by When it comes to organizing ski trips, finding the “happy medium” level can be tricky. Friends will say things like, “Okay, I’ll ski the blues,” then take you down a steep red run, leaving you broken and crying before eleven.
I sometimes struggle on difficult slopes, but I’m just as happy crossing winding blues and greens while admiring the scenery, watching birds, and making the occasional snow angel.
The resort of Flaine, in the French department of Haute-Savoie, was a good place to brush up on my technique last year. It’s a relatively easy trip by train and bus, it has more difficult slopes, but its 69 beginner and 49 intermediate runs are also suitable for inexperienced or less confident skiers. I hadn’t skied for almost a decade and I studied for two mornings at the ESF ski school.
“Teresa: spring! Use your legs to jump! Up down, up down. Feel the rhythm. Skis closer together. Look down the hill, toward the trees, not at your feet.” My instructor, Virgine, had a job.
Few ski resorts can boast an installation by Picasso and a sculpture by Belgian Pol Bury
In addition to its generous amount of gentler courses, Flaine’s environmental credentials and architectural legacy also appealed to me. Not many ski resorts can boast a Picasso installation, a sculpture by Belgian Pol Bury and design aspects that flirted with sustainability as early as the 1960s.
Our group traveled from London by train to Cluses, via Paris, and then took the bus to our ski-in/ski-out apartments at Les Terrasses d’Eos, on a slope above the pedestrianized center of Flaine. Surrounded by fir trees, the modern wood and stone apartments are Green Key certified and are ideal for skiers who like the freedom of self-catering accommodation but also enjoy the benefits of an on-site bar, restaurant and spa. The spacious apartments sleep between four (one bedroom) and ten people and feature wooden fittings, balconies, dining areas, fireplaces and well-equipped kitchens, while the L’Eterlou restaurant serves excellent Savoy produce.
Our visit last winter was a trip of two halves. We arrived to find several lifts closed and large areas of snow where there should be snow; We left four days later in a thigh-deep snowstorm and our transfer minibus had to be towed by a passing taxi.
There has been good snowfall so far this season, although the reality is that ski seasons are becoming less predictable, something the Grand Massif ski region is trying to mitigate. Flaine herself is involved in reforestation and wetland restoration projects, snowplows have switched to HVO100 synthetic fuel, and some elevators now run on it as well (although the use of biofuels remains controversial). Free digital trail maps have mostly replaced printed versions (the money from those still sold goes to planting trees).
In 2007, Flaine was the first ski resort in Europe to start studying and monitoring the surrounding landscape, geology, water sources, flora and fauna. The study area currently covers the neighboring towns and ski resorts of Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and Sixt. These mountains are home to ibex, black grouse, chamois, bearded vultures and the endemic ptarmigan. Observations have led to the creation of winter migration reserves for black grouse and ptarmigan, “umbrella species” whose protection also helps preserve the habitats of other animals.
“Biodiversity monitoring helps us preserve and restore sensitive areas,” said Malvina Sculo, Flaine’s sustainable development director, over lunch at the hillside La Joyeuse Flainoise restaurant. “Knowing where sensitive places are means we can leave them in the hands of birds and other wildlife.” These areas are identified by bird flags and signs on the red piste called Combe de Vernant, which leads into the Vernant Valley, as well as on the piste map. Visitors can join a guide for a free three-hour wildlife viewing tour (Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. from the Désert Blanc chairlift).
Away from the slopes, Flaine’s brutalist gray concrete architecture may be hard to love on a dull winter day, but in the 1960s it was part of a project for a modern, functional resort, the vision of a wealthy geophysicist, Eric Boissonnas, and his wife, Sylvie. Patrons of the arts and avid skiers, the couple recruited Marcel Breuer, the Bauhaus master from Pécs, Hungary, who had named the Wassily chair and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York after him, to create something fresh and modern. The first thing Breuer thought when he saw the place from a helicopter was how to avoid ruining it. He found his mark in Flaine’s mottled gray cliffs, which turned out to be the perfect complement to his utilitarian build.
The story is told at the Flaine Visitor Center and on a guided heritage tour (Tuesdays, 2pm, in front of the Arts Centre) that includes the Ecumenical Chapel built in 1973, with Marcel Breuer chandeliers, and the Auditorium, which houses a Pol Bury foundation. You can be guided by the striking art that illuminates the pedestrian centre, including sculptures by Vasarely and Dubuffet and a large version of Picasso’s Tete de Femme (Woman’s Head), and it’s worth a visit to the Hotel Le Flaine, built in 1968, where the living room is located. extends to a large “hanging” sun terrace and the Totem hotel, to see a Breuer-designed concrete fireplace (there’s another in the Loft Suite) and an original Wassily chair.
After a day exploring the city or skiing, it was lovely to relax in the hammam and heated outdoor pool at Les Terrasses d’Eos. If we decided not to eat there, a free shuttle would take us back to town to enjoy a caloric fondue and hot stone-grilled vegetables and meats at Le Michet, or a tartiflette served bubbling in the skillet at the casual and relaxed Sabaudia. Flaine isn’t known for its wild apres-ski, but the Le Social bar was lively (if not happening here: tequila shots, whiskey, 80s metal, 70s disco and the occasional British naked dance until waist on the court). bar – probably not happening anywhere else).
While the weather limited my time on the slopes, it was enough to refresh muscle memory. Thanks to Virginie and Raphael, who worked out the kinks in my technique, in just two days I had progressed to becoming a pole and mostly parallel skier. My ski buddies enjoyed the black runs, but I soon felt confident enough to ski solo on forest trails, keeping my eyes peeled for marmots, grouse and golden eagles.
Related: A Swiss ski resort that doesn’t cost a fortune? Welcome to Interlaken
If I had been there longer, I would have gone on a guided snowshoe hike or participated in a tasting at the top of the Grands Vans chairlift. The quality and origin label, Origine Grand Massif (Made in Grand Massif), champions local producers, creatives and artisans, and weekly tastings are a great way to sample local honey, cheeses, chocolates and pâtés, and a perfect reward for everyone (literally). ) preliminary work she had done on this trip.
The trip was provided by Pierre & Vacances. A seven-night stay at Les Terrasses d’Eos costs from £265 per person, based on four people sharing a room. apartment with Pierre & Vacances. Return train tickets from London St Pancras to Cluses, including Eurostar, cost from £207 per person, with two changes. The one-hour shuttle bus from Cluses to Flaine costs €19. return. A one-day ski pass in the Flaine area costs 53 euros (child 42.40 euros). A six-day pass to the Grand Massif ski area costs €345 (child €276). Pierre & Vacances offers a 15% discount when booking with accommodation. Children under eight years old and over 75 years old ski for free
