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It can be daunting as a beginner, or a parent accompanying beginners, when you first arrive in a resort and don’t know the runs. Luckily Courchevel specialises in the kind of gentle, wide blue runs that beginners’ dreams are made of. So as long as you check your map and stick to the blues, you’ll have a wonderful experience in Courchevel. To help get you started here’s my advice for a perfect first day run. Finding Your Ski Legs The first time you ski in a resort alone as a beginner can be a little intimidating, so my advice for your perfect day is to start with the gentle greens down from the Verdons bubble. You take the Verdons lift from the centre of 1850 and get out at the second stop (the last before it starts coming down again). From here you can ride the gentle greens beside the terrain park down to the Jardin Alpin gondola. Hop on the Jardin Alpin gondola and you’ll find more lovely greens which will take you back down to where you started. From the top, if you’re feeling up to it, and it’s not too busy, you can head down to the gentle blue run of Pralong. If you enjoy that, there’s a chairlift which will take you back up so that you can do it again. Once Your Confidence Grows Having found your ski legs on the gentle greens and blues of Verdons, it is well worth heading over to Courchevel Moriond (1650) where there are plenty of inviting blue runs which tend to be much quieter than the rest of the resort. To get here from Pralong, take the blue which runs just below the Altiport to Praméruel and then catch the Roc Mugnier chairlift. When you arrive you’ll see the Pyramide draglifts. Take these and you’ll discover two beautiful blue runs which are usually very quiet and with great snow because they are on a north-facing side of the mountain. Having achieved all this in one morning you totally deserve a lunchtime treat. Stop off at Bel Air for beautiful views and sumptuous Savoyard cuisine. For the Afternoon When you’ve had a great morning’s ski it can be tempting to spend the afternoon repeating the runs you’ve already done. The trouble with this in Courchevel is that many of the runs, like Verdons and Pralong, which were so gorgeous in the morning become very chopped up and busy by the afternoon which takes away much of the pleasure. Instead why not push yourself a little by trying some of the resort’s more sedate reds. Chapelets, Bel Air and Rochers are all very gentle examples and can all be skied by using the Chapelets chairlift. The other bonus of these runs is that they tend to be quiet in the afternoon because they are at the very eastern edge of the resort, away from the main Three Valley circuit. How to Get to Courchevel Getting to Courchevel is relatively easy as it is served by four airports: Chambéry, Grenoble, Lyon and Geneva. Most British skiers tend to use Geneva because it offers the most flights and is served by a good range of airlines, from budget to national carriers. The best way to get from Geneva to Courchevel is by airport transfer. Book with a company like Shuttle Direct and you will be able to arrange the details online before you fly and have a driver waiting to take you to your resort when you arrive. The journey from Geneva to Courchevel is very easy and takes only 2 hours and 20 minutes. Author Plate Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct, the number one provider of shared and private airport transfers all over Europe and northern Africa. If you’re looking for affordable ski transfers from Geneva to Courchevel, Lukas and his colleagues can make sure that you and your luggage get to and from the airport swiftly and safely.
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