Méribel: piste guide - Telegraph South of Mottaret are some of the best slopes in the valley, in the Plattières-Vallon sector at the head of the valley. The top stage of the old Plattières gondola (the first two stages are being replaced by a 10-seater for 2012/13), ends at the fifth entry point to the Belleville valley. To the east of this is the big stand-up gondola to the top of Mont du Vallon. The Côte Brune fast quad from near this area goes up to Mont de la Chambre, the sixth link with the next valley, and the only one giving direct access to Val Thorens. On the afternoon-sun side, gondolas leave both Méribel and Mottaret for Saulire, the main link to Courchevel 1850. The other link is from Altiport, via a slow chairlift to Col de la Loze. Fast lifts Highly efficient system Modern chairs and gondolas serve both sides of the valley, with good links into the rest of the Trois Vallées. Queues 3V traffic a persistent problem The area is generally queue-free most of the time, but as more and more visitor beds are added to the Trois Vallées resorts, new bottlenecks emerge. The lift company could achieve a lot by employing lifties to usher people into half-empty cabins. If Les Arcs can do it ... We and reporters alike have found that the six-pack above the Tougnète gondola is a serious bottleneck - it comes nowhere near coping with the combination of people coming up the gondola and people descending the four good pistes above. The new Plattières gondola (which carries 40% more people than the old one) will cut queues there but put even more pressure on the old gondola third stage (which will remain in place) and the Côte Brune chair from people heading onward to Val Thorens. Both of the main gondolas for Courchevel from Méribel and Mottaret have been queue-prone; but the new one from Méribel should reduce problems there. In this central valley the most serious problems result from the tidal flows of people passing through in the morning (when the tide coincides with the start of ski school) and in the late afternoon, when crowds on the runs to Mottaret can also be a problem. Most people returning from Val Thorens form a queue for the Plan des Mains chair so as to avoid the flat start of the "blue" Ours valley run. Confident skiers should use our trick instead: by-pass Plan des Mains by traversing above it, off-piste. Terrain parks Two great areas Méribel has two big parks. Moonpark at mid-mountain on Tougnète and served by the Arpasson draglift covers over 25 acres. In charge are the respected H05 crew. There are kickers, tables, rails and boxes and - new for 2011/12 - bio rails made of wood with beginner, intermediate and expert lines, a boardercross and a "chill and grill" BBQ zone. You can be filmed and watch the results on a big screen. Under the new Plattières gondola, the DC Area 43 park was massively expanded last season to be 1200m long with lots of features, lines for different abilities, 200m of rails, a half-pipe, boardercross and air bag jump. You can have your run recorded and play it back online. Kids get their own mini-boardercross, P'tit Moon, on the west-facing slopes above the mid-station of the Rhodos gondola. For experts Exciting choices The size of the Trois Vallées means experts are well catered for. In the Méribel valley, Mont du Vallon has lots to offer. The long, steep Combe Vallon run here is classified red; it's a wonderful, long, fast cruise when groomed (which it normally is), but presents plenty of challenge when mogulled. And there's a beautiful off-piste run in the next valley to the main pistes, leading back to the bottom of the gondola. A good mogul run is down the side of the double Roc de Tougne draglift which leads up to Mont de la Challe. And there are steep, unrelenting runs from Tougnète back to Méribel - the upper Ecureuil piste is now a black while the adjacent Combe Tougnète is now a red. At the north end of the valley the Face run was created for the women's downhill race in the 1992 Olympics; served by a fast quad, it's a splendid cruise when freshly groomed (with great views over the village). Nothing on the Saulire side is as steep as on the other side of the valley. The Mauduit red run is quite challenging, though - it used to be classified black. Throughout the area there are good off-piste opportunities - read our feature panel above, and the other Trois Vallées resort chapters. For intermediates Paradise found Méribel and the rest of the Trois Vallées form something close to paradise for intermediate skiers and riders; there are few other resorts where a keen piste-basher can cover so many miles so easily and with such satisfaction. Virtually every slope in the region has a good intermediate run down it, and to describe them all would take a book in itself. For less adventurous intermediates, the Sittelle blue run from the top of the new Plattières gondola back down towards Mottaret is an ideal cruise - gentle and generally in good condition because of its north-facing aspect. But in the past, the last part (Martre) could get tricky, bumpy and very crowded later in the day; we are promised that this will be remodelled and made a lot easier for 2012/13. The red run into Mottaret on the other side of the valley gets dangerously icy and crowded; something should be done about this too. Even early intermediates should find the runs over into the other valleys well within their capabilities, opening up further vast amounts of intermediate terrain. In Courchevel or Val Thorens you also get the bonus of better snow. Virtually all the pistes on both sides of the Méribel valley will suit more advanced intermediates. Few of the reds are easy. For beginners Strengths and weaknesses Méribel continues to improve its appeal to beginners. At the core of this appeal is an excellent long green slope - gentle, wide, tree-lined - at Altiport (where one of the editors of this book learned to ski, [cough] years ago). This is a lift or bus-ride above the resort, which is not ideal. But the slope is served by a free draglift (and by a fast chair going higher which is not free). And there are green runs from the top and bottom of the drag back to Rond-Point, at the top of the village, where there is another free drag (beginners should take a lift or bus down from there as the blue run lower down is not easy). And now a green run goes from the mid-station of the Saulire gondola so that novices are able to ski from that point. The Mini lift pass gives access to a limited number of gentler slopes. There is a small nursery slope at Rond-Point which is mainly used by the children's ski school. At Mottaret, facilities are less impressive. There is an enclosed beginner area beside the village with a magic carpet; you can graduate from there to an almost flat green along the valley to the main Méribel lifts (though there may be speeding skiers racing past you). For boarders Loved by Brits Méribel is a favourite for British snowboarders. The terrain is good and varied, with a worthwhile number of tree runs. Mont du Vallon has some very good steep freeriding that stays relatively untracked. There are lots of red runs here for intermediates and gentle blues and greens for beginners. Most lifts are chairs or gondolas, but beware of flat sections on the main routes to and from Val Thorens - and avoid the Ours blue run down to Mottaret from Mont du Vallon, which is very hard work. Specialist shops include Avalon Rider (which is in central Méribel). For cross-country Scenic routes There are about 33km in the Méribel valley. The main area is in the forest near Altiport and great for trying cross-country for the first time. There's also a loop around Lake Tueda, in the nature reserve at Mottaret, and for the more experienced an itinéraire from Altiport to Courchevel. Where to Ski and Snowboard 2013 This guide is taken from Where to Ski and Snowboard, written by Dave Watts and Chris Gill. Click here to buy a discounted copy of the book