Meribel / Mottaret for Christmas?

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Never been here before but considering it for a Christmas trip.

Anyone done the same before? How was the snow? What’s the town like?

I was there years ago (30+) working. Great place to be!

Is it high enough to be reasonably snow sure? Many north facing slopes? (really struggling to find this info!)

I think you’ll be fine.

It just doesn’t have a lot of trees if the weather is bad. I don’t think it has a lot of north facing slopes either (I’m not positive on the aspect but we go at Easter and meribel is generally not faring as well as the Belleville valley) but you are in the heart of the 3 valleys, a short hop from Val Thorens, Mont vallon will be fantastic, higher slopes eg Saulire off courchevel will be good, there will be plenty to do assuming no white out. You can’t really go wrong in the three valleys assuming you are competent skiers. I don’t know the town well, mottaret is not the most picturesque to ski through but I would have no problem staying there if you are there to ski.

Thanks, that’s really useful.

Would you rate it above Alpe D’Huez for early in the season?

DS skied at Alpe d’Huez in mid December last year (uni champs) and had a great time. He sent quite a lot of snowy skiing photos so I know he wasn’t just holed up in a bar.

We usually ski just after Christmas and I think you’ll be fine in France above 1600. Which both those resorts are. Personally I find the 3V too expensive and full of Brit’s - but that’s a different matter!

Never been as ADH is south facing and we go to France late season. Looks ok though snow wise early season but it has a reputation as ugly — that said lots of ski resorts in France are tbh! Probably a more down to earth vibe than Meribel/Courchevel but skiing wise I suspect either would be ok.

the other place to consider early season is Dolomites where their slope preparation is second to none. Not much off piste though.

Same!!!

It really is great.

We go to the Belleville Valley every Christmas and ski over in Meribel/Mottaret most days at some point. You just need to choose your slopes carefully according to the time of day for sun/shade and avoid going down to the base lifts between 10/11am when everyone is getting up onto the slopes as it can be really busy. Mont Vallon is a great option. There are always places that are quieter as the skiing area is huge. Can't say anything about the town but the restaurants on the slopes have gone super pricey over the last couple of years (never cheap to begin with) but at the same time, there are also lots more places where you can picnic easily.

Thanks @graywall. That’s very useful

I can't say (despite it reputation) that I like Meribel very much. The main reason is that it is a transit place from VT on the right of the piste map, to Cour on the left. This means it not only has its' own ski traffic, but that of the other resorts too. It can be super busy.

I also don't like the snow there as it's a tendency towards ice - in my view! It sits in the valley and it feels shadowy at the top end, but then is too low at the bottom.

It is also split and spread out along the valley and doesn't feel as nicely connected. You can pick a spot and cycle round, but I'm never as impressed as I am with VT.

I much prefer VT, or Les Menuires (as a cheaper option)