The Haute Maurienne region is a pleasure palace of gourmet ski resorts and the last we visited was Valfréjus. An easy drive off the motorway from Modane (or by bus if taking the train, which on this occasion we didn’t due to constraints), Valfréjus is a purpose-built ski village with a host of lodging options, several stellar bars, and loads of restaurants. Arriving on a very snowy day in early March, and with a favourable forecast for the following day, anticipation was extremely high.
The highest lifted point, Punta Bagna (2,737m), provides some potential wonderful freeride skiing & boarding, but on this visit the wind had played havoc up high and the snow in the many chutes & bowls on the north side of the peak were adversely impacted and tough going. Skiable, but not the greatest turns ever. The sunny south side of the peak had soft, deep turns but they are short by comparison.
The Jeu (‘game’ in English) valley trail is a delightful 10km trundle with fine views up high, and interesting forest & buildings down lower. However it does have a few ‘push’ points, particularly for snowboarders. We explored a few interesting off-piste ‘shortcuts’ of Jeu below Pas de Roc that allowed for some wonderful powder turns in open glades & powder fields, and then tighter gullies & forest. Whilst the exits back onto Jeu were a tad willing at times, the exploration was highly enjoyable and made our day at the resort.
We suspect there to be a whole lot of easy access sidecountry terrain at the resort, especially with short climbs from the top lift up to Punta Frejus & further on to the 3.129m Cime du Grand Vallon. It’s that kind of exploration from the lifts that would make a longer stay at Valfrejus worthwhile for experienced skiers & snowboarders. That and that the other Haute Maurienne ski hills are nearby.
The upper mountain ski lifts at Valfréjus are all modern and serve the terrain well enough, however if the upper lift to Punta Bagna is on wind-hold (which it was on the day arrived), the ski area is quite limited in scope. Many of the ski runs appear to simply snow-covered summer roads. The real pistes are fun & fast but lack the diversity of other resorts. Advanced trails are limited with Souches (ungroomed, bumped & cruddy) heading into the village being the most challenging by far.
Public transport to the region is excellent. Modane has a railway station served by TGV high speed trains on the Paris-Lyon-Turin-Milan line, making the train the recommended mode of travel to the region. A major bus terminal is next to the station. Regular buses head to all five Haute Maurienne ski areas, including to the Station de Valfréjus village on the M9 line.
The Valfrejus village is pedestrian friendly and compact by design. Most accommodation is ski-in or very close to it. We stayed at short notice at the fantastic SOWELL Family Valfrejus. The meal & beverage inclusions at the SOWELL are a sight to behold & ingest. You can include all meals in your tariff or just overindulge in breakfast and only drink beer for the rest of the day!
And on the subject of beer, the resort has more sensational bars than could possibly expect. The two best bars are the Morricone and Rock n’ Beer. Both are near the Charmasson chairlift base and serve the most fabulous selection of beers. The Morricone serves up decent pub food too. The resident hound enjoys a few morsels under the table too! In the main village centre, the Celtic Pub has a good atmosphere & booze selection.
The resort looks to be an excellent place to learn to parasail on skis too. Loads of people were testing their skills below the summit. The long shallow run out of the bottom of the bowl allowing for gentle landings even when totally out of control.
On the negative side of the ledger, if the off-piste was cruddy & unskiable, Valfrejus felt like there wasn’t enough challenge on the piste for an extended stay by good skiers. On-mountain restaurants were limited and surprisingly poor when compared to what was on offer in the village, but maybe that’s the point.
Valfrejus is one of those beautiful, affordable ski areas that provide wonderful skiing, eating & drinking without breaking the bank of being over-run by a horde of humans. Whilst there may not be enough here for experienced riders on an extended stay, it is definitely one of our favourite small ski resorts in the Alps …… but then again, so are all of the Haute Maurienne resorts.
See our thoughts on the pros & cons of the resort on the Valfréjus Ski Resort Overview page.