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Les Trois Vallées

Coordinates: 45°21′N 6°36′E / 45.350°N 6.600°E / 45.350; 6.600
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Les Trois Vallée
LocationSavoie France
Nearest major cityMoûtiers
Top elevation3230m
Base elevation1300m
Skiable area600km of runs
Trails335 (easy 183, intermediate 119, difficult 33)
Longest run5km Cîme de Caro
Lift system183 (3 cable cars, 37 gondolas, 69 chair lifts, 74 surface lifts)
Snowmaking2007 cannons
Websitehttp://www.les3vallees.com

Les Trois Vallées or The Three Valleys is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie département of France, above the town of Moûtiers and have areas within the Vanoise National Park

Since 1973, it has been possible to ski the interlinked valleys using a single ski pass. Thus, Les Trois Vallées is the largest ski area in the world which is connected solely by ski lifts and slopes. It has more than 600 km (410 miles) of ski slopes, resulting in 18.5 km² of groomed runs. In addition, there are 120 km for cross-country skiing. Les Trois Vallées has 183 ski lifts, which can transport 260,000 skiers per hour. Other equipment owned by the operating companies include 1,920 snow cannons and 76 piste bashers. Employees in the area include 424 ski patrollers and 1,500 ski instructors.

As implied by its name, the area originally consisted of three valleys: Saint-Bon, Allues, and Belleville. The skiing area has since been extended into a 'fourth' valley, the Maurienne valley. It is adjacent to Val Thorens, but can also be accessed using a long gondola lift from Orelle. The following ski resorts are in Les Trois Vallées:

Valley Resort Established Skiable range (m) Sub-resorts
Saint-Bon Courchevel 1946 1300 - 2738 Courchevel-Le Praz, Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1850
Saint-Bon la Tania 1990 1400 - 2305 -
Allues Méribel 1939 1400 - 2952 Meribel-Village, Meribel, Meribel-Mottaret
Allues Brides-les-Bains 1992 600 - 1450 Les Allues
Belleville Val Thorens 1972 2300 - 3200 -
Belleville Les Menuires 1964 1850 - 2850 Les Menuires, Reberty, La Masse
Belleville St-Martin-de-Belleville 1983 1400 - 2434 -
Maurienne Orelle 1996 900 - 3230 -

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 Les Trois Vallées gives you 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

45°21′N 6°36′E / 45.350°N 6.600°E / 45.350; 6.600

References