Winter & Ski Home Ski Resort Reviews Alps Valfrejus

Going Your Own Way...

Valfrejus' purpose-built higher altitude developments offer ski-in/ski-out convenience.

Set just above Modane in the Maurienne Valley, Valfréjus is a relatively new arrival among French ski areas, having been launched in 1983. It's been developing steadily ever since, with the support of the town at its feet. Road access from Modane (which is now just four hours from Paris thanks to direct TGV rail services) is both quick and straightforward.

For air travellers the most practical budget-flight destinations are Chambéry and Turin – each around 100km. You'll be skiing in Savoie, but with a distinctly southern feel...

In an otherwise patchy season, snow-cover has remained good in the Maurienne.

If a plan to link Valfréjus with Bardonnechia (just across nearby Franco-Italian border) ever becomes a reality this place will finally acquire the major-league status it deserves. For now, though, it quietly gets on with providing great skiing for all levels, with some worthwhile off-piste potential (although freeride terrain is more limited than it appears, owing to avalanche risks of steeper off-piste terrain).
For novices and intermediates a single gondola ride heads straight to the main Plateau d'Arrondaz area (2222m), from which there's a choice of tree-lined return runs back to the village. From the Plateau an onward high-speed chairlift heads up to Punta Bagna (2737m) for blue, red and black-graded pistes amid truly startling scenery.

The traditionally-inspired Savoyard style blends the young (and still-developing) ski village into the architecture of the original mountain hamlet of Charmaix.

Valfréjus has its origins in the old mountain hamlet of Carmaix (1550m), and stringent planning constraints mean that all new construction follows solid, traditional Savoyard design cues. It therefore blends particularly well into the surrounding mountainside, much of which is attractively forested. Most of the accommodation and services are located close to the Arrondaz gondola – the only lift access to the ski area. Those based at the opposite (entry) end of the village have a green-graded link run over to the gondola, accessed by a 4-seater chairlift, and can return at the end of the day via a choice of blue or red graded descents.

Skiers of all ages will find things pretty relaxed here.

Young and budget-conscious family skiers - and anyone who values a quality, 'alternative' choice to the more obvious (and more pricey) big-name areas. The skiing is varied, amid some of the most unspoilt scenery around. And while the mileage may not seem that great, there's the ESKI-MO ski pass giving free access and transport (one day per week to each ski station) to the nearby resorts of Aussois, Val Cenis Vanoise and La Norma. Any other resort in the Maurienne is accessible at a 40% discount if you possess a minimum of a 2 day ski pass. Alternatively, for a supplement to the Valfréjus pass, you can ski from Orelle into Val Thorens and Les Menuires. Just 20km away, it's an easy drive (navette every Wednesday) and the high speed 3 Vallées Express gondola takes just 15 minutes. It all adds up to a very appealing package.

 

Tthe drive up from Modane only seems to take a few minutes, but somehow we seem to have repeatedly passed Valfréjus by – until now, when we finally get to satisfy our curiosity. Maybe we should have come sooner. In a typical year January should find the Maurienne (and the rest of the French Alps, in fact) subsumed in snow and enduring temperatures well below freezing. 2011, though, tuned out to be anything but typical, and while it's bitingly cold during our visit, snow-cover at lower-lying areas looks distinctly patchy. Fortunately, at 1550m things are more reassuring, and as we roll into Valfréjus at nightfall there's little doubt that we're in a ski village, and as far as we can tell in the darkness, a rather stylish one at that.

The Arrondaz high-speed 8-seater gondola lift was new for the 2009/10 season.

Next morning we peer out onto an appealing picture of mountain scenery, complete with pine and larch forest. After heading over to the Arrondaz gondola lift we get the bigger view, and a rapidly-changing one too – at around 6m/sec this is one of the fastest lifts we've ever ridden. Once above the tree-line the steep climb eases as we cruise smoothly over the Plateau d'Arrondaz, where the first of the day's skiers are assembling for their respective ski-school classes. The reassuring snow-cover confirms everything they say about the area catching just about every weather front heading across the nearby border with Italy.

Onwards and upwards

Once the lift has touched down we snap into our skis and pole our way towards the nearby chairlift for another high-velocity ride, which will take us to Punta Bagna, at 2737m the highest point on the mountain. This time the climb begins gently before ramping up the angle of attack for a more dramatic final ascent, which in early morning shadow adds to the kind of chill-factor. Much more so, in fact, than would have been the case for this lift's predecessor, the trade-off being that the old Punta Bagna II gondola would have been more affected by gusting winds than the new six-seater chairlift.

Gentle novice terrain served by simple draglifts on the Plateau d'Arrondaz.

Whatever the logic, at the top we're more than glad to be back in full sunlight once again. And despite the altitude, today there's barely a breath of wind, so before putting in our first runs of the day we head onto the large panoramic sun-deck of the nearby bar/restaurant.

More fresh snowfalls...

Ahead lie jaw-dropping views of the snowy vastness of the Italian Alps, while somewhere to our right lie the linked ski areas of Valmeinier and Valloire. Faced with this awe-inspiring sight today, it's easy to understand how Valfréjus and its French and Italian neighbours once dreamed of linking their terrain to create a ski domain of epic proportions. Sadly the project (named Croix du Sud) never materialised, although the more modest aspiration to a link over to Bardonnechia could still happen one day. We certainly hope so.

The Punta Bagna chair-lift arrives at 2737m, far above the tree-line and the Maurienne Valley.

But for now there's plenty to ski right here in Valfréjus, so we snap back into our skis and head off on the blue-graded Crêtes for a long cruise which takes us first along the spine of the mountain before turning sharp right onto a quite steep descent on Col, which is still blue graded, since it's more than wide enough to reassure early intermediates. Currently it's also still in shade, but lower down we ski back into the sunlight as the pitch eases for the final run on the Plateau d'Arrondaz. It's a great run and underlines the fact that the terrain is perfect for those who like the occasional steep on which to develop their edge control and build both confidence and fitness.

The back of beyond

The Punta Bagna is a point of departure for other options, including speed-riding. Sure enough, after a second haul up to the sensational viewpoint, just beyond the lift arrival we watch in awe as two paraglider-equipped skiers launch themselves off the ridge and take off from a steep, unpisted section of mountainside. It's hugely impressive, and not without risk of serious injury for those who get it wrong.
Meanwhile something altogether more benign had caught our eye while we'd been taking in the scenery from the viewpoint. Heading left from top of the lift is a quite gentle blue-graded cruise which accesses the Punta Bagna black, for the rather more direct, mostly-ungroomed run back to the Plateau. Just past the exit, though, the blue turns hard right towards all that glorious virgin Italian territory we'd seen earlier.

Excellent snow quality and perfect peace beside the Italian frontier, behind Punta Bagna.

Not that we're planning on crossing the border. Instead we want to ski the blue-graded Lac piste to enjoy the silence and staggering, unspoilt scenery on this side of the mountain. Further down there's a turn-off onto Combe, another scenic blue run which makes a gently curving detour before rejoining Lac ahead of the run down to the Pas du Roc chairlift (2323m).

The Long Run

In more typical snow conditions this is just the beginning – the Jeu piste offers a further 10+ kilometres (along with almost 800m vertical drop) of blue cruising along the sides of the valley all the way back to Valfréjus village. Sadly the run is closed during our visit, so we make a note to return and ski it one day, and instead take the chairlift to join the red-graded Pas du Roc piste. From here another red (Argentier) would drop us quite steeply back down to the base of the chairlift, but we head back to the Plateau, and soon rejoin the wide blue piste we'd skied earlier.

Lunchtime at the Plateau d'Arrondaz, with (far right) distant views of the black-graded Punta Bagna terrain.

Despite our early arrival, the fine weather finds the first lunchtime skiers already relaxing on the sun terrace of the pisteside Bergerie mountain restaurant (destined to be restyled for next season). And we have to consciously remind ourselves that we're still in Savoie, as the relaxed, informal mood is very different from that of some of the more conventionally-chic Alpine ski areas just a little further north.
After lunch we take the Petits-Vallons chairlift to ski some of the shorter red- and blue-graded pistes which drop down behind the Plateau and its restaurant. It's useful terrain as a progression for ski-school groups who have outgrown the super-gentle green terrain on the opposite side of the Plateau, but of more limited appeal to independent intermediates.

Into The Valley

So we decide to see what the return runs to the village hold. The answer is a surprising mix of intermediate and advanced runs, each of which eventually feeds onto a green-graded final approach – the exception being the choice of red- and blue- graded pistes accessing the area near the entry to the village. The greater part of all these runs is nicely sheltered below the tree-line, which means that if visibility suddenly becomes limited (during heavy snowfalls, for example) those who don't want to take the gondola down can find their way with no problems. It's a good, but until now, not a perfect solution, the stumbling-block being the upper section of the Bovenières blue piste, which less-confident skiers found just a little too steep and narrow for comfort. This summer the run is being re-profiled to improve things and allow just about anyone to descend with confidence.

Recently-tracked terrain between the return pistes below the Arrondaz (very) high-speed gondola.

In the space of just a day-and-a-half's enjoyable skiing in one of the French Alps' lesser-known ski areas we already know that we've stumbled on somewhere with a fresh approach to things, and whose time will surely come before too much longer. If and when the link with Bardonnechia becomes more than a long hoped-for dream then you're going to be hearing a lot more about Valfréjus. Until then, you can intrigue your friends by having had great value family skiing in a quality Alpine ski area they've yet to discover.

© Roger Moss

Descending the blue-graded Lac piste amid the kind of scenery we'll long remember...