Serre Chevalier 1350
Chantemerle
By Ray "Ray of the Mountain" Stroud
Chantemerle at 1350m offers a great selection of shops, hotels, apartments, bars and restaurants. We recommend Hotel Plein Sud, Chalet 52 chalet apartments as well as Bar Le Lodge and The Extreme Bar for apres-ski entertainment.
The skiing above Chantemerle is mainly split into two areas. The first, Serre Ratier, is served by a cablecar, fast chairlift and a telecabine. There are four restaurants at the top of the lifts, all providing good mountain food, Café Soleil is popular with people on a budget and below this The Troll provides table service and a good value family meal. The nursery slopes for Chantemerle are located here. A short excursion on a path through the trees cuts onto The Aravet (green) for a good “end of the day” run back to Villeneuve and apres ski in Le Frog or Chazelay. Alternatively the spectacular Olympic Luc Alphand piste (black) provides a good run back down to Chantemerle. A green piste (Briance) zig-zags this black run and provides an easier alternative (or perhaps escape route) back down into Chantemerle.
From Serre Ratier, above Chantemerle one four-man or a new express six-man chairlift give access to Grande Alpe, the ski area at the top of the mountain (2491m) that gives its name, Serre Chevalier, to the whole valley. This area is a large snow bowl with several reds, blues and a black face run. At the base of the bowl sits the Grand Alpe restaurant providing anything from a hot dog to a full meal (self service). The Grand Alpe also offers a large sun terrace with deck chairs... a perfect area for good beginners, intermediates and experts alike.
Try the red runs, Petite Alpe and Bois des Coqs which any local will tell you are usually quieter and with perfectly groomed snow! Both can be reached by taking one of the Bois des Coqs draglifts that start close to the Prorel fast chairlift.
Access to the top is by a new six man express chairlift, Grand Serre, or the second half of the cable car from Chantemerle. Once at the top the whole bowl is skiable including most of the Bois des Coqs. It is possible to ski back to Serre Ratier by the Les Trois Croix green run, the Vallon blue run, Vallons, or the Bois des Coqs red run. All three join near the Prorel chairlift which not only links to Briancon but also to two further red runs and a blue run!
Les Myrtilles (blue) and Les Saludes (red) are both great runs back to Serre Ratier, finishing at the bottom of the Prorel chair. Three quarters of the way down Saludes is the start of another red piste, Les Eduits, another long, wide, enjoyable ski through Larch trees, also another link back to Chantmerle, cutting onto the Celvin (a gentle green) that starts at the base of the Prorel chair and then part of the Briance (green) or the bottom of the Luc Alphand black.
In conclusion Chantemerle provides good skiing for all abilities and is well linked to Briancon (Prorel chair) and to the skiing above Villeneuve by turning North (right) either from Les Combes or the Oree du Bois chairlifts.
