Meribel france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Meribel France.
Meribel Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1938 the French ski resort Meribel lies at 2952 metres altitude in the Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Meribel ski area is snow sure. Over 688 snow cannons ensure artificial Meribel snow making covers 55km of ski trails, which equates to around 45 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Meribel (France) is Geneva / Geneve at a distance of 135km or approximately 180 minutes driving time. Meribel ski season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
In 1938 a British Officer created a ski resort, Méribel, in an almost abandoned mountain valley. Today Méribel is one of the world's greatest ski resorts. It now has an apartment built off-shoot, Méribel Mottaret, at 1750m.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Meribel France
Beginner Trails
 10 runs ?km |
13% |
Intermediate Trails
 34 runs ?km |
45% |
Advanced Trails
 24 runs ?km |
32% |
Expert Trails
 9 runs 9km |
12% |
Meribel Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €187 - €187 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2011 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Apr 2012 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Meribel Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 150km |
| total length of Meribel trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 3.6km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | SE E NW |
| direction Meribel ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 2952m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1450m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 1450m |
| centre of Meribel ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1500m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1500m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Meribel
Skiing Meribel you'll enjoy 75 pistes and trails and that means approximately 150km of ski runs. Meribel lifts number 45 with the capacity to uplift 75465 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Meribel is over 3.6km long.
SNO-man says
Ski Meribel for its family friendly atmosphere, the top notch Meribel skiing schools or the big miles.
There are many reasons to love Meribel ski resort but for us, the main one is the simply titanic choice of 3 vallees skiing. Meribel is in the very heart (you’ll notice their logo is heart shaped) of the biggest linked ski area in the world. Bounded by the high society skiing of Courchevel on one side and the high altitude snow sure skiing of Val Thorens on the other, Meribel skiing includes the best of both worlds without the excesses of either (Courchevel can be expensive and some don’t sleep so well in the extreme altitude of Val Thorens).
Whatever the Meribel snow conditions, you can always find a good spot to ski.
Meribel Ski Area
Meribel ski area has 13% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 45% intermediate, 32% advanced ski slopes and 12% for expert skiers - the most difficult Meribel piste is the ?km ? run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Meribel after dark.
Meribel for skiing gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Meribel
If you snowboard Meribel you'll want to know that, of the 45 ski lifts in total, 13 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Meribel snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Meribel snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 4 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 1500 metres), 2 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
SNO-man says
Snowboard Meribel for some of the best motorway-wide pistes and trails in the French alps. Snowboarding Meribel is easy because, if you don’t like narrow tree-lined runs, you simply go somewhere else!
This is the bonus of being so vast – Meribel snowboarding is effectively 3 vallees snowboarding and so it is as easy or difficult as you want it to be – there is almost no limit to your choices. Look at the Meribel piste map and scribble over the narrow or tree lined trails – guess what... there are still hundreds of miles left!
There are several snowboard parks and their number seems to grow yearly – Platieres snowpark has 3 tables, a spine, a half pipe, a baby pipe, 2 quarter pipes and a huge boardercross track – Arpasson snowpark has a halfpipe for beginners.
Meribel ski resort could just as easily be called Meribel snowboard resort – you need just 2 things in Meribel – snow board – that’s it!
Meribel for snowboarding gets 5 stars out of 5 overall
Meribel Apres Ski
The apres ski Meribel scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
47 apres ski bars 80 restaurants 1 bowling 3 night club 2 cinema 1 billiards / pool 1 games room 1 concert 3 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 3 saunas 3 hot tubs 1 solariums 2 masseurs 1 indoor ice skating 0 outdoor ice skating 3 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 1 squash racquetball 1 sleigh rides 1 ballooning 0 horse riding 25 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 1 golf 0 fishing 1 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Climbing Wall, Fitness Centres, Hammam, Ice Hockey, Language Courses, Flying, Paintball, Slide Show, Snow Bike School, Squash, Air Trampoline, Vibrating Sauna, Jacuzzi.
SNO-man says
If you've ever fancied knowing what goes on behind the scenes in the wonderful world of ski resort machinery, Méribel Alpina lift company offers you the chance to see the works of a gondola system, snow making machinery and ride in a snow cat.
Méribel's on and off-slope activities selection has increased dramatically since the Savoie Olympic era began. On the snow you can try snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice climbing (natural and artificial), or a network of 20 km (12.5 miles) of winter hiking trails.
Above the snow there's ballooning, paragliding and scenic flights in a light plane from the altiport (you can train to be a pilot if you like).
Off the slopes the Olympic Ice Rink is open late afternoon/early-evening daily and some evenings. There is also a modern 25 metre pool open afternoons through to early evening and featuring three jacuzzis, three saunas, a hamman, solarium and a fitness centre.
There are cinemas in the main resort and up at Méribel-Mottaret which often show films in English, a 10 pin bowling alley, and the Olympic Centre also has an indoor climbing wall.
Meribel for apres ski gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
More Meribel Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Meribel resort - ski Meribel by any other name
The French ski resort of Meribel ski resort is also known as Meribel/Mottaret The 3 Valleys and has the following common misspellings: Marabel, Maribal, Maribel, Maribell, Maribelle, Marible, Meribel, Meribelle, Mirabal, Mirabel, Mirabell, Mirabelle, Miribel, Miribel
Meribel ski area has ski slopes which face SE E NW
The direction which the various Meribel ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Meribel ski resort has ski slopes facing SE E NW.
Meribel for snow gets 4 stars out of 5 overall