Happy 10th Birthday BASS Meribel!
10 Years of delivering ski magic to thousands of happy BASS clients in one of the worlds greatest ski areas. Thanks to the dedication of our team and customer loyalty, BASS Meribel has grown from strength to strength, year after year. For winter 2018 we are fielding our strongest team ever in the 3 Valleys. All the old favourites are back along with two new additions, Rhydian Morris and Emma Norton, both chosen for their compatibility with our team and their potential to delight our customers.
We have seen a great deal of change over our 10 years in Meribel. There have been lots of improvements to the ski area with new and updated lifts, swish new restaurants, improved snowmaking and a BASS expansion into Courchevel and Val Thorens. Over all these years the BASS product has stayed true to our client’s demands of quality instruction, friendly British trainers and excellent service from start to finish. We continue to develop our knowledge and skills to ensure the BASS experience is still the best it can be. Whether you are having private tuition, group lessons, off piste guiding or just a confidence boost, BASS cutting edge instruction will greatly enhance your learning experience.
BASS Meribel are leading the way in developing ski tuition and providing educational opportunities for students and trainee instructors. We are now one of the largest European providers of ski instructor training and education in snowsports. Our training academy in the 3 Valleys provides an educational program for those wishing to take a gap year in the mountains or fast track to instructor qualifications. Our very own Rhydian Morris joined our training program at the introduction level and is now qualified to the highest level, BASI ISTD L4, which is the equivalent of and recognised as a Bachelors Degree in Snowsports.
We are all looking forward to welcoming lots of our old friends back to the 3 Valleys this winter for more of the fun and exciting times we have shared on the slopes. We want to show you all why after 10 years we are still the best and getting better. If your not already booked make an enquiry to see what we are doing better this year.
What's new in the 3 valleys?
New Roc de Tougnete ski lift
Méribel’s constant investment in modern lifts continues this year with the replacement of the elderly Roc de Tougne draglifts with a new, fast chairlift. The steep, twin draglifts above Mottaret are being superseded by a new, fast-loading 6-seat chairlift that will whisk you to the summit in a little more than 3 minutes. Not only will this new chair give faster and easier access to some excellent pistes (Lagopède and Bartavelle, prized for their quality snow and north-facing aspect), but also a quicker and easier route over to the Les Menuires ski area. The lift is designed to operate in high winds, keeping this 3 Vallées link open even in bad weather conditions.
Piste re-routing
The main route (Lac de la Chambre piste) from Val Thorens to the Méribel Valley will now be easier thanks to re-routing work. Two difficult sections have been bypassed, allowing this red run to be re-graded as a blue. Not only will this make returning from VT on tired legs much easier, it also opens up a spectacular and wild part of Méribel’s ski area to novice skiers.
New beginners’ facilities at le Rond-Point
Learners get a new lift too
with an upgraded magic carpet lift at le Rond-Point in Méribel. The existing Loupiot beginner lift is being replaced by a modern, covered version and a new “Easy Rider” beginner zone will be created next to it so children and beginners can practice on a gentle slope in safety.
New Snow Cannon Reservoir
The snow cannon reservoir under the Altiport 8 Seater Chair has been massively expanded this Summer and led to the free drag lift being reduced to about half it’s length.
The new reservoir has more than doubled it’s capacity allowing 65% of all of Meribel pistes to be covered by Snow Cannons.
More New Snow Cannons
Additional Snow Cannons costing €2.5m have been installed across the Les Menuires area and the BK park has also had a facelift. Now 300m long with 3 different run lines including rollers and jumps with 3 levels of course (S, M and L).
New ariondas bubble 1650
The new gondola follows the tracks of the old one which dates back to 1974. The replacement is a new 8 seater doubling the current capacity and gets straight up to the Bel Air in 7 minutes instead of 10½ minutes – a 25% speed increase and not a 2 stage gondola which was originally rumoured. It still looks like a walk up from the snow front and we’re not sure if access from inside via the escalator from the main is possible.
This is just an overview of all the work maintaining the infrastructure in the 3v as one of the best in the world as well as the biggest
All the team look forward to seeing you on the slopes soon!!