Val d'Isère
Altitude
- Resort Top: 1850m
- Resort Bottom: 1850m
- Piste/run/trail top:
- Piste/run/trail bottom:
Size
- Pistes: 82
Piste Difficulty
- Beginner Pistes: 48
- Intermediate Pistes: 22
- Advanced Pistes: 12
Lift System
- Gondolas: 5
- Regular Chairlifts:
Freestyle Features
- Terrain Parks: 1
- Halfpipes: 1
- Boardercross: 1
Ticket Prices
- 1 day: € 43
- 6 day: €216-€226 (area)
- Season: €935-€1035
Food and Drink Prices
- Pint of lager: €7
- Cheeseburger & fries: €14
- Pizza: €15
Closest Transport
- Airport: Chambery – 131km
- Train: Bourg St Maurice – 26km
- Bus: Val d’sere
BLIMEY!
The Espace Killy is named after local hero Jean-Claude Killy, who won three skiing gold medals in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble
Val d’Isère is one of the world’s most iconic ski resorts. The lovely villages are packed full of 5-star hotels, designer bars, and rich kids borrowing daddy’s Amex card for the week. Located in the Savoie region, Val d’Isère and Tignes form one ski area, the Espace Killy. Seamlessly linked by lifts covering a huge 24,000 acres, the area beats the pants off North America’s largest resort, Whistler, with its paltry 8,000 acres. The majority of the area sits above 2000m, giving it a very long and snow-sure season. The Pissaillas glacier is open in the summer but it’s such a tiny area and a trek to get to that’s it’s best to get your summer shred on in Tignes.
The resort consists of the main town where the nightlife is, and two villages, La Daille and Le Fornet, linked by regular free buses. La Daille is a good base to access the ski area, and offers more affordable accommodation. The buses to the centre run well into the evening, but if you do stumble out of Dick’s Tea bar at 4am, it’s about a 20 minute walk – depending on the snow and number of Jaegerbombs consumed.
THE PARKS (3 out of 5)
For a long time, the thought of having a terrain park in Val d’Isère was enough to produce a stream of expletives from the locals. But thankfully attitudes have moved on. The Oakley Valpark is located under the Mont Blanc chairlift, and is expanding every season. This season they’ve bought eight new snow machines just for the park. It’s divided into four ability zones, so you won’t have any difficulty finding something for your level, and shouldn’t accidentally find yourself launching off the 18m pro kicker. There’s also a boardercross course in the same vicinity.
THE POWDER (4 out of 5)
The Espace Killy has a great reputation for off-piste terrain, and as such attracts a lot of people. This means that after a dump it can get tracked pretty quickly. Having said that, the area is vast and so there is always a clean pitch to be found if you know where to look. However, be aware that the steep, long slopes that are amazing to ride also make the area prone to avalanches. So buddy up and if you don’t know what you’re doing, go with someone who does. There are a number of companies providing off-piste guides, which are often more reasonably priced than you’d think. When the light is flat there is lots of fun to be had in Le Fornet through the trees, but watch out for the odd cliff that is too big to drop!
THE PISTES (4 out of 5)
As you would expect, the pistes are well kept, with loads of snow canons ensuring that even if it hasn’t snowed for a while the pistes are still perfect. Although you can buy a Val d’Isère-only lift pass, unless you’re a beginner it’s well worth upgrading to one that covers the whole of the Espace Killy. There’s 150km of pistes in Val d’Isère and another 150km over in Tignes, so there’s plenty to explore. The lift system is fast and well connected, meaning you spend your time riding rather than sitting on lifts.
The piste classification is questionable, with a lot of the blues feeling like reds. This means when they mark it as a black they definitely mean it! However, there are two well-signed “Ski Tranquille” areas up high that are suitable for beginners, who can then get the lifts back down at the end of the day.
THE PARTIES (4 out of 5)
The town is full of good-looking people spending daddy’s money, but don’t let this put you off. There are plenty of bars to choose from and the place deserves its party reputation. The Mountain Echo is a free weekly magazine that you can pick up in most of the bars with listings for live music, events and special deals.
Between 3-5pm, if you’re up for being sprayed with champagne while dancing on a table then head for the Folie Douce. This is a crazy outdoor daytime ‘nightclub’ on the slopes – although be aware that the drink prices are extortionate. In town there are loads of bars. The Morris pub is good for live music and has a sun terrace in spring. Hidden away opposite the ESF office is the Bluenote, which is a small friendly bar packed with seasonaires. If you want to watch sport then head to the Pacific bar – it’s a bit of a dive but has loads of screens, reasonably priced beer and also cider on tap. Later on, the Saloon bar gets busy with sweaty teenagers fuelled by their lethal jugs of Long Island. And if you’re still able, there are four nightclubs to choose from, with Dick’s Tea Bar being the favourite with the Brits.
“The town is full of good-looking people spending daddy’s money, but don’t let this put you off”
