Located in the heart of 3 valleys: Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens-Les Menuires, Meribel is the one of the largest ski resorts in the world, boasting 600 km of ski runs accessible by the latest generation of ski lifts.
The history of the ski station
Meribel was founded by the Scot Peter Lindsay, who was looking for a new site for winter recreation aside from those in Austria and Germany due to an increase in Nazi popularity in those regions.
In 1936 he visited Les Allues for the first time. He imagined how the site could become a ski station and decided to create an association to raise enough funds to create his dream.
In 1938, the first mechanical ski lift was constructed in the town of Les Allues. One year later, the construction began on first class luxury hotels and chalets in the town of Meribel.
Three years later, Lindsay had, at this point, accumulated 40 hectares of land. War stopped the development of the station until it’s end and work was started again. Lindsay contacted the renowned architects Paul Grillo (Grand Prix of Rome, 1937) his associate, Christian Durupt and Andre Detour to ensure that the architecture would be in harmony with the style of the Savoie region. To achieve this, wood and stone from the region were used for the structure and slate, from the mountain, was used in the construction of the sloping roofs.
In the 1992, the station was chosen to host the ice hockey trials in their new skating rink and all the female alpine ski trials on the Roc de Fer slope for the Winter Olympics held in Albertville.
Geography
The ski station’s name comes from it’s position and is the term used to describe a place with a beautiful view or where one can take in the surroundings-similar to the Italian word-belvedere.
Situated at an altitude of 1,450m in the valley of Les Allues, the station is part of the skiable domain of the Three Valleys, whose highest point is the Peclet (3,561m).
The domain extends through the valley of Allues, south to north, between a series of ridges whose Eastern summits are the Dent de Burgin (Croix du Verdon), the Saulire and the Pointe du Fruit, which separate the valley from the community and stations of Saint-Bon-Courcheval and to the west, Cherferie, de la Tougnette, Mont de la Chambre, Mont du Borgne and Aiguille de Peclet. The southern portion is dominated by the Drome de Polset (3,530m).
The town of Les Allues is situated in Savoie, in the Rhone Alpes region, in the valley of Tarentaise and in the fables of the Vanoise mountain mass.
As the bird flies, the town is 6.1km south-southeast of Moutiers, 30.1km south-southeast of Albertville, 52km east of Chambery-the main town of the county and 138.7km east of Lyon.
The community of Les Allues is composed of around 2,000 permanent inhabitants and can reach up to 30,000 inhabitants in the winter season. Actually, the community includes the station-town of Meribel-Mottaret. The station is situated in the heart of the skiable domain of the 3 Valleys.
In general, the station is considered “upscale”, both nationally and internationally in the media and literature.
Architecture
The Meribel station was developed conserving the spirit of the original town and its inhabitants. There is no single, large development, or the terraced roofs characteristic of the chalets in Courchevel in the 50s and 60s. The chalets were constructed following the traditional Savoie style, in wood and stone with sloping slate roofs-the dominant architecture seen throughout the region. The renovations or recent constructions of the last few years have incorporated top of the line material and boast stone basements, aged wood handrails and slate roofs. Copper was used for the gutters and other exterior features.
Access to the Station
The Meribel station can be reached by car, train or plane-there is an airport nearby.
One can arrive at the station by car using the highway or the national A 430 route, Savoie-Albertville, exiting at exit 41 (Val Thorens, Les Menuires, Bozel, Courcheval, Meribel). The station is located near the town of Moutiers.
The high speed train, TGV, goes to the train station of Moutiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains (around 4h15min from Paris). Transport between the train and ski station is around 30 minutes.
The station can also be reached by plane, at the international airport of Lyon-Saint-Exupery (around 185km, or 2h from the station) or the Geneva airport (around 135km-2h from the station). The smaller airport of Chambery-Savoie is closer, around 95km or 1h from the station. The station also has its own airport at an altitude of 1,717m.
Sports and Competitions
Meribel hosted the female alpine ski trials as well as the ice hockey trials for the 16th Winter Olympics in Albertville in 1992, from February 8 to the 23rd. It was the only station chosen to host the trials over the course of the 15 days. The female alpine ski trials were held on the ski slope Roc de Fer. The ice hockey trials were held on the Olympic size ice rink constructed specially for the occasion.
In 2013 the station hosted a stage of the Alpine Ski World Cup (from the 23-24 of February 2013) as well as a stage of the World Cup of Ski Jumping.
The station has also welcomed some champions originally from the area or licensed within their club:
Georges Mauduit in alpine skiing; Julie Pomagalski in alpine skiing; Aurelie Santon in alpine skiing; the Lau brothers (Chris, Phil and Sven) in telemark skiing.
The station is also known for its golf course, in summer (an 18 hole course located close to the Meribel Airport) as well as the descents and courses for VTT/Enduro.
In 2013, the downhill slopes of the station were used to host the World Cup UCI Trials, the VTT French Cup finals as well as the World Cup VTT Trials. In 2014, the station is once again the site for the VTT World Cup Trial from the 21 to 24 of August (descent, cross country, trial).