Ski Schools Val Thorens (21 offers)

Learn to ski in Val Thorens

Located at an altitude of 2300m and part of the Vanoise massif, Val Thorens is a French ski resort situated in the Savoie department. The Val Thorens valley encompasses three separate villages, Les Menuires, Val Thorens and Saint Martin De Belleville, and forms a natural cirque surrounded by 6 glaciers, including the Péclet glacier, the Chavière glacier, and the Bouchet glacier. Topped by the Pointe du Bouchet, the Bouchet glacier has an altitude of 3230m, making it the highest skiing area in Europe.

Together with the neighbouring valleys of Méribel and Courchevel, Val Thorens forms the largest ski area in the world - Les 3 Vallées - with a total of 600km of pistes. The driving time to Val Thorens is around 1hr 45mins from Chambéry, 2,5hrs from Lyon and 2hrs 45mins from Geneva. The nearest Eurostar station is Moutiers, with a c.a. 50mins bus transfer to the resort.

Ski lessons for beginners in Val Thorens

Val Thorens has 140km of pistes with 11 green and 29 blue runs, so it is ideal for beginners. Ski novices do not generally need a ski pass, as the lifts in the beginners areas are free. The ski schools in Val Thorens arrange their kids lessons according to age and ability, ski lessons for adults being arranged according to ability and interests.

Within Val Thorens village, the beginner zone is found between the Cascades, Roc and 2 Lac lifts, which also has 4 free magic carpets. In Les Menuires, the beginner area is around the Doron lift area. There is a further very gentle piste with a free lift near the Prayerand gondola and two small beginner zones within St Martin de Belleville.

The ski schools in Val Thorens teach their first-time skiers the basics of gliding and snowplough before advancing to some of the gentle green slopes within the resort. Ski novices who can control their speed and manage turns well head for the Deux Lacs chairlift or to the Deux Combes at the top of the Cascades chairlift, both of which access some ideal and easy green and blue practice runs. Other easy blues recommended by ski schools in Val Thorens are the Blanchot, Gentiane, Linotte, Moraine and Plein Sud runs.

Kids’ ski lessons in Val Thorens

Children can learn to ski from the age of 3, lessons generally lasting for 2hrs. In all ski schools in Val Thorens, the children are placed in groups that correspond to their age and level. Complete beginners learn gliding and the snowplough on very flat nursery slopes. More experienced kids will follow their instructor directly to the beginner zones before advancing onto gentle greens and blues.

Ski schools in Val Thorens take their advanced beginners to the Pionniers and Plein Sud chairlifts, to access some of the lovely, long blue runs that meander back down to resort. Young intermediate skiers get to enjoy some of the 53 km of red slopes within the resort, such as the long and rolling Mauriennaise run in the Orelle sector.

Ski lesson prices in Val Thorens

Ski schools in Val Thorens offer group and private ski and snowboard lessons. Some kids’ ski lessons have a lunch and/or ski hire option. The prices quoted are the lowest price per lesson within the season and do not include equipment or extras:

	Kids ski lessons	Adults ski lessons	Snowboard lessons
Group	from 29€/2hrs	from 29 €/2hrs	from 29 €/2hrs
Private	from 53€/hr	from 53€/hr	from 53€/hr

The best ski schools in Val Thorens

Prosneige Val Thorens & Les Menuires:

In this school founded in 1996, under the management of Claire Jurine, a motivated and international team offers lessons in English, French, Italian & Dutch.

Meeting point Val Thorens: Chalet "Les Planches", at the bottom of the "Village Montana" residence.

Meeting point La Croisette - Les Menuires: At the ski school office, La Croisette.

CheckYeti customers reviews: beginner friendly, experienced, kids friendly

Ski Cool Val Thorens

This ski and snowboard school was founded in 1981 and is one of the oldest ski schools in Val Thorens. Lessons have a maximum of 5 participants and are held in English and French.

Meeting point: At the Musaraigne beginners' slopes, next to the résidence Montana.

CheckYeti customers reviews: Experienced, beginner friendly, patient

ESF Val Thorens

Offering ski lessons from age 3yrs and snowboard lessons from age 7yrs, the ESF Val Thorens Team offers tuition in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch & Russian.

Meeting point kids: At Le Montana kindergarten in Val Thorens.

Meeting point older beginners: By the Pionniers chairlift.

Meeting point advanced skiers: By the Lac Blanc chairlift.

Val Thorens ski pass

There are three different ski passes available for the Val Thorens area: The ski pass for the Val Thorens & Orelle area covers the resort only. The Belleville Valley Pass covers the local area and the 3 Valleys Pass covers Val Thorens-Orelle, Les Menuires-St Martin de Belleville, Méribel, La Tania, Brides les Bains and Courchevel. Passes can be bought online or at the resort and prices vary according to the length of stay, the age of the skier and whether for high or low season.

Complete beginners will generally not need a ski pass, as the lifts within the beginner areas are free. Beginners’ ski passes (3hrs minimum) are available for those who have learnt the basics and have progressed onto gentle slopes. Children under 5yrs ski for free but they still require a hands-free access pass for the lifts, which can be picked up at one of the ski pass offices.

Ski schools in Val Thorens will be happy to advise you regarding the ideal pass for your ability and stay.

Ski hire in Val Thorens

Some ski schools in Val Thorens offer lesson packages which include optional ski hire. For skiers who prefer or need to hire their skiing equipment, Val Thorens has 18 ski hire centres in total.

English ski lessons in Val Thorens

All ski schools in Val Thorens offer ski lessons in English, which means that skiers of all ages will fully understand the help and directions from their ski instructor.

What makes learning to ski in Val Thorens so special

Alongside the many skiing and snowboarding possibilities within Val Thorens, there are plenty of other specials for those looking to try something different: ice driving and ice diving, to name a couple. If these are too tame, Val Thorens also offers ice karting on a 300m ice runs circuit, fat bike mountain biking at the foot of the Péclet glacier and dog-sled rides for all the family.

Val Thorens also offers handiski lessons with sit skis, bi-skis or uniskis, which means that snow fans with mobility restrictions can also have fun on the pistes.