Arrived at the top of the cable car of the Mont Vallon, after a journey of 8 minutes, we arrive at 2952m. Almost 3km above the sea level, it is not nothing! The atmosphere is high mountain, everything is white and under our feet lies the Gébroulaz glacier, the largest of the 3 Valleys. Followed and studied since 1730, this glacier is part of the 5 French glaciers followed in the framework of Glacioclim / Alps according to an international protocol. A nugget!
In front of this extraordinary panorama, let's take the time to open our eyes wide and enjoy these elements visible to the naked eye that we don't see so often: seracs and crevasses; in such a wild environment...
Just in front of you, a more poetic show with crows coming to peck at the crumbs left by our trackers, just in front of their rescue post. Their little cries make the place even wilder and we love to see them fly away to create a perfect contrast between their black dress and all this white in the background.
The secret spot: put your skis on at the top and turn left 20m after, on a small plateau with another view on another glacier, the Borgne this time, with its summit and its rocky ridges.
Did you know that the two glaciers of Gébroulaz and Le Borgne are accessible by ski. One from Val Thorens, the other from Méribel, but both have to be done with a professional, a mountain guide in this case. Special mention for the exit of Gébroulaz where you ski between the seracs in all this white. It is exceptional.
You don't have to be an exceptional skier to enjoy this extraordinary experience! The summit of Mont Vallon is accessible to pedestrians or small skiers thanks to the gondola of the same name. After an 8 minute ride in comfort class, take the time up there for a deep breath and maybe lose track of the passing minutes, before heading back down with the same gondola.
At the top of the Mont Vallon gondola begin 2 unmissable red runs of the 3 Valleys: mythical, long, with a breathtaking view of Meribel.
La combe du Vallon : 1000m of vertical drop, a preserved snow because we are here in altitude and the slope is oriented North. Specificities: we go down on a hilly, curved slope, where we link small turns in walls and speed on the flatter parts. As for the atmosphere: a lunar start, then we find a more forest atmosphere with trees, among which the Cembros Pines or Arolles - these typical trees of the Alps which grow only in altitude. Then we find the chairlift of Mures Rouges to come back on the plateau of Mont Vallon or we continue in this cembraie atmosphere by the track of the Bear, to join directly Méribel Mottaret. Be careful, this slope with flat parts is not recommended for snowboarders.
Campagnol : slightly less known than its big sister, this slope offers great skiing and is an interesting alternative during the busy season. On the program: a small path (atmosphere!), big turns, sustained descents and flatter sections, far from everything.