Although Val d'Isere is just 6 miles from the Italian border, in order to drive there from Aix, the fastest way is on the Autoroute which takes you west/northwest up to Grenoble(about 2 1/2 hours) and then north/northeast through Albertville(home of 1992 Olympics) and east/ southeast on into Val d'Isere. The route is practically a circle! From the time we turned east/northeast at the town of Valence, about an 1 1/2 hour drive from Aix, we were driving through the enormous Isere River Valley. At Valence, the Isere joins up with the mighty Rhone. The whole area is a wide, flat plain flanked on either side by large mountains and massifs. There is lots of agriculture here and there were also old looking factories along the river banks. By contrast, when we arrived at our destination, the space between the dramatically high mountains is minuscule-just enough room for the charming town of Val d'Isere! Bottom line, it was a gorgeous, but long(5 1/2 hour) drive with wonderful scenery along the way and a sweet little village to welcome you at the end.
As you approach the ski area we were at once impressed by the enormity of it all! The first mountain you pass is Tignes which is connected to Val d'Isere. One San Francisco writer put it this way: "Val d'Isere is the center of the Espace Killy. The Espace stretches from Val d'Isere to Tignes, over nearly 40 miles and seven Alpine peaks, to heights of more than 11,000 feet. Most of the 186 1/2 miles of trails are intermediate, and many of them are wide. They're groomed, too, serviced by lifts that range from an old-fashioned tow rope to a high-speed funicular. Experts gather here, of course, for steep drops, hairpin turns, miles of off-piste, powder-filled bowls. Because of the latitude, most of the ski area is above the tree line, so the vistas are wide and far-ranging." We just couldn't get there fast enough!!
Our directions to Hotel Lauzes said to "look for the church" when we arrived in Val d'Isere....so we drove along the picturesque main street enjoying all the quaint restaurants and cafes. There were lots of people out walking; some in ski clothes still carrying skis others in fur coats and apres ski boots. Sure enough, we found the hotel right next door to this landmark Romanesque-style church and bell tower which were built in 1664. Philippe, the owner, and his sidekick, Bernadette, greeted us and showed us to our room. It was late afternoon, but we went out for a quick stroll around the village, chose a restaurant for dinner and rented some skis for Nick. We are accustomed to outdoor markets everywhere in Provence, but this was our first outdoor market in the snow! The vendors were selling everything from ski parkas to boots to leather hats, gloves and slippers, tons of non-chocolate candy, sunglasses and cheese!! This area of France, called the Savoie, is well known for it's mountain cheeses; two in particular are Reblochon and Beaufort. Here is a beautiful display....
The climate here, especially at night, was MUCH colder than what we have been used to in Aix. My hands were freezing!! After warming up by the fireplace in the little living room of the hotel, we walked several blocks down the main street to La Taverne Restaurant. We decided to have one of the Savoie region's specialties called tartiflette. In my opinion, it is one of France's best 'comfort foods'. Different valleys in the region have various methods of producing tartiflette and we are told there is probably more than one recipe per village! Basically, tartiflette is a casserole with just a few ingredients, most of which are readily available anywhere: potatoes, onion, smoked ham/bacon and cream but there is one crucial ingredient, Reblochon cheese, necessary to make the dish. We really hope it's not too difficult to find in the States. First, the cooked potatoes, meat and onions are layered in an oven proof dish. Next, the cream is poured over that and then the top is covered with the Reblochon and the whole thing is baked in the oven. Add a tart green salad and a glass of local wine...yum!!
The next morning, Tuesday, we got up in time to enjoy our French skier's breakfast at the hotel and hit the slopes. As you've already read, the ski area is huge and so we decided to take the advice of some skiers we'd met the night before and head for Glacier de Pissaillas, one of the highest areas at Val d'Isere. We rode the free shuttle bus for about 4 minutes up to a big tram, La Fornet. Riding the tram got us up on the mountain right away as we wanted to get high up on the glacier to an eastern facing(think sunny!) area to begin our day. Here is the view looking out of the Tram, back down into the valley ...
When we got off the tram, we followed everyone else to a chairlift which would take us up even higher...
Here Nick is standing pretty close to the top of the highest area you can get to on a lift....can you see how we are level with those peaks across the way?!? Near the top, at the foot of the bowl that descends off the glacier, you're in a pass -- the Col de l'Iseran, France's highest at more than 8,000 feet. We read that we were looking down on "the ancient trade route -- part of the Silk Road to India, where Hannibal crossed on elephants centuries ago. During World War II, mountaineering soldiers guarded it on skis; now in the summers, after a procession of snowplows opens the road each May, cyclists grind their way up in an epic stage of the Tour de France." We could not imagine trekking elephants through or riding a bike up here!! Hopefully, we can catch this segment of the Tours on TV this summer.
And now....we are finally going to ski!! It felt a bit strange to be skiing in an area with no trees, just wide open slopes that went on and on and on! It was a fantastic experience. Here are some more photos from the slopes.
This is probably my favorite of Nick's photos...
After many, many runs-there were no lift lines- we were hungry for some lunch. No hamburgers or bowls of chili to be found at this mountain! Sausages, pasta, hot soups, lamb stew, smoked salmon, cheese plates, fresh cheese with fruit or honey are the order of the day.... and please, don't forget the pastries! The sun was invitingly warm so we sat outside in these lounge chairs...
They were so comfortable we were tempted to lie there and sunbathe all afternoon...but, the slopes awaited us and off we went.
The high altitude, and this being our first day on the slopes all year, had us skiing back down to our hotel by about 3pm. We could ski within about 30 feet of the hotel... where we ran out of snow. After changing out of our ski clothes, we did another walking tour of the town and again chose a restaurant for dinner. Val d'Isere has lots of sports shops, some chic and some funky clothing stores, a grocery store, movie theatre, hotels and of course plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars.
Tonight we went to "1789", a small, cosy restaurant tucked off the main street. We felt right at home with the candle lit tables with pink table cloths and rustic decor all focused on an open fireplace where they cooked many of the entrees. We ordered another local Savoyard specialty. Unfortunately, we can't remember the name but think you cook raw meats on a little skillet that sits at your table. Kind of like fondue without the oil. We chose duck, poultry and beef. We cooked it to our liking and ate it with a variety of sauces; one was curry, one ketchup and mayonnaise and one aoli. The meal came with pommes frites and potato gratin(looked a lot like our tartiflette) and a huge green salad. After dinner, we strolled home enjoying the village by night....
While we ate some dark chocolate back in our room, we knew we would need a big day of skiing tomorrow! We are going to Tignes.Recipe for Tartiflette
http://www.cuisine-french.com/cgi/mdc/l/en/recettes/tartiflette.html
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