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Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 21st 14, 09:23 PM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
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Default Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees

Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees

1) Does anyone remember having to ski over a road surface on the way
to Val Thorens ? The piste seemed to run out and you could see a strip
of lightly snow covered asphalt that must have been a road before you
descended into Val Thorens itself ? Am I imagining this ?

2) I think this was around 83/84. What I remember as a route where you
took the furthest lift in the Meribel valley on the LHS of the valley
as you looked up. You topped a ridge. On the other side of the ridge,
which must have been the Courcheval watershed, you descended into a
sort of bowl but you needed to descend around to your right. The
moguls here always looked like they had been dug by a backhoe, late
season, and were taller than you were. You skied through tunnels.
Lower down you hit a piste/itinerary.

You seemed to ski down a valley, not narrow, as I remember it, and on
the LHS. At one point you skied down a rise in the ground and there
was a rock bluff to your left. If you poled up the rise to the rock
bluff, there was jump down into soft snow.

This is what I am trying to find. Where was this. I remember looking
for this about fifteen years later, thinking it would be easy to find.
But on the route I described, there was a narrow icey track, I think
bordered by a river. Not the broader valley I remember.

Is it possible that this was the same place, except under 2m of snow ?

At that point, I gave up, thinking I must have got it all wrong.

Where was this ? Where is it ?

Does any one know how to contact Denis Summerbell if he is still
around ? If this place is lost in the mists of 3V history, he would be
the man who knew.
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  #4  
Old February 24th 14, 10:33 AM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Brian Mc
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Default Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees

Michael Chare mUNDERSCOREnews@charedotorgdotuk wrote:
: The last part of the piste (that I probably used in the 70s) has always
: been covered with snow when I have been there, but it is shown as a road
: on google maps.

I think the piste down to Val Thorens turns into a bridge over the road. In
fact I am sure of that! I do not recall it ever being the road itself.

: To get back you took the two chair lifts up from Val Thorens and then
: skied off piste back to Meribel Mottaret past Mont Vallon.

That'a all pistes! You ski down to "Plan des Mains" which is where
the Mont Vallon lift is. Then you either take the chairlift of the same
name up to gain a bit of height to come down to Mottaret on blue runs OR keep
going past the Mont Vallon lift to also get to Mottaret - but via a (flat
in places) green run.

  #5  
Old February 25th 14, 12:05 AM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Michael Chare[_2_]
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Default Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees

On 24/02/2014 10:33, Brian Mc wrote:
Michael Chare mUNDERSCOREnews@charedotorgdotuk wrote:
: The last part of the piste (that I probably used in the 70s) has always
: been covered with snow when I have been there, but it is shown as a road
: on google maps.

I think the piste down to Val Thorens turns into a bridge over the road. In
fact I am sure of that! I do not recall it ever being the road itself.

: To get back you took the two chair lifts up from Val Thorens and then
: skied off piste back to Meribel Mottaret past Mont Vallon.

That'a all pistes!


Today that is certainly the case. It was not like that in the mid 70s
when I went to Courcheval 1650.


--
Michael Chare
  #6  
Old February 26th 14, 07:58 PM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
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Default Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees


If I could find my original piste map (I have never thrown away a
piste map) this would help.

I have had a look at a current piste map and compared it to the
journey I remember.


Nothing looks right. For instance, if you go to head of the Meribel
Valley, then that could not be the start of the journey because the
highest lift would have been Saulire, which is the big bowl where you
ski back down to Courcheval. Not that.

OK if it is still the Courcheval valley I remember then it could be
the valley which descends below the Chanrossa lift. But I am sure that
the Chanrossa lift was not built then and when you descend that valley
the profile is wrong. It just feels wrong.

The other possibility would be that I was returning from Val Thorens
via what looks like Cote Brun, down what looks like blue piste
'Bouvreuil' and blue piste 'Ours'. But I am sure that this is the icey
track alongside the river which I discounted as being the place.

GoogleEarth does not have any winter footage, which wouldhave been
helpful.

I have usually being going other places when in the 3V (like working
my way through Dennis Summerbell's 3V guide) but next time I will make
a serious effort to find this place again.

Thinking about it yet again, the only place it could be, by
elimination, is the Meribel valley, returning to Mottaret from Val
Thorens via Cote Brun.

This must mean that

either

It was a heavy snowfall year in the year I remember skiing it, and the
snow obscured what is the present terrain

or

they have done a lot of work with the bulldozer.

  #7  
Old February 27th 14, 05:36 PM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Michael Chare[_2_]
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Posts: 14
Default Historic questions on the 3V Les Trois Vallees

On 26/02/2014 19:58, wrote:

If I could find my original piste map (I have never thrown away a
piste map) this would help.

I have had a look at a current piste map and compared it to the
journey I remember.


Nothing looks right. For instance, if you go to head of the Meribel
Valley, then that could not be the start of the journey because the
highest lift would have been Saulire, which is the big bowl where you
ski back down to Courcheval. Not that.

OK if it is still the Courcheval valley I remember then it could be
the valley which descends below the Chanrossa lift. But I am sure that
the Chanrossa lift was not built then and when you descend that valley
the profile is wrong. It just feels wrong.

The other possibility would be that I was returning from Val Thorens
via what looks like Cote Brun, down what looks like blue piste
'Bouvreuil' and blue piste 'Ours'. But I am sure that this is the icey
track alongside the river which I discounted as being the place.

GoogleEarth does not have any winter footage, which wouldhave been
helpful.

I have usually being going other places when in the 3V (like working
my way through Dennis Summerbell's 3V guide) but next time I will make
a serious effort to find this place again.

Thinking about it yet again, the only place it could be, by
elimination, is the Meribel valley, returning to Mottaret from Val
Thorens via Cote Brun.

This must mean that

either

It was a heavy snowfall year in the year I remember skiing it, and the
snow obscured what is the present terrain

or

they have done a lot of work with the bulldozer.


The Cote Brune lift is not on my '91 ski map. It shows 'Retour
Val-Thorens' as a broken dashed red line. I do recall a nasty fall!

These days since the building of the Cote Brune lift there is a lovely
piste.

--
Michael Chare
 




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