Serre Chevalier B and B Chalet Holidays

Skiing

Introduction

The majority of the World’s largest ski areas are in France, and Serre Chevalier (SC) is;Pistethe 4th largest ski area in France, ie it is an enormous ski area with over 250kms of piste.

It is without question one of the World’s great ski areas, and there are many skiers who have skied many of the main ski areas, who regard SC as their favourite. It is an excellent area for all levels of ability, 

(We can provide lots of information on which parts would be best for your ability).

 

The ski area used to be let down by it’s lift system, as it had many old long draglifts, but over the last few yeas the lift system has been greatly improved. In the summer of 2005 three new six man detachable chairs were installed, and it is possible to ski the vast majority of the area without ever using a drag lift. (We can provide you with plenty of information on how to do this).

 

Ski to the Valley Floor

One of the great aspects of the SC area is that you can ski to the valley floor (this is not possible in many French ski resorts), though on occasions to reach Briancon you may have to take the gondola lift from the mid-station. However for the rest of the area, you can nearly always ski to the bottom (even in mid-April) thanks to the slopes being north facing, and huge quantities of artificial snow. There is a good 20 minute bus service that runs the complete length of the ski area, so if you are tied, or become separated from your group, it is easy to go to the valley floor and catch the ski bus from anywhere in the ski area.

There are lots of ski runs with a vertical drop of 1.2km or more, what this translates to is a large number of very long ski runs. What also makes SC such a fantastic ski area is that the terrain is very varied, with many beautiful tree lined runs giving improved visibility in bad weather. Above the tree-line there are huge white bowls and vast areas of ‘safe’ off-piste, though some of the off-piste skiing in the Monetier section can be dangerous. If you want to go skiing off-piste Chris can introduce you to first class English speaking Ski-Guides/Instructors if prior notice is given, and you would have to pay them for their services.

 

Ski Links

Piste map (likely to take sometime to open) http://www.serrechevalier.com/skimap/skimap.jpg

Lift pass prices http://www.ot-serrechevalier.fr/en/hiver/domaine_skiable/tarifs.html

Ski area photos http://www.serrechevalier.com/photogallery/gallerylist.asp?Page=1

 

Climate

The ski area has extensive snow making facilities and these are very effective, don’t worry about lack of snow, they can (and do) make artificial snow on a gargantuan scale, though most years the area has a good natural snow record.

When booking a ski holiday most skiers are concerned about the quantity of snow that is available, however what they should also consider is the weather when they are there, not that much fun having large quantities of snow and then ‘white-out’ conditions on most days. SC has one of the best sunshine records in the whole of Europe!!, it has substantially more sunshine than the ski areas to the north of it, so if you like to do most of your skiing under blue sunny skies, the probability of this happening in SC is significantly greater than in most other ski areas.

 

Free Ski Guiding

Chris offers free ski-guiding on the first day of your holiday, if you have not been to SC before it is recommended that you participate in this, as it is easy to get lost, end up on long Ski Guidingdrag lifts, or end up on a slope beyond your ability. Before we set off we will assess the ability of the skiers in the group, starting off with easy slopes, we will then gradually progress to more difficult slopes during the day.

 

 

 

 







Ski the Galaxy and Beyond !!
What ? The seven day lift pass also includes one day’s skiing in each of the following resorts: (The name given to this lift pass is the Galaxy)


1. Mongervre (15 minutes drive from the chalet) where you can easily ski into Italy and have an Italian lunch, (part of the Milky Way ski area.)

2. Puy Saint Vincent (35 minutes drive) excellent compact ski area.

3. Les Deux Alp (around one hour’s drive) this resort has a very large glacier on which you can ski.

4. Alp d'Huez (over one hour’s drive) excellent ski area including one of the World’s longest ski runs

5. Italian Milky Way (40 minutes drive) 400km piste, and the location of the 2006 winter Olympic games, ski the Olympic downhill!

 

The Galaxy ski area includes around 1,200km piste, but I would say that the best skiing in the Galaxy area is SC. Beyond the Galaxy area, there is Risol (50 minutes drive), and also Val Thorens (65 minutes drive) via the Frejus tunnel and then the Orille lift, (fourth valley of the Three Valleys ski area).

 

Both Mongervre and Puy Saint Vincent are within easy drive from the chalet, one of these resorts is very good for beginners and the other is very good for Boarders, but which one is which, we can provide this information.

 

Cross Country Skiing

There is exceptional cross-country skiing is this area (some of the best in France), with four Cross Country Ski Areamajor sites within 15 minutes drive of the chalet. You can reach one of these areas by the ski bus, but for the other ones you need a car. Chris does cross-country skiing and if any guest wanted to do this sport, then excellent advice on where to go can be provided.