Méribel

Méribel
Méribel
Méribel Location in the Alps of Europe
Location	Savoie, France
Nearest city	Chambéry
Coordinates	45°23′48.23″N 6°33′58.57″E / 45.3967306°N 6.5662694°E / 45.3967306; 6.5662694Coordinates: 45°23′48.23″N 6°33′58.57″E / 45.3967306°N 6.5662694°E / 45.3967306; 6.5662694
Vertical	1,502 m (4,928 ft)
Top elevation	2,952 m (9,685 ft)
Base elevation	1,450 m (4,757 ft)
Runs	76 (8 green, 36 blue, 23 red & 9 black)
Lift system	53 (Capacity 75,565ph)
Website	www.meribel.net

Méribel is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, situated near the town of Moutiers. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France, near the town of Moûtiers (45°24′04″N 6°33′56″E / 45.401°N 6.5655°E / 45.401; 6.5655), called Méribel Centre, Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel Village. The villages are within the Vanoise National Park and a part of the Les Trois Vallées interlinked ski system.

History

Méribel Les Allues is a ski resort that was developed adjacent to the traditional hamlet of Morel, with its centre situated at about 1400 metres above sea level.^[1] It was founded by a Scotsman, Colonel Peter Lindsay,^[2] who was looking for a new site for winter sports away from the ski resorts of Austria and Germany, because of the growing strength of the Nazi regime. In 1936, he visited the town of Les Allues for the first time. He then imagined how the town could become a ski resort. Firstly, he decided to create a property company in order to develop finances strong enough to build the resort. In 1938, the first lift was placed above Les Allues. A year later, he began the construction of the first chalets and hotels in the hamlet of Méribel. Three years later, the war would stop the development of the resort, but when it was over, development continued. Lindsay used specialized architects, Paul Grillo, Grand Prix de Rome (1937), and his partner Christian Durupt, so that all buildings would be in harmony with the Savoyard style. For this to be realised, wood and stone must be used for the walls, with slanted slate roofs. In 1950, the Burgin-Saulire gondola was built to link the resort to Courchevel. Lindsay's family continue to hold a financial stake in the resort, and his grandchildren still ski in the resort to this day. Lindsay's ashes and those of his wife are scattered on the Burgin mountain.

Méribel was home to the 1992 Winter Olympics (Albertville).^[3] It hosted the ice hockey and the women's alpine skiing events.^[4] Until 2011, Méribel was the host to the acclaimed Altitude Festival, with prestigious acts such as KT Tunstall, Marcus Brigstocke and Omid Dijalili performing in the bars and nightclubs around the resort. For 2011, it has been announced that the festival will be moved to Austria, with the organiser Richard Letts citing a reduction in support from the Méribel Tourist Office.^[5]

The ski resort is part of the Trois Vallées ski area.^[6] The Three Valleys area comprises 180 lifts, 335 marked runs (over 600 kilometres) and over 130 km of cross-country tracks. The Three Valleys was expanded about ten years ago to incorporate a fourth valley, though the area kept the name Trois Vallées. The area comprises the resorts of Courchevel, La Tania, Méribel, Les Menuires-Saint Martin, Val Thorens and Orelle.

The resort comprises the sub villages of Méribel-Mottaret, at an altitude of 1750 m towards the head of the Allues valley, and Méribel Village at 1400 m on the road to Courchevel.

Lift system

Future projects

• For the 2012 season, the Burgin-Saulire 2 gondola is being replaced, and the new lift will be called Saulire Express 2. It will be constructed by Poma, and will take a new route up the Méribel Couloir, arriving at the same position as the Saulire cable car from the Courchevel side.
• For the 2013 season, the Burgin-Saulire 1 gondola is being replaced, and the new lift will be called Saulire Express 1. It will be constructed by Poma, and will be joined to Saulire Express 2 for a continuous journey up the mountain, first gondola station in France MULTIX to sections decoupled amount of work 24 million.
• Plattieres 1 & 2 are being replaced by a new gondola constructed by Poma, called Plattieres 1. This new lift will cut the journey time from 25 minutes to 9 minutes, and the new cabins will replace the old six seat, back to back gondolas with more comfortable 10 seat cabins. Construction will begin at the end of the 2011 season, and the old lift will continue to run through the 2012 season.

Tarentaise Valley skiing

Within the Tarentaise Valley you find the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. Most well known neighbour systems are Paradiski (Les Arcs, La Plagne) and Espace Killy (Val-d'Isère and Tignes). A weekly lift ticket in Méribel/Les Trois Vallées offers a choice to ski one day in each of the other two systems mentioned. There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create the - by far - largest ski area in the world. However that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park.

See also

• List of ski areas and resorts in Europe
• Méribel Airport
• Battle of Méribel

References

External links

• Vanoise National Park
• Panoramic virtual tour at top of Mont Vallon gondola at 360 Travel Guide