Megève, FR 02/04/16

The next stop on our Savoie Mont Blanc whirlwind tour is Megève, which was developed in the 1920s around a gorgeous medieval village. Reportedly, the mega-rich Rothschild family was upset that the French didn't have anything to rival Switzerland's St. Moritz in the winter wonderland department and voilà: France's very first purpose-built ski resort. For decades, it was the go-to hideout of the aristocracy and while it can be argued that the 3 Vallées' Courchevel long ago took over the title of the country's "top resort" (whatever that means -- the ski area with the most Michelin restaurant stars?), Megève is still where the discreet big money goes. Calling it an old-world Sun Valley is about the only ballpark comparison for us in the U.S.

We skied the next two days only in the Megève section in the middle of the map:



We arrived in the midst of a storm and skied all Wednesday afternoon until almost 5 pm. Because of the pounding snow, it didn't make sense to go to the higher elevation part of the resort, so we stayed "local" in Megève on the twisty trails lined by trees. The 6+ inches of fresh snow that had already fallen felt great after the hardscrabble encountered the previous afternoon on the upper part of La Clusaz. We were accompanied by a local instructor named Christian who had us howling the whole afternoon with humorous anecdotes and deep well of Megève-related trivia:







Heading back to the hotel through the snowy streets:



You'll find numerous mentions of local folk hero/ski superstar Émile Allais:



A couple hours later, we walked through the atmospheric pedestrian village on our way to drinks and dinner at an excellent crêperie, of which there are many:







Megève is the perfect place to find the $2,500 winter coat that your wife has had her eye on:





Next morning on the way to the lift:





An oddly-engineered 1980s Poma gondola in which three passengers in front face forward and three people in back face the rear.



Then you cross the valley in this new tram:



And it's time to ski:









We eventually made it over to the highest part of the interconnected ski area, Mont Joly, where there was lots of untracked snow. You'll have to trust me on this because my wife bolloxed up most of the photos she took of me playing in knee-deep powder:

Another stunner of a report.  Bravo, and I'm glad you got some snow.  I have to have my wife read your reports, might give me a fighting chance to sell her on such a trip!

nice to see your wife hanging in there, she hasn't skied in a while..
another great day in the alps..

wicked

thx for sharing. so cool!

James

What is your take on the different village each day approach?  I think like me you want to see and experience as much as you can while over across the pond.

When we visited Ireland a few years ago we never stayed more than one night in a town and it felt a bit rushed.  This summer my wife and I are going to Portugal for 2 weeks for our 25th wedding anniversary and we are spending 2 nights min at every place on our itinerary.

not to hijack James great report...

2 weeks in Portugal is long time, I assume you will be in the Algarve for a bit. If you are, take a day trip into Spain. Drive to Seville you won't regret it..

Sweet background setup, as usual.

Ms Deluxe does look pretty comfy on that terrain.  How many ski days has she had in the last few years?

So cool that you guys could get a vacation doing what you love most.

Wonderful report. The shots are beautiful.

sorry i'm too jealous right now to come up with anything positive to say

Jason

13 nights total
4 nights in the wine country
5 nights in Algrave at a golf resort
Rest around Lisbon

a day trip to Seville is a possibility from the Algrave

Looks like a great trip..
I know a couple that have a apartment in the Algrarve..A day away from all the Brits will be nice..
My daughter loved Lisbon..Make sure you eat some octopus!!!

Coach Z wrote

What is your take on the different village each day approach?  I think like me you want to see and experience as much as you can while over across the pond.

As I'm sure you've found out; there are big pros and cons to both approaches. On this trip, we've been changing villages every other day -- the upside is that you get a lot more variety and can compare/contrast different bases and ski regions and the differences from one region to the next can be remarkable. The obvious downside is having to pack up, throw everything in the car, drive to a new village, get settled, and then repeat two days later.

My goal is to see as many ski resorts and villages in the Alps (and hopefully a handful in the Pyrénées) before I'm out of runway, so I can't afford to slack off.

Keep it up man. You're doing a service as well as having a great trip. Lots of great reference material for future planners.

Brownski wrote

Keep it up man. You're doing a service as well as having a great trip. Lots of great reference material for future planners.

James TRs are just an appetizer. Next fall you'll see a feature length article on this trip in NY Ski Magazine. The Magazine's raison d'etre is to aid destination skiers with exotic trip planning.

Check it out:

http://mag.nyskiblog.com/

James

Two nights almost seems not enough with these ski areas that are so big.  I don't like to pack up and move each day.

In my Alps trips we have picked a base where we can stay for many days and still ski a different Mt each day.  It seems as if most hotels prefer to book only Saturday to Saturday.