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The European Alps are… epic!
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I’ve just returned from a fantastic trip to Italy, France and Switzerland. The Alps have it all, right from amazing skiing, breathtaking scenery, incredible cuisine, quaint villages and some of the nicest people you’ll meet anywhere in the world.
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There are many great things to write about so I’m starting with Megève and Courmayeur, then next week Chamonix-Mont Blanc and Crans Montana.
My first thought as I pulled into Megève was that it’s a beautiful ski town with all the European flair and quaint features you’d expect. What first catches your eye are the many, really cool outdoor cafes with cozy fur tosses to keep you warm for apres or dining. There’s a number of luxury shops lining the streets along with the ever-popular horse and carriage tour through the Village. The huge Christmas tree in town square is a perfect meeting place for a ski day, restaurant hopping or just walking this historic village. Accommodations, for any budget, abound in the Village, all within easy walking distance of the main lifts. I enjoyed the convenience and comfort of Novotel overlooking the mountain with an outstanding breakfast menu.
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As for skiing, Megève is huge and one of the bigger ski areas in Europe with 400km of pistes called Espace Mont Blanc, including the gorgeous Chamonix ski mountains. Once again, I always recommend taking a guide or ski instructor for your first day because European ski resorts are massive.
What’s also great about many European Village resorts, including Megève, is you can walk to the lifts. Just throw your skis over your shoulder and stroll to the gondolas with your boots on. Some hotels also offer a shuttle service, but European ski life is walking to the gondolas with ski boots on for apres as well. Walking to the gondolas is a great way to warm up and get ready for an amazing day of skiing or boarding.
The next morning, I woke up to a glorious Bluebird day with a foot of fresh powder, sunshine and thinking it doesn’t get any better than this. We first took the Chamoois gondola from the Village in the Mont Arbois area, then a really cool tram, Rocharbois traversing the mountain to our starting point and chair lifts at Mont Arbois area. First thing you’ll see when leaving the tram are the wide open trails, sprawling for miles across mountains, jaw dropping in size and variety. Trails are challenging, but still fair for any red (green) or blue skier with blacks on another level but also enjoyable. We really enjoyed our morning on Mont D’Arbois, Rochebrune, Cote 2000, L’Alpette, Mont Joux and Chois. There’s plenty of trails and chairs for beginners as well so don’t be intimidated with it’s size.
Your Midday Sun
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We were having so much fun that I almost forgot about my lunch appt but glad I didn’t. For a one-of-a-kind lunch, take a short ski down from the Mont d’Arbois chair to l’Deal Restaurant, a mountain side restaurant owned by the Four Seasons and overlooking majestic Mont Blanc. We enjoyed a savoury bowl of carrot and spice soup followed by a perfectly cooked Truffle pizza.
If you want a break from skiing, Megève also has an enormous sports centre, Sportive/cultural Complex tour Vie Balneo (le Palais Megève), with an indoor Olympic size skating rink, curling pads, rock climbing, massive pools with workout rooms, saunas and more.
For dinner, I highly recommend Chacha, an electric in atmosphere and very busy dinner/dance restaurant in the heart of town. The music was unforgettable and the live band was even better with people dancing in the aisles and on table tops. It was a late night for all. For breakfast the next day we enjoyed Eggs Benedict and delicious pastry boards at 5 star, Grand Hôtel Soleil d’Or with a master Chocolatier ready to sweeten your day.
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I left Megève thinking this is a large ski resort with a quaint European vibe that I won’t forget.
NEXT STOP, ITALY
My next stop was Italy, just an hour drive through the mountains to Courmayeur. What totally amazes me about this area of the Alps is that there are a number of famous ski resorts in various countries just an hour or two away from each other. One road sign has four country routes listed.
My day started with another spectacular Bluebird morning and jaw dropping scenery on one of the coolest trams I’ve ever experienced. Skyway Monte Bianco, “way to the top of Italy”, is a massive bubble gondola that rotates 360 for stunning views of gorges and mountains and the always towering Mont Blanc. This ride is very safe, but not for the faint at heart, scaling Mont Bianco to a height of 3,466 meters. The midway point had a sprawling sundeck which was packed with people watching extreme skiers and kite flyers floating high above the trees. I recommend stopping for lunch at Buffet Alpino, for a creative and different take on Marche.
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The ride down the mountain was just as exciting as going up but it was time for our next stop and checking into my hotel. Hotel Walser, a family run hotel for decades, perfect for comfort, value and dinners. Soon as you walk in the front door you’re welcome and see all the award winning cow bells lined up in the front area. This is Europe and I love it. The chalet style hotel is just a short walk into the cool little town of Courmayeur with another Christmas tree as main focus in the square. Just before dinner we took a stroll through this very European town, stopping at one of the coolest little bars named GOU for a pre dinner drink. The town is full of great shopping and neat little restaurants.
Along with my skiing agenda, I was also booked to visit a famous goat farm nearby but high in the mountains. The Millerys family Farm, Società Agricola Mont Blanc is run by the daughter with 90 goats plus 10 new babies. It’s a retail shop as well and I was excited to bring home vacuum-packed aged goat cheese along with a bottle of their favourite aperitif and now mine, Abricotine.
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There’s a saying, “when in Italy”, so I had pasta for lunch and dinner every day starting at Ristorante Vieux on the slopes with Pappardelle Bolognese, then for dinner at Ristorante La Padella near the hotel for Penne alla Vodka. We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the mountain at Ristorante Le Vieux Grenier then dinner at the family run Ristoriante Le Vieux Pommierr for once again, Spaghetti Bolognese.
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As for skiing, Courmayeur is located in the famed Aosta Valley, known for intense sun and epic snow falls. Once again, you can catch the main gondola named Dolonne in the Village. They say, Courmayeur is one of the smaller resorts but I didn’t feel that at all. It’s still big on variety and challenge of trails. To be honest, I don’t get caught up in number of trails because you won’t see half of them anyway. You’ll find the ones you like and stick there for most the day, but in the Alps, don’t be afraid to experience other mountains, as long as you know where you’re going. You won’t see long lineups, so quantity of skiing rivals quality of skiing. You can enjoy plenty of powder off Pistes, some tree skiing and a good variety of long intermediate trails. We enjoyed Aretu and Chercrouit runs. Powder hounds love Courmayeur with plenty of options and some challenging off piste trails.
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The town itself is refined, yet relaxed, with a good European vibe and plenty of luxury shopping and restaurants. It’s also known for exciting apres, epic social parties with some of Europe’s rich and famous. Courmayeur is another resort that reflects the best of the Alps in attitude and luxury. It will never disappoint and when people ask me what’s the difference between skiing in North America opposed to Europe. I can sum it up in one quick line: In North America we live to work but in Europe they work to live.
Try the Alps sometime — you’ll love it.
Snow notes
Michael Ney’s famous, 6th annual 24hrs at Blue Mountain is just around the corner on Feb 24th. There is still time to sign up for corporate teams. Congratulations to Michael whose efforts have helped raise thus far nearly $500,000 to benefit Special Olympics Ontario along with Collingwood General & Marine Hospital Foundation..(24hrbluemtn.ca)
Glenn Crouter can also be heard with weekend ski reports on 640 Toronto and Ambassador for the Canadian Ski Council.
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