Ski Beat holiday review: Finding my ski legs in the French Alps

I’ve swerved ski lessons this morning – a combination of heavy snow and a heavy head – but as the clouds cleared and the blue sky began to emerge, I have decided to sweat out some of the toxins and go for a hike. 

Luckily, as those who have ever stayed in the French ski resort of Peisey-Vallandry will know, despite being a traditional resort with wooden chalets dotted around the mountain, it is also well connected and there is plenty to do other than hurtling down pistes on skis.  

Views on the way up (Image: Kimberley Barber) The hike I am on is not huge – just a short 2.4km uphill to visit an old church called the Montée de l'Eglise and admire the view of the valley. The resort is at the entrance of the Vanoise National Park, so there’s heaps of space and nature to explore and enjoy. Sweeping mountain scenes stretch out for miles. I could never grow tired of looking at it. 

The hike is well signed, and I pass many others on the various routes across the mountains. Some are walking dogs, others are wearing snowshoes. I am in the more traditional hiking boot.

The routes cross-cross and vary in difficulty, and there is an excellent and regular free bus service that connects Peisey-Vallandry to Les Arcs 1800, 1600, 1950 and 2000. It even goes the other way, down to Landry, and runs late into the night. Should you get too tired – or too drunk on Genepi - to walk all the way back.  

I am staying at an impressive new chalet just off the piste near to the huge feat-of-engineering cable car the Vanoise Express. Watching this cable car, as it dangles from a wire connecting two mountains at 380 vertical metres above the valley floor, is a spectacle in itself.  

Chalet Tetras Lyre (Image: Kimberley Barber) It can carry 200 people at a time and was opened in 2003. This unlocked the area and turned it into the Paradiski - a literal skiers paradise, with more than 425km of connected pistes.  

The chalet, called the Tetras Lyre and run by Ski Beat, can sleep 10-12 in its five bedrooms and the English company’s staff are regularly in to cater for us. Breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. All the staff are great, knowledgeable, and surprisingly talented in the kitchen.  

The chalet is stunning, with a beautiful open space for relaxing with a log burner, and complete with a sauna and hot tub on the piste to soothe those aching muscles.  

The hot tub (Image: Ski Beat) It is the perfect way to relax after a day spent doing the many things there are to do here. It’s also got the added benefit of being ski in, but at 1600m, this can depend on the time of year of your stay. 

Yes, the number one pursuit here is skiing (or snowboarding for those who still have working knees, in fact Les Arcs claims to have been its birthplace) - and most things are geared up for the skier, but there are other ways to have fun too.  

Take last night for example, a tribute band called the Queens of the Snow Age was playing, rocking out the classics at a wooden chalet ski bar called Mont Blanc and the beer was flowing. It is safe to say that most of our group got carried away, me more than others, as it was like stepping back 20 years into my youth, back into the heady days of ski repping. 

Lots has changed since I was last in Vallandry and in the time since I was a fresh 21 and working for a small wage but having the time of my life. The resort has grown, buildings have shot up, and the place seems much better connected and set up than it did two decades ago. There’s even an indoor swimming pool now, which is free to get into with your lift pass, it’s really gone up in the world.  

The village Peisey-Vallandry, is in between the big resorts of Les Arcs and La Plagne, and is made up of five original small villages. Skiing is said to have started here many years before the two big resorts, and it’s still got authentic touches, old buildings, churches, etc, where you can feel real life happening.  

New friends on the slopes (Image: Kimberley Barber) Talking of skiing, I was feeling a bit rusty after not being on skis for an exceptionally long time (thanks to Covid, lockdowns and motherhood), so I booked lessons with ESF – the leading French ski school. I started on Level 1, but was quickly promoted to Level 2, and then spent the last couple of days knocking around slightly terrified with the top set.

We met each morning, and each instructor was friendly and kind, far removed from any stereotypes of French ski instructors. They all had remarkable stories to tell, and with varying techniques, I learnt lots of new tricks – and they boosted my confidence so much that by the last day, I was taking on red runs and hardly screaming externally at all. Well worth the investment of money and time.  

ESF ski instructor (Image: Kimberley Barber)

I was travelling alone, but I made plenty of friends. I made friends in my ski lessons, friends in the chalet, friends on the piste and plenty of friends in the pub.   

One of the best things about going on a ski holiday is that everyone has something to talk about. With all the exercise, relaxation, fresh mountain air, and good French food and wine, there’s something addictive and beautiful about the thrills of a ski holiday – and the Ski Beat chalet provided the perfect base for a fun – if exhausting – week away.   

Fact box

For more go to skibeat.co.uk 

Ski Beat holiday prices include return flights (for Vallandry fly into Lyon, approx. 2hr 30 min away), shared return airport transfers, 20kg baggage allowance, seven nights accommodation in a catered chalet (for six days). 

Ski Beat has catered ski chalets in seven of France’s highest altitude ski resorts with prices for a week’s stay from £842pp, and a week in Chalet Tetras Lyre in the heart of Paradiski from £1137pp. Prices include private chalet hosts to prepare cooked breakfast, afternoon tea with home-made cakes, freshly prepared three course evening meals with wine, return flights from Manchester or Gatwick and transfers. Tel: 01273 855100. ATOL protected.