First Lift of the Season – who else would it be?

La Tania first lift stalwarts Nick & Joey in the first gondola of the season out of Courchevel this morning – good work!

Courchevel Opening Tomorrow – Further Updates & Free Parking Details

For opening day tomorrow, Saturday 8th December 2018 the lift schedule currently remain as reported earlier in the week but further lifts and pistes will open as soon as possible with the expected snowfall and the operation of snow cannons as the temperature drops.

Free Car Parking will be available at:
– Bellecôte (Courchevel 1850)
– Grangettes (1550 Village)
– Dou du midi (1550 Village)

Further details and prices for opening week here

Courchevel Opening Day on Saturday 8 December – Update on lifts & piste opening from S3V

Update from S3V Ski Area Management Company
Despite difficult conditions (natural snow has been in short supply and temperatures have not been conducive to artificial snow production), we have deployed significant resources to offer from Saturday, 8th December the best skiing we can. This will be illustrated in particular by the production of artificial snow at full capacity as soon as conditions permit, with grooming machines working and teams manually carrying snow on to the slopes if necessary.

Encouraging prospects!
The situation should improve rapidly thanks to favorable weather conditions to ski on new pistes every day. Meteo France have announced sharply lower temperatures and regular and consistent precipitation on Saturday & Sunday. In addition next Monday and Tuesday, there is persistent cold weather conducive to snowmaking.

Openings scheduled for December 8
Forecast to open in the Courchevel valley on Saturday:
* Saulire Cable Car
* Verdons Gondola
* Jardin Alpin Gondola
* Tovets Chairlift
* Tapis du Golf Magic Carpets
Lift and piste openings will increase very quickly as conditions improve.

Weather Update 4 Dec – Much Colder & Snow for Courchevel Opening

The milder spell this week which has seen rain to mid mountain levels looks more and more likely to end abruptly at the weekend.

Latest model runs continue to confirm the cold blast and the opening up of weather fronts to hit the Alps from the Atlantic in a classic alpine snow storm.

Courchevel & Méribel opening day this Saturday and over the weekend could well see extensive snow (and down to quite low levels) if the predicted models come off as forecast.

The colder weather should also see a mass switch on of the snow cannons low down to make sure pistes to all resort levels are complete (and for La Tania opening on 15 Dec).

First Pints (not first tracks) Pub Le Ski Lodge Opening

A photo finish but the official results show Such Riches at an SP of 2/1 and joint second favourite finished first and claimed First Pint of the La Tana Winter 2019 Season – Congratulations!

Special mention from right outside the betting and finishing very strongly the Australian import Ben+B.

Welcome to La Tania everyone from Pub Le Ski Lodge to Winter 2019..

Warning Alert from S3V regarding work on the ski area

We received the following warning / alert from S3V this morning regarding skiers on the ski area while a serious amount of work is going on preparing the slopes for next Saturday. Lots of machinery, including hidden cables and obstacles in place so the ski area is officially closed to those hiking up and getting in some early turns.

In order to prepare the ski area for the opening on December 8th, we currently have 21 snow groomers, 15 snowmobiles plus other councli heavy machinery working on the ski area.

Some groomers are equipped with cables that are not always visible (with  up to 1 km of cable unrolled and powered by heavy duty machinery some of which may be under the snow).

We are currently facing a growing number of cross-country skiers / ski tourers who do not understand the risks of this work in progress and are preventing us from working normally.

We remind everyone that the ski area is exclusively reserved for the Ski Area Management Company to prepare for the opening day. Thank you for respecting this work in progress by not practicing ski touring on the ski domain.

The S3V Board of Directors

2019 Easy Rider Maps Released. The Courchevel Mini-Pass with 26 Lifts!

The Winter 2019 Courchevel and Méribel Easy Rider Piste Maps have been released showing the lifts and runs accessible on the mini-passes.

There is also a new Easy Rider 3 Valleys Map showing how to cruise across The 3 Valleys only using green & blue runs – a great help to get more people accessing more of the biggest ski area in the world…

The Courchevel Mini-Pass has an amazing 26 lifts included for only €28 per day (one price for all age groups).

Lifts included are (*including the free ones):
La Tania: La Tania Gondola, Gros Murger, Stade, Troika* Drags and the *magic carpet at the top gondola station.
Le Praz: Praz Gondola and Epicea Drag.
Courchevel Village 1550: New Grangettes Gondola, Tovets Chair and *Roys Drag.
Courchevel Moriond 1650: Ariondaz and *Petit Moriond Gondolas, Belvedere, Granges, Petite Boss and *Mickey Drags.
Courchevel 1850: Jardin Alpin & Verdons Gondola, *Bellecote, *Cospillot, Etoiles, Ferme, Altiport, Sources and Rocher de l’Ombre Drags plus the *Magic Carpets near Biollay.

 All the lift pass options for Winter 2019

All the 2019 Piste Maps

New “Carré Neige Season” Insurance for Ski Season Pass Holders – only €35 but there are caveats

This season “Carré Neige Season” insurance is available when you purchase your season pass. This cover is available for only €35 which is about half the price of the previous Carte Neige cover. Family Cover for €90 for up to 3 members of the same family is available too.

Previously the Carré Neige insurance cover referred to the daily optional insurance charge on your day/week ski pass and Carte Neige was the season insurance that was available from The Tourist Offices or Club des Sports.

The normal Carré Neige optional cover on your day/week ski pass is €2.90 per day for Adults or €23.20 for 8 to 21 days for Winter 2019.

 The new season product will cover search & rescue including via helicopter and without pre-payment and paper work issues but we note that “the off-piste ski area that is accessible via ski-lifts is covered” – that sounds a bit of a grey area to us… Also cover is only provided in the ski area you have the season pass with (includes linked areas), previously Carte insurance covered other French ski areas, ski touring and summer mountain biking too (the policy details here say Summer sports accessible with the “season pass” are covered).

Mountaineering is specifically excluded in the policy details but cross country skiing in France and neighbouring countries is included. Professional competition, motor sports (on land or in the air), hang-gliding, para-gliding, bobsledding, skeleton sledding, and ice hockey are excluded. The usual exclusions regarding being drunk or under the influence of drugs are also stated.

However search & rescue, initial transportation, repatriation, reimbursement of unused ski pass or lessons and medical, pharmaceutical and hospitilisation expenses are covered.

Whether this cover plus an EHIC is enough is often debated but a comprehensive travel policy including Winter Sports is always recommended (or specialist Season Worker cover) and you want your valuables covered too. How many season workers have a few grand of kit with them when ski gear, phone, laptop and cameras are all added up?

Thanks to Ewan and Ralph for the heads up on this.

Cover Details – Carré Neige Season Flyer

Carré Neige Season Table of Guarantees

Further info: www.carreneige.com

Winter Sports Travel Insurance & Seasonnaire Cover

One final thing – everyone is duty bound to assist in the French Mountains when someone is in need of help and ski patrollers & pisteurs do not leave people if they have no insurance or credit card – that is an Urban Myth. But big rescue bills and medical expenses costs can follow if you don’t have adequate cover.

Season Preparations Continue – New Hot Tubs Being Delivered & Snow Chains Needed!

Now just over 2 weeks before the lifts open in La Tania (and 1 week in Couchevel 1850) and final preparations for the season ahead continue.

Today saw 3 new hot tubs being delivered to The Free Ride Republic Chalets in La Tania with a crane needed to lower them in to position.

Due to the recent snow (and the full on snow clearing operation not being in full swing yet) the lorry had to put on Snow Chains – a little bigger than the ones you may be used to, but then you should see the ones on the JCB digger the local council use here for clearing snow…

Aquamotion Update for Winter 2019

With a (basic) entrance in to Aquamotion included in this season’s Courchevel Lift Pass of 2 days or more it looks like more people will be tempted to go swimming on a skiing holiday… Here’s a summary of the facilities, services and prices.

A 6 day Courchevel Adult pass in main season is now €272 and an Aqualudic area entrance is included worth €23.

A 6 day (to 14 days) 3 Valleys Wellness pass is now available and two Aquawellness entrances are included which are worth €74 (2 x €37). A 6 day 3 Valleys Wellness pass is €369.

For comparison a standard 6 day 3 Valleys pass is €306 – only €34 more than the Courchevel pass. A single 3 Valleys day upgrade is now €37 (at any time of the season). All Lift Pass Prices & Options

Aqualudic Info:
– 25m sports pool
– baby pool
– slides
– river / canyon
– jumping and diving pool
– only €14.50 entrance on a Saturday
– swimming shorts are allowed
– swimming caps are not compulsory
– you can rent towels and robes
– children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult
– there is no Courchevel season pass Aqualudic benefit
– open Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00 – 20:30
– open Tue, Wed 10:00 – 22:00 from 6 Dec 2018 to 22 Apr 2019

Aquawellness Info:
– over 18s only
– indoor & outdoor lagoons
– solarium
– silence spa
– salt water
– jacuzzi
– saunas
– hammam
– hot plunge roman bath
– open Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00 – 20:30
– open Tue, Wed 10:00 – 22:00 from 6 Dec 2018 to 22 Apr 2019

Additional facilities include the indoor surf wave (€29 for a 30 minutes session), indoor climbing wall (€15 half day), Aquasports (including Aquabiking & Aquaboxing from €14 a session) and Icarus – a Virtual Reality fitness experience (from €15 a session).

Various spa services, massage treatments and swimming courses are also available.

For further information call +33 (0)971 00 73 00

The Winter 2019 Aquamotion Brochure