TAKE THE PLUNGE VAL D'ISÈRE TOURISME VAL Photo: Photo:

arranged by my private concierge THE CLASSIC FRENCH RESORT OF at Elephant Blanc, the luxuriously appointed chalet in Val d’Isère by VAL D’ISÈRE IS TRULY A DESTINATION the British tour operator Consensio. Its deep sofas, crackling fires and bottomless supply of Laurent Perrier OF DISTRACTIONS. BY LESLIE WOIT suddenly represented a far superior rysuit, dry mouth. Full rubber instructor like a cheap hooker and option to a cold bath in Lac . face mask, moon-landing screw- sink to my fate, slipping lifelessly Yes, it’s true; a beautiful underworld Don gloves. With a final thumbs- beneath a frozen lake. of lava-lamp bubbles did boil and up, I clamp my legs around the A spot of ice diving was kindly bounce within this icy netherzone—

50 skicanada // WINTER 2019 TAKE THE PLUNGE D'ISÈRE TOURISME VAL LESLIE WOIT Photo: Photo: Photo:

the land of snow, sun and the ski plete with a memorable restaurant you back into the gondola.) Dining domain of Espace Killy. Sometimes and glorious sundeck swirling in a in , as in all , is serious you just have to take the plunge. 360-degree sweep of Espace Killy. business. And here, perhaps more Other times, you should stick to After evenings spent in sauna, than any other department, one of more normal après-ski activities. massage and five-course luxury, we its primary ingredients is cheese. For skiers, jumping into the big skied each morning from the door Fondue, raclette and tangy tartiflette mountains of Val d’Isère—300 km of of Elephant Blanc on high-powder are sacred staples of the devoted. groomers, endless off-piste and the alert. Just tipping over off the edge Each winter, Val d’Isère’s restaurants spiritual home of Olympian golden of the pistes here is a slice of shin- serve an estimated 300,000 fon- boy Jean-Claude Killy—is an even deep heaven, and despite heavy dues—roughly 10 elephants’ worth more rewarding prospect. Hard on snowfalls and corresponding risk of of cheese. At Hotel Avancher you’ll the heels of last winter’s record- avalanche, our guide found gentle- find the best. One of Val d’Isère’s busting snowfalls (more than three grade stable slopes. From Solaise, to recent magnificent makeovers, metres fell in January alone), Val’s Le Fornet, to Grand Motte’s tippy-top Hotel Avancher has been beautifully giant slice of the Savoie dishes up of 3,546m (this season it features updated and polished after 60 years unfurling peaks and guaranteed new glass-bottom gondolas), by on the main street. Intimate wood- snow from late November until May. 3:00 p.m. our thighs were throbbing lined ambience holds all 21st-century Long a classic alpine destination with joy. That’s lucky, since soon our indulgences, including a panoramic sprung from an 11th-century village, heads were throbbing, too, with the spa and a seriously sought-after Val is currently undergoing a flux of unmistakable tschoonk-tschoonk- wine and fondue menu. self-improvement, well into a $300 tschoonk of dance music pulsing For a dip into alpine history with million redevelopment plan that across the peaks. If it’s French après- your Beaufort, choose a table at The includes new hotels, 100 private ski, it’s gotta be La Folie Douce. Ski Gallery and Fondue Factory. On chalets and an underground moving “Après-ski is relatively new in display, The Killy Family collection walkway to the lifts. France,” says Kely Starlight, artistic of vintage skis, boots and ephem- France’s highest hotel, Le Refuge director at La Folie Douce, whose era spans a century of le glisse. The de Solaise (2,551m), opened its dorm half-dozen mountain restaurant- concept of Dimitri and Mick Killy, and apartment accommodation this bars have emerged as the adult nephew and younger brother of winter. But next autumn, what was Eurodisney of French après-ski Olympian Jean-Claude, this aromatic after starting in Val d’Isère 12 years address combines industrial chic ago. “We have to teach the people with a night at the museum. It’s just We have to teach the here how to drink and have fun.” one good choice in a resort that’s full And he’s off, sashaying down the of them—whether at the top of the people here how to drink and catwalk among hundreds of alfresco mountain, the bottom of the lake ‘‘ revellers, his beanie and his booty or the beating heart of its famous have fun. bobbing to the beat. centre-ville. If you’ve never been or La Folie Douce’s La Frutière res- haven’t been lately, it’s time to take taurant serves excellent and stylish the plunge. After all, you have to but after about 10 minutes of my once the oldest lift station in the lunch fare, alongside signature mag- love a place whose mantra comes newly discovered paranoid’’ claustro- country (built in 1942) reimagines nums of rosé. (Don’t worry, this sea- straight from the cheesy heart: In phobia, I was happy to pop back into boutique, five-star splendour com- son there’s a new escalator to pour Tartiflette We Trust.

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