The Experts
Graham Bell
Former professional skier and younger brother of Martin Bell, Graham is now known to millions of TV viewers as co-presenter of BBC’s Ski Sunday.
Martin Bell
Martin competed in four Winter Olympics and five World Championships. Now a respected ski coach, he’s based in Big Sky, Montana, USA.
Bénédicte Lapeyrere
A Tourism Consultant specialising in the promotion of France to the British market, Bénédicte is also a fully-qualified French ski instructor. She has taught members of Pink Floyd and also the Dutch speed-skating Olympic team.
Roger Moss
A professional travel writer and photographer for over 25 years, Roger learned to ski in Quebec, then fell in love with the mountains of France, where he now lives. He is Owner and Editor of MountainPassions.
Xavier Schouller
With over 35 years of skiing behind him, Xavier has a boundless knowledge of France. Despite this, he lives in England, where he runs Peak Retreats and is a director of Ski Collection.
Arnie Wilson
Former current affairs reporter (and Financial Times ski correspondent since 1986) Arnie entered the Guiness Book of Records after skiing for 365 successive days around the world in a single year. He was the obvious choice for the Editor’s chair at Ski and Board Magazine.
‘Megève Mike’ Beaudet
A Colorado native, Mike is a University of Denver graduate and now lives in France with his wife and twin sons Tom and Lucas. ‘Megeve Mike’, as he’s popularly known, is founder/ director of Ski Pros Megeve, based in the world-famous Savoyard ski village.
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Forget about queuing for a bus at the airport, low cost car hire - with a ski rack if necessary, will get you to where you want to go with a minimum of fuss. See the
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Winter & Ski Home
Winter Activities
The Experts Top Ski Runs in France
We asked a group of ski professionals to tell us their own favourite ski runs in the French Alps. Their responses will inspire you.
For some of us skiing is more than a mere activity; it’s an overwhelming, full-on passion which can be life-changing. Why? Because skiing is an ability which, once acquired, changes forever the way you feel about yourself and your place in this world. And it’s as close as we'll get to growing wings and flying.
So just where do the ski experts take flight? We asked some key personalities one simple question: where is your all-time favourite French ski-run? Their answers will inspire you...
“The Face de Bellevarde in Val d’Isere...”
“ Just for sheer leg-sapping, thigh-burning hell. The new Olympic gondola speeds you to the top, so the number of runs you can manage is down to you...” Graham Bell
Find out more: www.valdisere.com
“La Vallée-Blanche, Chamonix...”
“It would have to be the Vallée Blanche or the slightly more technical Vallée Noire - purely from a scenery point of view. I don’t think you get a better sense of the mountains anywhere else in Europe. It’s also very easily accessible to all (with a guide). I’ve enjoyed sailing from a very early age and to me the Vallée-Blanche reminds me of sailing into a big storm. You just feel overwhelmed by the elements..” Xavier Schouller
Find out more: www.chamonix.com
“Couloir Croix des Verdons, Courchevel...”
“Left of the Grand Couloir, and accessed via a 50 metre or so hike from the Saulire cable-car, it’s fairly steep, without straying into ‘fall and you die’ territory. It’s also fairly narrow - just enough for a bit of a thrill without being massively dangerous, except when conditions are icy. The fact that you have to hike to get into it keeps some of the crowds away, and so the snow is usually a little better than in the Grand Couloir...” Martin Bell
Find out more: www.courchevel.com
“Les Cascades, Grand Massif...”
“The ultimate pisted scenic cruise, this epic journey begins at Les Grandes Platières (2580m) above Flaine and ends up 14km later in the village of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval (700m). Along the way there’s a perfect lunch opportunity at the remote Chalet du Lac de Gers. You'll need crisp conditions and the confidence to go flat-out at a couple of points to avoid poling, plus good edge control to cope with the final icy descent beside frozen waterfalls — the sting in the tail for the unwary...” Roger Moss
Find out more: www.grand-massif.com
“Mont Vallon, Combe...”
“I’ve always felt this run would be a fantastic slope for a Super G race. Even at full speed it always takes me at least 6 to 7min to ski it non-stop, top to bottom. After a rather steep start you can link regular large radius turns and it’s not long before you can feel your thighs burning! Excellent for intermediate skiers wanting to increase their speed and feel they’re going as fast as Franz Klammer. At the end of the Méribel Valley and starting at almost 3000m altitude it gives a great feeling of exclusivity and high mountain atmosphere, with stunning views of the Gebrollaz Glacier...” Bénédicte Lapeyrere
Find out more: www.meribel.net
“Jerusalem, Saint Martin de Belleville side of Méribel...”
“A joy - an undulating, modestly steep roller-coaster which seems to go for ever and has the tempting attraction that eventually you will reach the village of Saint Martin de Belleville. It’s the only traditional and most picturesque village in the Three Valleys (sadly easily missed by motorway skiers eager to get round the region as quickly as possible) and the ideal spot for lunch. It’s also special to me because my good friend Mike Browne, founder of Snow+Rock, tried his luck on this run in a ‘sit-ski’ here in 1994 after recovering from a devastating skiing accident which left him partly paralysed. He sailed down Jerusalem with such verve that I could scarcely keep up with him - which remains the case when I ski with him all these years later!” Arnie Wilson
“Epaule, down to Chatrix, Megève...”
“At the top of the Epaule chair-lift most people will turn left and stay on the piste, but a right turn will take you immediately off-piste. You’ll need to be a good intermediate skier to do this run – in several places it’s quite narrow and in whiteout conditions it’s not advised at all. But on a brilliant, sunny day you can look around you and take in an incredible picture of the whole of the French Alps in all their beauty spread right before you! It’s sure to inspire you as you ski all the way down to Chatrix, on the longest run in the whole ski domain....” ‘Megève Mike’ Beaudet
Find out more: www.SkiProsMegeve.com
"The Affordable Megeve American British French Ski School "
All About Ski-Lifts
Ski-lifts play a key role in providing the perfect ski experience. We look at different types and how they work.
All About Snowmaking
How artificial snow systems work - and can they really live up to their promise?
All About High-Speed Gondola Lifts
A privileged insight into the inner workings of the Grand Massif Express, Samoëns.
Out With Les Dameurs
When the sun goes down the piste groomers start their work. We discover what goes on while you're sleeping.
