Meribel-Mottaret

5.0Ski map

The best base in the 3 Vallees for keen skiers. Central, practical and cheaper than its neighbours.

Stayed here
Meribel-Mottaret village and pistes1750 m
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Forecast at 1750 m today: low / high, modelled snow depth, and new snow in the last 24 hours.

Terrain5.0
Snow5.0
Lifts5.0
Village5.0
Mountain food5.0
Après4.5
Families4.5
Value5.0
Best for
Experts
Intermediates
Families
Beginners

Is Meribel-Mottaret the best base in the 3 Vallees?

For skiing, yes. Mottaret sits between Courchevel and Val Thorens, so every trip across the system passes through it. If you are here to ski hard and explore, nowhere puts you closer to more of it.

It is more of a place to ski and sleep than a town. You get apartment complexes and family-friendly places at fairer prices than Meribel below, a forest next door for an evening walk, and some decent restaurants. We choose between here and Courchevel depending on budget.

The skiing

Experts

Two of our three favourite runs start here. Coqs, under the Combes chairlift, is a long, well-built red from the top of Mottaret to the village, best on fresh corduroy for fast, edgy turns. Up the Pas du Lac, the Grand Couloir drops into Courchevel.

Intermediates

The pistes back from the Saulire, Marcassin, Sanglier, Niverolle, Grande Rosiere and Aigle, twist around each other down the mountain. They are almost always bumpy, icy on the shaded side in the morning and mogulled on the run home, and that is what makes them fun.

Beginners

Mottaret works for families, but most of the terrain above the village is red. Beginners will spend their week on a small part of what the pass covers.

Find a run you love near where you stay and be on it when the lifts open. For us that is Coqs under the Combes chair.Our insider tip
Day routes

Ski from Meribel-Mottaret

4 day routes from here. Highlighted steps are specific to Meribel-Mottaret. Tap a profile to see it on the map.

Lift upSki down, in the grade colourFaded: your village's own legs

Saulire and the Grand Couloir

2 h 30Black runsLeave by 15:00
  • Doorstep: Pas du Lac gondola
  • Pas du Lac gondola
  • Saulire 2738 m
  • Grand Couloir
  • Back over Saulire
  • Marcassin, Sanglier, Niverolle, Grande Rosiere or Aigle
  • Ski back to the village

The Mottaret and Courchevel classic, built around two of our favourite runs. Drop into the Grand Couloir from the top of the Pas du Lac gondola, then come back over the Saulire and down the tangle of bumpy reds on the Mottaret side.

Do the Couloir early. By afternoon it is busy, bumpy and often icy. Intermediates can take a lift down instead.

Val Thorens and back

Full dayRed runsLeave by 14:30 from Val Thorens
  • Doorstep: Plattieres gondola
  • Plattieres gondola
  • Cote Brune
  • Col de la Chambre
  • Val Thorens
  • Same way back
  • Ski back to the village

The big crossing to the highest village in the area, with lunch in Val Thorens. It is the route that most often goes wrong, because the link is exposed and shuts in bad weather.

Check the afternoon forecast before you go. If the Mottaret link closes, the lower way back through Les Menuires often stays open. Queues are worst just after lunch.

Orelle and the highest point

Full dayRed runsLeave by 13:30 from Orelle
  • Plattieres, then over to Val Thorens
  • Val Thorens
  • Over the ridge to Orelle
  • Bouchet chair 3230 m
  • Reds to Plan Bouchet
  • Rosael chair back
  • Back via Val Thorens and the Plattieres link

Over the back of Val Thorens into what is really a fourth valley. Mostly long reds, not very steep but often icy and cold, and the highest lift-served point of the 3 Vallees at 3230 m.

Pick your weather. On a grey day it is cold and flat-lit; on a sunny one it is the best day trip in the area.

The full 3 Vallees traverse

Full dayRed runsLeave by 14:30 from Val Thorens
  • Pas du Lac towards Courchevel first
  • Courchevel
  • Saulire
  • Mottaret
  • Val Thorens
  • Optional Orelle
  • Back the same day
  • Back over the Saulire, then Val Thorens

Courchevel to Val Thorens and back in a day, with Orelle if your legs and the weather allow. The size of the area hits you on this one.

The classic first-timer mistake is getting stuck on the wrong side of a ridge when the lifts close. Know your last lift home before you set off.

All 3 Vallees day routes

Snow and when to go

Mottaret is higher than Meribel and holds its snow well. The exposed link to Val Thorens is the weak spot: it is often in poor condition and closes in bad weather.

Map

GreenBlueRedBlackLift

Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom. Highlighted: the lifts and runs named in each route. Pistes, lifts, forests, lakes and villages © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Terrain from Mapzen/AWS Terrain Tiles.

Where to eat

There are some decent restaurants in the village, and lunch anywhere in the 3 Vallees is only a lift or two away. We will add the places we know soon.

Getting there

Fly to Geneva, Lyon or Chambery and drive up the Tarentaise to Moutiers, then up the valley. Trains reach Moutiers, but most people use a car or a transfer.