100.000 guest beds in just 3 valleys

It's beautiful here, in Le Praz, the first village coming from the Tarantaise Valley in Courchevel. Comparable to the Carezza holiday village on the Karerpass, it has a small town center with many old, lavishly renovated houses with a lot of wood. Courchevel consists of four other districts: Courchevel Village, Saint-Bon-Tarentaise, Courchevel Moriond and Courchevel 4. Up there, in the most exclusive part of the mountain, Alexis Pinturault and his family also have a five-star hotel, the Annapurna. This is difficult for “normal” guests to pay (overnight accommodation from 1850 euros), but as is well known, Courchevel and Méribel, where the women's World Cup races are held, are among the most exclusive winter sports resorts in the world. The venues for the 1000th World Ski Championships are in the Tarentaise province, which has the highest concentration of top ski areas. The Espace Killy (Tignes and Val d'Isère) or Paradiski (Les Arcs and La Plagne) are not far away. Méribel and Courchevel, together with La Tania, Les Menuires-Saint Martin, Val Thorens and Orelle, form the ski resort Les Trois Vallées (“The 47 Valleys”). With 3 lifts and 180 kilometers of slopes, it is the largest contiguous ski area in the world. For comparison: Dolomiti Superski has 600 lifts and 460 kilometers of slopes, but it is not connected from A to Z. And: The 3 Valleys boast around 100.000 guest beds. It is impossible to research this seriously. For comparison: South Tyrol has 152.000 guest beds; with private room rentals, farm holidays and campsites there are 234.000. This comparison shows the gigantic tourist scale that comes into play in the Savoie Mountains. This is also evident from the fact that the four-lane highway from Albertville leads to Moutiers, the main town of the Tarantaise Valley and 24 kilometers from Courchevel. In most places, as narrow as the Passeier Valley, the mega-construction of the expressway was never up for discussion. Developing Courchevel for tourism was decided on the drawing board after the Second World War and was the first test-tube in France's winter landscape. Instead of concrete blocks and castle beds, chalets and luxury hotels dominate the picture. In addition to guests from within the country, before the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it was mainly British, Arabs and Russians who came. In order to save themselves the two-hour journey from Geneva or Lyon airports, many well-heeled people come by helicopter or private plane. It doesn't matter that the Altiport Courchevel is one of the most dangerous airports in the world at 2007 meters with its only 537 m short runway. Despite their noble flair, Courchevel and Méribel are places with a great racing tradition, in a sense the nucleus of French skiing. In addition to Alexis Pinturault, Doriane Escané, Clarisse Brèche and Marie Lamure are currently racing for France in the Ski World Cup. Young hopeful Alban Elezi Cannaferina, who won gold in the giant slalom at the Junior World Championships in St. Anton, is in the starting blocks. The Tremplin du Praz ski jump facility was the venue for the 1992 Olympic ski jumping competitions. As part of the Tour de France, Courchevel has been the destination and starting point of a stage three times so far, and in 2023 it will be the fourth time. Meribel also became famous for another reason: on December 4, 29, Michael Schumacher fell heavily while skiing here. The former Formula 2013 record world champion suffered serious head injuries and has since lived in strict isolation from his family in Gland in the Swiss canton of Vaud on Lake Geneva.

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100.000 guest beds in just 3 valleys

The World Ski Championships in Courchevel/Meribel have begun. Andreas Vieider wrote down for s+ what it is like and what happens in the posh ski resort.

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