Val Thorens france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Val Thorens France.
Val Thorens Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1972 the French ski resort Val Thorens lies at 3200 metres altitude in the Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Val Thorens ski area is snow sure. Over 359 snow cannons ensure artificial Val Thorens snow making covers 13.3km of ski trails, which equates to around 40 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Val Thorens (France) is Geneva / Geneve at a distance of 143km or approximately 120 minutes driving time. Val Thorens ski season runs from November to May.
SNO-man says
Situated at the top of Les 3 Vallées, the largest ski area in the world, in the heart of a natural rock and ice circus, Val Thorens offers a complete range of skiing.
At 2300 metres, Val Thorens, the highest resort in Europe, is situated in the heart of a 360° Alpine Circus, orientated in all four directions, with a grandiose countryside, optimal sun throughout the day and superb quality snow from the end of November through to the beginning of May.
From powder fields to perfectly prepared pistes, the 140km of the wide and varied Val Thorens-Orelle ski area is ideal for everyone: skiing, snowboarding, snow shoes..
With easy skiing around the resort, medium and difficult on the summits, Val Thorens combines “great skiing” and first tracks for the great delight of all skiers whether beginners or more expert.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Val Thorens France
Beginner Trails
 8 runs 16.22km |
11% |
Intermediate Trails
 26 runs 50.73km |
38% |
Advanced Trails
 26 runs 56.83km |
38% |
Expert Trails
 8 runs 8km |
11% |
Skiing in Val Thorens
Skiing Val Thorens you'll enjoy 68 pistes and trails and that means approximately 140km of ski runs. Val Thorens lifts number 28 with the capacity to uplift 57944 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Val Thorens is over 12km long. Ski Val Thorens summer or winter as there is also glacier skiing in Val Thorens.
SNO-man says
Val Thorens Ski resort is situated at the top of the world’s largest linked ski area, the Three Valleys, with access to more than 500 pistes served by 200+ lifts. With such a vast dispersed area, lift queues are rare. Although there is a seemingly endless choice of skiing for all abilities, more than 200 runs catagorised blue or red, advanced skiers will reap the benefits most as such a choice is not often available. Experts should ski Val Thorens powder field on the Peclet and Chaviere glaciers and try the Cime de Caron black moguls, for a taster of what is available.
Val Thorens ski terrain itself is easy around the resort with some free lifts, medium and difficult on the summits, thereby pleasing all skiers whether beginners or more expert. Especially satisfying is the ski to door design and the modern lift infrastructure both of which make Val Thorens skiing easily accessible. With many reputable ski schools, lessons are easily acoomodated and you can even take a telemark or Moguls course.
Val Thorens Ski Area
Val Thorens ski area has 11% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 38% intermediate, 38% advanced ski slopes and 11% for expert skiers - the most difficult Val Thorens piste is the 3km Caron run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Val Thorens after dark.
Val Thorens for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall 
Snowboarding in Val Thorens
If you snowboard Val Thorens you'll want to know that, of the 28 ski lifts in total, 2 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Val Thorens snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Val Thorens snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 1 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 110 metres), 2 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
SNO-man says
Val Thorens snowboarding has plenty to offer with all the available terrain and with limited surface lifts has excellent access for boarders. Snowboarding Val Thorens is taken to a higher level with the new snow park. This 70000m2 area filled with bumps, rails, boxes, whoops and more, is located on the Plateau sector, which is served by several lifts. You can snowboard Val Thorens Snowpark, no matter what your level of ability thanks to the 5 different zones.
The beginners zone has series of woops, two beginners rails followed by a series of 3 tables.The intermediate zone has 3 hand rails, 3 boxes and 6 jumps. The Experts zone has 6 hand rails, 1 wall ride as well as a link into a big air, this zone is a favourite training ground and the Val Thorens showcase. The boardercross zone has an 800 m long fun area with bumps, whoops and jumps. There is also the new Jump’Air zone, which allows you to do your jump and land on shock absorbing mattress, to limit the danger, which is great for trying new jumps and improving your freestyle.
Val Thorens for snowboarding gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Val Thorens Apres Ski
The apres ski Val Thorens scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
44 apres ski bars 60 restaurants 1 bowling 3 night club 1 cinema 1 billiards / pool 1 games room 1 concert 1 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 3 saunas 2 hot tubs 0 solariums 5 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 0 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 2 indoor tennis 1 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 2 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities ?.
SNO-man says
Val Thorens is a multi-sports paradise with on-snow sports available including snowmobiling or snowshoeing tours and there's the options of paragliding or microlighting above. With 20% of it's winter clients now non-skiers, Val Thorens has expanded and diversified its range of non-skiing activities on offer in recent years.
Its center piece is the superb Val Thorens Sport Centre which reopened in 2004 following a 3.8 million Euro investment, with a new lay out and brand new installations. The Aquaclub, decorated in an "island" theme, is much more spacious, incorporating mosaic tiled steam room, saunas, solarium-relaxation area and especially unlimited use (together with the main pool) of a second fun pool, Jacuzzis and turkish baths.
The Centre has a serene atmosphere with gentle music and an exotic decor which characterise the well-being area with comfortable treatment cabins, modelling, water massage beds, Australian saunas and sun beds.
On the fitness side there's a 170m◊ weight training/circuit training room, a 110m◊ fitness room, stretching and relaxation programmes, courses and personalised lessons for holiday makers and the most motivated season workers.
The centre has also got an area completely dedicated to leisure activities for old and young alike with the possibility to participate in tennis, volley-ball, football, squash, badminton, ping-pong, roller skating, hockey, street basket, rodéo toro, and, for the over twos, the biggest "Fun park" in the Alps with trampolines, bouncy castles and ball pool.
Other indoor facilities include a cinema and the Bicicleta Bowling and leisure centre which opened in 2006. This contains eight lanes of bowling, seven pool tables, snooker, internet cafe and is open to 2am daily.
Out on the snow Val Thorens offers the longest toboggan run in France, a fantastic six kilometre descent over 700 vertical metres. The run begins beneath the Péclet glacier at 300m and takes about 45 mionutes to make the full descent back to the resort. The run is open to anyone eight years or over and a glass of mulled wine is served at the end.
The resort operates more than 40 snowmobiles which are available from 5pm for solo or joint excursions on a one hour circuit. More unusual is a 980m ice driving circuit, the highest in Europe. This offers courses under the eyes of a French racing champion in everything from the basics of driving on ice to competition standard. It's aimed at holiday makers as much as experts and a range of vehicles is available up from Fiat Pandas to Mitsubishi Evo 6s.
For those wishing a cultural escape from the hi-tec colour of the winter sports world, a Guide from the Society of Natural Historical Monuments organises tours of Baroque sites in the Belleville Valley below Val Thorens every Thursday afternoon. In addition at least one jazz concert is performed every week in the church, with free admission.
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Val Thorens for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
More Val Thorens Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Val Thorens resort - ski Val Thorens by any other name
The French ski resort of Val Thorens ski resort is also known as ValTho Val Thorens and has the following common misspellings: Val Thoren, Val Toren, Val-Thorens, Vallthorens, Valthorans, Valthorebs, Valthoren, Valthorens, Valthorense, Valthorenx, Valthorenz, Valthorn, Valthornes, Vaolthorend, Volthorens
Val Thorens ski area has ski slopes which face N S E W
The direction which the various Val Thorens 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. Val Thorens ski resort has ski slopes facing N S E W.
Val Thorens for snow gets 5 stars out of 5 overall