{"id":533,"date":"2014-08-13T10:29:29","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T08:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=533"},"modified":"2019-04-12T12:36:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T10:36:49","slug":"ski-orcieres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/alps\/ski-orcieres\/","title":{"rendered":"Orci\u00e8res Merlette 1850"},"content":{"rendered":"
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T<\/span>he drive from Gap to Orci\u00e8res Merlette 1850 is not one we\u2019ll forget. At the gateway to Provence<\/strong>, the landscapes of the Southern French Alps<\/strong> can be unnerving for a travelling skier, convincing you until you begin to climb that surely there\u2019s no snow to be had nearby. Fortunately, this time we\u2019re driving through the snow-line long before the final ascent to the village, where the scene is just pure picture-postcard. As we climb, though, we\u2019re actually seeing less and less, and we enter the village in thick mist, peering at every sign for the name of our hotel. It appears to us just in time, at the very top of the resort.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\nWe peel off the ridge onto a Red-graded blast which we have all to ourselves back to the base of the Drouvet 2 lift. This time we spend a few minutes taking in the scenery, which is fast acquiring a surreal quality as a white carpet of mist thickens in the valley far below.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\"Alighting
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Alighting from the high-speed Drouvet 2, one of two t\u00e9l\u00e9mix lifts.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Orcieres,
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Skiers pause to look at the extraordinary mer de nuage<\/em> (sea of cloud). <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ready for anything<\/h2>\n
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The next morning we awake and gaze from the balcony at the fresh accumulations of snow on the mountains which enfold Orci\u00e8res. We never tire of moments like this. Better still, the exit door of the hotel ski-locker room feeds directly onto the piste for a 30-second drop down to the Drouvet 1 \u2018t\u00e9l\u00e9mix\u2019 lift<\/strong> carrying both chairs and gondola-style cabins. We grab a cabin, and after transferring to the lift\u2019s successor (Drouvet 2<\/strong>) we arrive at the summit of Le Drouvet<\/strong> (2655m) feeling in every sense uplifted and ready to explore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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We launch off along a nearby ridge on Les Bouquetins<\/strong>, a long Blue-graded cruise which connects to another (Les Vallons<\/strong>) for a steeper Red-and-Blue drop which eventually takes us all the way back to where we began. After taking the same lifts back up, we peel off the ridge onto Les Clots<\/strong>, a Red-graded blast which we have all to ourselves on the run back to the base of the Drouvet 2 lift<\/strong>. This time we spend a few minutes taking in the scenery, which is fast acquiring a surreal quality as a white carpet of mist thickens in the valley floor far below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Col
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The remote-feeling Col de Freissini\u00e8res chairlift.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Diners
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Diners enjoy the sun terrace of the Chalet de Rocherousse<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Above the clouds<\/h2>\n
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Up here, though, its feels like we\u2019re in Ski Heaven as we take the Blue-graded Les P\u00e9p\u00e9s<\/strong> and savour the above-the-clouds experience. The sense of space up here is a real revelation, with wide pistes and as yet very few tracks to disturb the previous night\u2019s efforts by the grooming crews. A couple of gentle hauls up to Le Drouvet<\/strong> on the La Croze des Hommes<\/strong> chair is followed by a couple of Red descents on Les Cr\u00eates<\/strong> and Bartavelle<\/strong>, before we go for a change of scenery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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