Skiing in Méribel
Ski without limits on the largest ski area in the world
Opening of the Méribel resort (2021/2022 season)
You can ski in Méribel from Saturday December 4, 2021 to Friday April 22, 2022.
The other resorts in the area will open on November 20, 2021 for Val Thorens, on December 4, 2021 for Courchevel, les Menuires and Orelle and on December 11, 2021 for Brides-les-Bains and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville.
Méribel and the 3 Valleys ski area
The Méribel ski resort in France is part of the vast 3 Valleys domain. By choosing to book the 3 Vallées ski pass, you have access to a playground with almost endless possibilities.
Why ski in Les 3 Vallées?
We could give you dozens of reasons to take to the slopes of the 3 Valleys on your skis. We have selected ten.
The largest ski area in the world in number of km of connected slopes
8 resorts in the French Alps: Méribel, Courchevel, La Tania, Brides-les-Bains, Les Menuires, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Val Thorens and Orelle
3 covered valleys of the Tarentaise: Saint-Bon, Allues and Belleville
25 accessible summits
600 km of slopes located between 1,300 and 3,230 meters above sea level
321 alpine ski runs, including 32 black runs, 106 red, 132 blue and 51 green
130 km of Nordic ski slopes, including 1 black, 6 red, 7 blue and 3 green
8 new snow sports facilities
169 ski lifts including 3 cable cars, 4 funiculars, 32 cable cars
A single pass for all resorts with a Ski Guarantee *
* The 3 Vallées ski area will reimburse you for the unused days of your ski pass in the form of a credit note if a single European ski area offers a more significant number of open linked runs
Méribel: skiing, here, now, right away
Méribel-Mottaret is certainly the best-placed village to set off on the slants of the largest ski zone in the world. An authentic resort in France that one can enjoy on skis is the ideal starting point for all your desires.
Almost endless possibilities are available to you whatever your level in alpine skiing since the green and blue slopes occupy more than half of the 3 Valleys ski area. In Méribel, we particularly recommend the blue Le Raffort slope. Suitable for a group or a whole family, it will offer you a moment of gliding in complete privacy in the middle of the forest until you arrive in the hamlet of the same name.
If you are looking for adrenaline above all and have a good level, you should not miss:
the legendary red slope La Mauduit and its drop of more than 1000 meters
the Face: a superb black which hosted the women's events of the 1992 Olympics
the essential red slope La Combe du Mont Vallon and its incredible panorama
the formidable GoPro Couloir, with a slope of around 75% in places, is the most filmed black slope in the area
without forgetting the black slope of the Roc de Fer, approved for the 2023 Worlds!
With children
Labelled Famille Plus, the Méribel resort pays particular attention to satisfying little skiers and their parents. Within the area, 42 fun and thematic trails welcome them to experience a maximum of adventures on skis.
From the age of 6, children and their parents can set off on the Acticross course made up of fun modules such as a tunnel, a small slalom, whoops and banked turns. Many activities make the experience even more fun during the school holidays.
There are several fun and thematic trails that will keep your children occupied in the Family cool area of the Altiport, starting with the Inuit trail populated by penguins, bears, and seals. Great North atmosphere guaranteed! In the same place, little skiers will transform into explorers and set off to discover the little inhabitants of the 3 Valleys on the Animal Trail. This very affordable green is populated with clues to identify animals from their tracks or their cry.
Then head to the Himalayas with Yooni from Yeti Park. This green track of Méribel-Mottaret offers many activities along the route, such as banging a gong, blowing a Himalayan trumpet or listening to a story in a cave.
For freestyle enthusiasts
Both beginner and expert snowboarders have plenty to do in Méribel and the other 3 Valleys resorts with no less than 8 snowparks and 28 play areas at their disposal.
Freestyle enthusiasts will have no shortage of good ideas and possibilities to experience the thrills of their holiday stay in the 3 Valleys area. If only in Méribel, they are already very spoiled with the Open Park Snowpark. Divided into two regions, it welcomes beginners on one side in the Rookies area for a gentle introduction to freestyle through a mini half-pipe and small bumps. On the other hand, the ProZone is aimed at experienced freestylers who can redouble their creativity in this internationally renowned snowpark.
Also open to all levels of practitioners, the Elements Park is a snowpark divided into 4 areas of varying difficulty:
the Earth is a safe mini-zone for children and beginners,
the Wind allows you to reach the ski lifts by a line of whoops,
le Feu is a blue level fun slope with bends and small bumps
and Water, a red level boardercross for maximum thrills!
Off-piste ski version
Méribel offers the best setting for ski touring and enjoying the pleasures of powder snow through many routes, from the most accessible to the most arduous ski lifts.
From Mont Vallon via the Côte Brune and the Borgne Glacier, the freeride spots, that's not what is lacking in the Méribel resort!
You will ski on the north or south slopes and will find on your way accessible routes with excellent snow as more secret spots that the reserve of the local riders for themselves.
As always, when it comes to off-piste, it is strongly recommended to hire the services of a mountain guide who will be able to take you to the most beautiful fields of powder in complete safety. It is especially so if you plan to set off in the Burgin-Saulire Corridors, where the snow changes rapidly.
The best freeride spots in Méribel:
the most affordable: the Raffort route
to improve your skills: the Roc de Tougnes
for experts only: the Valdez sector and the corridors of Pointe du Borgne
Nordic ski version
More than 130 km of slants await cross-country skiers on this side of the Alps. They will experience the different disciplines of Nordic skiing while enjoying wide open spaces and fabulous panoramas.
In Méribel, you can vary the pleasures by testing cross-country skating or biathlon, the resort's favourite Nordic discipline. There are two sites for this. One is Tuéda, and the other is Altiport, with its 27 targets at 50 m scattered here and there on the ski course.
Cross-country skiing routes from Méribel, Altiport and Tuéda sites:
2 green slopes of 1.5 km, height difference + 10 and + 25 m
a 5 km blue run, 110 m drop
a red run of 10 km, vertical drop 230 m
a Méribel Altiport / Courchevel 1850 route: 17 km round trip
a Méribel Altiport / Courchevel La Tania route: 16 km round trip
3 km green loop, vertical drop + 20 m
5 km blue loop; the difference in height + 100 m
To find the highest Nordic ski slope in the 3 Valleys, you will have to go to the Orelle resort. The Braiz slope, accessible with a pedestrian pass, will allow you to admire the great landscape from its 2350 meters altitude!