In the Ski Famille office we spend a lot of time talking to our guests about all kinds of things in order to make sure we offer them the right family skiing experience.
Topics covered include subjects as diverse as nappy brands available in resort, the exact location of stairgates, TV compatibility with games consoles, dietary needs, baby monitor reception, whether not French ski instructors are really all craggy old chain smokers (largely not) and the length of bed guards. This is all important stuff if you want to get it right for both you and the children.
However … a trip to the Alps last week reminded me just how important the skiing is. Bizarrely it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that the reason we all hoik our families up a mountain is to hit the slopes. Having been lucky enough to have a quick bomb around both Les Gets and Les Menuires over the course of a few days I thought it might help to sum up these two very different areas as I see them.
Les Gets
Les Gets is my skiing first love. I lived and worked in the resort for two winters, it has the only hostelry I know where the landlord will spot me coming through the door and pour me the drink of my choice before I get to the bar and my daughter took her first shuffles on skis on the slopes of Chavannes.
The Les Gets ski area is chocolate-box pretty. Much of the skiing is below the tree line and sheltered, perfect for children on cold days. There are few very long runs but all have their own character and I can’t think of any that lack a staggering view of the surrounding peaks. The view of Mont Blanc from the slopes of Mont Chery remains my favourite mountain view anywhere.
The lift system is good (most have been replaced in the period I have been skiing in the resort) with few queues away from peak weeks. That said, the infrastructure on Mont Chery remains pretty creaky. The upside of this is that a lot of skiers never go there and the slopes (some of the most challenging in the area) can be more or less deserted.
Some people worry about altitude (resort level is 1,200m) but on most weeks when I travel from Les Gets to higher resorts I don’t see much of a difference. On a sunny day in March or April it’ll get slushier earlier, but cover is generally good and the grass based pistes need much less snow to ski well than something rock based at high altitude.
This year my daughter (now 5) is going to ski school for the first time and Les Gets is our family resort of choice this time around. If she takes to her lessons there are so many slopes to quickly move on to including the fabulous Grand Cry territory filled with Indians, teepees and a warpaint workshop.
My wife is a classic potterer (I don’t think she reads this …) and loves the views, great signage and easy navigation, the mountain restaurants and the cosy atmosphere of the village itself. I, meanwhile, will be on the back face of Mont Chery desperately trying to keep up with the on slope antics of our seasonal staff - I gave up trying to keep up with their off slope antics a long time ago!
Les Menuires (3 Valleys)
Last week, after I had had half a day of skiing in Les Gets, I arrived in Les Menuires and convinced myself that I wasn’t that bothered about getting out on the slopes. It was dark and I was tired.
The next morning, after a fine meal and a good night of kip, I looked out the window and swiftly sent a flurry of emails and texts to shift meetings and ensure I spent some time on the mountain. You can’t resist the pull of the 3 Valleys!
The 3 Valleys ski area is massive, diverse, challenging and, I suspect, addictive. Having spent a week in one of our Les Menuries chalets last season I started to really understand why people rave about the 3V. I am also convinced that Reberty Village, just above Les Menuires, is one of the best locations; you can access the divine top bowls of the Meribel Valley far more quickly than anyone staying in Meribel. You can get to the off piste of La Masse with one lift and you can ski the highest resort in Europe (Val Thorens) without having to stay there and endure the eye watering architecture.
Much of the skiing around Les Menuires is above the tree line and runs tend to be wide and long, sometimes extraordinarily long. Try the longest descents from Val Thorens in one hit and you’ll experience thigh burn on a level you never thought was possible. Whilst you don’t get many pretty tree lined slopes at 2,000m you get enormous views and on a clear day the scenery is breathtaking.
It’s not all steep and deep on exposed mountainsides though, there are child and beginner friendly slopes zigzagging across the area and in challenging weather you can ski down to charming resorts like St Martin de Belleville. There is also no shortage of great mountain restaurants and, when the thighs are finally burnt out, you can ski back to within a minute’s walk of your chalet hot tub!
If you have visited one or even both of these areas I’d love your thoughts; what makes them work for you and your family?
Chris
www.skifamille.co.uk
Our early bookings are at record levels with space on the busiest weeks of the season starting to get very thin on the ground. To help you work out what we have, where and when we thought a quick summary would help. 
