What's New in Val Thorens 2023-24
13th January 2024
An independent guide to Val Thorens
13th January 2024
The latest changes and developments in Val Thorens in advance of the Winter season 2023-24. You can see full details in the Winter 2023-24 Press Pack.
Chloé Trespeuch is one of Val Thorens' elite athletes.
She won bronze in Snowboard Cross at the 2014 Sotchi Olympics, and silver in 2022 at the Beijing Olympics.
Now the Stade des Chalets has been renamed in her honour.
The Stade Chloé Trespeuch is adjacent to the Skicross Jean-Frédéric Chapuis, named after Jean-Fred who won gold in the men's Skicross at Sotchi.
New this Winter, the Hotel Marielle offers a new 'XXL' games room.
The indoor fun includes pool, table tennis, table football and video games. Outside there's a bouncy castle, and a pétanque pitch on the terrace.
Alpine Fleet offer shared and private transfers to Val Thorens. Use the form below to get a quote.
The Malaysia nightclub underwent a transformation over the Summer.
Apparently it has a new logo, a new layout, and a new concept. The concept, meaning the layout and visual design, was created by Alexandre Courtès, who is a filmmaker and video producer.
Laurent Garnier, an international star of electronic music culture, was responsible for the acoustics. He discovered 'the world's best sound' at the Grelle Forelle in Vienna, took inspiration from it, and applied the lessons learned to Malaysia.
The Hotel Pashmina is offering a Brunch & Spa package.
€115 gets you admission to the Aqua Pashmina spa area, a massage, and brunch at the Base Camp restaurant.
Meanwhile, the Oxalys is opening a new spa, and the spa area at the Altapura is being renamed 'Codage Spa'. (Is there still time for them to change their minds about the name, or is it too late?)
The day spa option at the Altapura includes access to the spa and its indoor/outdoor pool, a one-hour treatment, and lunch at the 2Mille3 restaurant.
Val Thorens says it has been awarded an environmental certification called ISO 50001. It is a standard which sets out practical means of reducing energy consumption and increasing efficiency.
The resort also has the Flocon Vert badge.
The press kit sets out some of the actions the resort is taking. They include:
The resort also explains that it uses Snowsat GPS smart slope preparation to make piste-bashing more efficient.
It tells the lift company the depth of snow at any place in the ski area, and enables them to be more efficient in their slope preparation and snow-making.
Val Thorens says that it has reduced fuel consumption by 8% and snow production by 15%.
It's good that Val Thorens is thinking about the climate and environment. The lift company is taking steps to increase the efficiency of its own operations - some of them small, and others quite significant.
What's missing here is an acknowledgement that travel is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the ski resort of Val Thorens. The steps being taken seem worthwhile, but the bigger picture is not being taken into account.
Marketing the resort to Brazilians or Russians who travel thousands of miles to get here is unsustainable. The emissions from their flights are likely to dwarf any savings from insulating the toboggan hut or the building at the bottom of the Funitel Péclet.
If the resort overlooks the majority of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its operation, the promotion of the steps that it is taking risks being seen as greenwashing.
Skiing Made Easy is a Kindle ebook and paperback. It's a practical guide to learning to ski, based on many happy seasons of ski teaching in Val Thorens.
'This is the book I wish I'd had when I started skiing' - Amazon reviewer.
Read more about Skiing Made Easy.
Buy the paperback direct or on Amazon. Buy the Kindle ebook.
Backcountry Access BCA Tracker 3 on Amazon.