Glorious local skiing in St Martin de Belleville
Information from Where to Ski and Snowboard, written by Dave Watts and Chris Gill.
Extent of the slopes- A gondola followed by a very long chairlift – to be upgraded to a six-seater this season – take you to a ridge from which you can access Méribel and Les Menuires. But if this lift is closed, you’re stuck.
Fast lifts- The main local lifts are both fast
Queues- Queues at the village gondola are not unknown, but in the past the chairlift above it to the Méribel ridge has been the real problem – happily, this has now been solved with the opening of an express, 6 person, covered chair in December 2015
Terrain parks- None locally, but you can get to those above Les Menuires and Méribel fairly easily.
For experts- Locally there are large areas of gentle and often deserted off piste. The descent from Roc de Fer to the village of Béranger is recommended. Or try the new Liberty Ride area. Head to La Masse for steep slopes.
For intermediates- The local slopes are pleasant blues and reds, mainly of interest to intermediates. One of our favourite runs in the Trois Vallées is the rolling, wide, usually quiet Jerusalem red down to the top of the gondola from the ridge shared with Méribel. The Verdet blue from Roc de Fer is a lovely easy cruise and also usually quiet. Then, of course, there’s the whole of the Trois Vallées to explore.
For beginners- Not ideal – there’s a small nursery slope but no long green runs to progress to. The blue run down the gondola is fairly gentle, though.
Snowboarding- There is some great freeriding available on the gentle slopes immediately above the village – and steeper stuff further afield.