Meribel Apres Ski Report: 3rd February 2012

I probably love being in Meribel as much as I love being in London but even the infinitely explorable capital city I hold so dear can feel claustrophobic at times. For this reason (and also because I was crazy jealous of our snow reporter Caroline heading over to Paris for a retail therapy excursion) I decided to have a very miniature mini break this week.

At approximately 9.30pm on Tuesday night I was all finished with service in my chalet. I had laid out a cheese board, said farewell to my guests, showered, changed and was ready to head off on my big adventure. I jumped into a car and took the lift I had managed to bribe from my company’s driver with a €5 crate of Finkbrau(?!?) all the way over to La Tania. The 15 minute drive was over in no time at all, yet somehow I felt I had grown as a person. Leaving the comfortable bubble of Meribel and entering a whole new resort, to stay the night no less, was as much a coming of age moment for me as I imagine walking along the train tracks to discover the dead body of Ray Brower was for the kids in ‘Stand by Me’.

The reason for picking La Tania as the destination for my ‘mini mini break ‘ is that my brother is currently doing a ski season over there. I stayed in the hotel Montana for the duration. A nice hotel conveniently situated right on the slopes with great ski locker facilities, spacious rooms and two English language TV channels. I watched a cheery piece on BBC World about the imminent apocalypse...time for a drink. Pricey €6 beers in the hotel bar were enough to push me out of the front doors and two minutes across the slopes to La Tania’s most happening nightspot, ‘Ski lodge’. From the same people that brought us Meribel’s ‘Lodge du Village’, Ski Lodge/The Lodge/S’lodge is the go to bar for a spot of lunch during the day and a drink followed by a boogie in the evening.

Probably the 3 Valleys' most well known cheeky chappy musical outfit, ‘Bring Your Sisters’ were the entertainment for the night and they played a raucous set. The wall to wall crowd enjoyed every moment and managed to coax two encores out of the sweaty would be rock stars. The hyperactive crowd even managed to prompt an appearance from the gendarmerie (French coppers) with their noise levels. The mini break was getting off to a good start.

The next morning, I was forced by a 10am checkout to get over my hangover very quickly and get out on the slopes. I met my brother and some friends and we headed up the mountain to take part in the very first annual ‘ESF Seasonnaire Slalom Challenge’. I was told about this event just the day before. I had never even considered entering a slalom race in my life and now all of a sudden I was standing in a ‘dermophil’ sponsored bib with the number 7 on it at the top of a slalom run!

There were 20 teams of 2 entering the slalom race. We were all in the same hung over boat having never taken part in such an event. I would like to pretend I took it all with a pinch of salt and didn’t really care about the outcome but one look at the table full of prizes made me realise; I have never in my life won a trophy!

The whole event was put on by ESF in an attempt to create a better relationship between their instructors and the many seasonnaires around the resorts and I have to say it most definitely worked. There was music and a free barbeque with beer, wine and an unhealthy amount of Pastis liquor. My brother and I did our very best in the race and when it came to prize giving time we were absolutely ecstatic to receive the 2nd place trophy! We celebrated by drinking beer from the cup but just as our feet began to get far too big for our ski boots an ESF instructor appeared and told us there had been a mistake. He tore the trophy from my delighted grip. I was momentarily destroyed as my childhood dream of winning a trophy was quite literally snatched from my hands. Then suddenly the truth emerged, the mistake was, in fact, that we were not in second place, but actually the overall winners of the race! We were presented with a bigger, better, more beautiful trophy and I began to fall ever so slightly in love with La Tania.

Still elated from the victory I went for a celebratory beer at the Ski Lodge before heading up to 1850 to spend the rest of the afternoon on the Luge. For those of you that fancy a break from skiing I would highly recommend the luge at 1850. Pop into the ‘Jean Blanc Sports’ shop where you can rent a large one man sledge (for under €10) complete with steering brakes. From here it is a short walk over to the beginning of the luge run which you are free to ride as many times as you like until the lift closes at 7.30pm.

The run is tricky with hairpin turns, steep inclines and bumps that send you flying through the air. I loved every minute of my luge experience and even flying off of the edge of the track and down a hill into a pile of powder wasn’t enough to put me off. I will be heading back next week with more people for a full day on the sledges and if you get the chance to do the same I really recommend it.

So, in retrospect, my little trip out of Meribel was an eye opening experience. La Tania was full of wonder and I can say with confidence that I enjoyed every moment of my stay. I left a boy and I returned a slalom champion. However, all of that said, on my return home I felt incredibly happy and relieved to be stopping off at the Rond Point for a quick pint amongst familiar smiles and comfortable surroundings. I don’t think I will be leaving Meribel for a while yet.