(0)
The 4 Vallées, supercharged
Views with a capital V
The Piste de l’Ours, the red run of La Pasay, the black run of Mont Fort, the yellow runs of Mont Gelé, the wild faces of the Bec des Rosses that only expert freeriders dare attempt… The 4 Vallées ski area and its vast off-piste kingdom are a fast track to adventure.
Variable! Bagnes, Arbi, Nendaz, Hérémence: four key valleys. A revered quartet, interconnected by six complimentary ski resorts that have been famous since the roaring twenties, each with distinct vision, values, and advantages. In the middle, in the spotlight, is Verbier, uncontested. There’s also Bruson with its shaded forests, the queen of snowy days; La Tzoumaz for experienced sledders; Nendaz and Veysonnaz with their family-friendly ambiance; and Thyon for skiers, with its legendary Alpine Ski World Cup slope the Piste de l’Ours.
Vertigo-inducing! What a view… Once you’ve risen above the green pine forests, the lifts take you into the pristine high-mountain air and you see the snow-covered lands below. Here, silence reigns, only interrupted by the subtle shake of the lift as it passes through the pylons. Your eyes flit from one vertical Alpine peak to another. The Combins, with their snow-covered peaks, rise up in the distance. If the weather is just right, the Weisshorn (4,505 m), the pyramid of the Dent Blanche (4,357 m), the Matterhorn (4,478 m), and the Dent d’Hérens (4,171 m) dot the eastern horizon, with Mont Blanc to the west. It’s enough to make your head spin.
Valiant! From one lift to another, the slopes of every level weave their intricate web over 410 km revealing the 4 Vallée ski domain, the largest ski area within Switzerland and the third largest in all of Europe. Verbier is a breeding ground for champions, and tensions often reach a breaking point each winter, when the world’s best talents meet on the Bec des Rosses for the finale of the Freeride World Tour. This is where freeride skiing truly shines, supercharged by the 4 Vallées, which beckons skiers to courageously carve into the untouched hillsides, or leave their mark on the designated (but just as wild) yellow slopes.
Venerable! From the top of Mont Fort (the local’s Everest at 3,330 m), in the enchanting high mountain atmosphere, the view from the new panoramic platform is (of course) almost absurdly spectacular. And the air is brisk, as the connected zipline will attest: the highest and longest (1.4 km) in the Alps, open year-round, reaching maximum speeds of 130 km/h. But rest assured, observation and contemplation are just as welcome here.
