Nightlife Previews and reviews in Meribel

Waving goodbye to the week that was, tomorrow kicks off the second official week of the season as we welcome our new holidaymakers in resort. Sadly, with no snow in sight for week two, we mountain goats will continue to perform nightly rituals for the snow gods in hope of some of that sweet, sweet pow.

I haven't done as much 'research' for this report over the last week and I am sorry. I work as a chalet host, and how much I go out during a week correlates directly with how generous my guests were in the tip department the previous week. Unfortunately last week my group of 10 drunken blokes celebrating a week long stag party were too hungover on transfer day to remember to leave a tip. Despite the fact that they made twice the amount of mess of a normal guest and that I actually spent the week cutting one particular guests food into bite sized chunks and doing up his coat and shoe laces like a small child (he had dislocated his shoulder).

I love Meribel. It’s my third season here and I am often asked why I don’t try out another resort or go to a different country for a season. The answer is simple; there is nothing I dislike about this place. I have been to plenty of other resorts and explored the 3 Valleys thoroughly and Meribel, the heart of the 3 valleys, is the resort for me. Courcheval has too much fur, Val Thorens doesn’t have enough trees, Val d’Isere is too expensive and Tignes looks like the business park that I used to do temp work in.

Another great week of après, live music and events has passed, as the temperatures stay cool around Meribel in hope for some more January snowfall. Waving goodbye to the week that was, we enter week seven of the season and celebrate our last week of the month as February fast approaches. Here’s another run down of all that will keep you busy this week in Meribel outside your time on the slopes.

A much belated Happy Valentine’s Day. I am so late with this post partly due to having to spend the last week sifting through the endless cards, letters and chocolates I received on the 14th February.

This week, DJ Yoda proved a point; the force is certainly with him. A questionably packed out Dick’s Tea Bar was treated to a stellar set from London’s DJ Yoda aka Duncan Beiny. It was as good a night as any this season in Dick's and it was clear Yoda felt at home having played here many times before. A personal highlight of the evening was his incredible Jedi trick at the beginning of the set. After his intro he went into some heavy scratching. The sheer speed and precision with which Yoda manipulated his decks was such a sight that it caused the whole of Dick’s Tea Bar to stop and stare at the spectacle before them.

It’s an exciting week in Meribel and as well as skiing there is a smorgasbord of fun activities for the whole family both on and off the slopes.

Last Wednesday, myself and eight brave friends aged from early twenties up to late fifties put our lives in the hands of a young ESF instructor named Thomas as he led us down the mountain in a way that none of us had ever experienced before… Introducing the Snake Gliss.

Meribel and the 3 Valleys are open! WOOHOO! Over the coming weeks more and more lifts and slopes will begin to open, but that’s not all that is starting to open. We will also see the doors open on many of the amazing watering holes all over resort and those that are already open have plenty of exciting events to keep you entertained over the coming weeks.

As you sit there, stuffing your face with sandwiches filled with what is left of the Christmas turkey and trimmings, spare a thought for the lift operators and the pisteurs who have been hard at work over the festive period running the lifts and carving, pushing, scraping and shaping the resort into the ultimate playground for all you lucky snow lovers to enjoy.

Looking around, you may have noticed some changes in Meribel. Nights have become colder, people are searching for those extra thermal layers and drinking more vin chaud than normal, and there’s a tonne of fluffy white stuff on the ground…