that beginners or tired skiers take the Solaise cable car or chairlift back down to the village, as it can get pretty “bumpy” towards the end of the day.
Bellevarde Skiing
Bellevarde offers a wide range of skiing because it has slopes facing three different directions in a triangular shaped bowl. The east facing slopes that face Val d’Isere town have very steep runs. The south/ southwest facing slopes (Grand Prè) at the top of the area are fairly mellow but get steeper the lower you go. The west/northwest facing slopes provide great views of huge mountains including Mont Blanc, and include many long and gentle slopes which lead down to La Daille. Access to this ski area is best via the quick and quirky “funicular”.
Val Park
Val d'Isère's snowpark “VALPARK” is located towards the Tignes end of the resort at the top of the Bellevarde/La Daille sector. The terrain park has lots of humps, bumps and challenging jumps, rails and boarder cross run for everyone.
Val d’Isere Snow – When to Go?
Snow-wise December can be fantastic or a flop. Christmas, February (French school holidays) and March (British school holidays) are the busiest times. January skiing is often the best because whilst it’s cold, skies are often blue and the pistes empty (and it’s cheaper!). April is often the snowiest month of the season as April showers land as fresh snow in the mountains. The April fine weather is perfect for lazy long lunches in the sun, and the pistes are once again quiet.
Val d'Isere Ski Passes
As all ski lift turnstiles are “hands free”, access to the ski areas is via a plastic card that can be electronically loaded online with the ski pass of your choice. There are two main decisions you have to make about how you approach skiing at Val d’Isere: how much and where do you want to ski, as this will drive your decision on what kind of electronic ski card to purchase.
Val d’Isere Lift Pass
This pass enables you to ski the wonderful Solaise, Bellevarde, Le Fornet and la Daille areas on the Val d’Isere side of the valley. You can go as far over as La Folie Douce (legendary après ski venue) but you cannot take the Tommeuses or Borsat Express chairlifts (which links over to Tignes). Instead you will need to take the Mont Blanc chairlift back up above the VALPARK Snow Park or drop down the pistes to La Daille.
This pass will probably suit if you do not want to ski all day, every day. It is also possible to upgrade a 6 or 7 day Val d’Isere lift pass to include one day skiing in the whole of the Espace Killy by paying a little bit extra.
Espace Killy Lift Pass
Whilst there is plenty to keep a good intermediate skier occupied on the Val d’Isère side, if you want to really explore and make the most of the HUGE area, then the full “Espace Killy” pass is probably for you. This pass will grant you access to 300km of piste, 137 runs, 94 ski lifts and 2 glaciers. For “Espace Killy” passes of 5 days or more, you can also ski for a day in the Paradiski (Les Arcs/La Plagne) and the 3 Valleys (Meribel/Courchevel/Val Thorens) for free! There is such a small difference in price between the Val d’Isere pass and the Espace Killy pass (less than €10), that unless you’re a beginner or you really only plan to ski half days, it makes good sense to buy the full area pass.
More Information On Ski Passes
Just to add to the permutations and combinations, there are also three main types of ski passes – VIP, a La Carte and the Standard Pass.
The
VIP Pass automatically offers 5-10% discounts on your (Espace Killy and Val d'Isère) lift pass as well as various other reductions and promos throughout the resort. The VIP Pass can be purchased online for an initial price of €10 (it's valid for 3 years) and recharged as many times as you like.
The
‘A la carte’ Pass is for powderhounds who want to enjoy skiing and boarding on six great ski areas between 8 and 20 days a year. Areas covered include l’Espace Killy (Val d’Isère and Tignes), Les Arcs/Peisey-Vallandry, la Plagne, Paradiski, Grand Massif, Serre-Chevalier. The ‘A la carte’ Pass can be purchased online for an initial price of €29 (it's valid for 3 years), can be recharged as many times as you like, and provides at least a 15% reduction on the “Espace Killy” adult day pass rate.
The
Standard electronic card pass is available for €3, and is rechargeable on the internet as well as in the ski pass ticket offices.
Insurance is important to consider before taking to the slopes. You can purchase it on a daily basis as you buy your lift pass.