- Carlton Reid travelled to Les 3 Vallees in the French Alps and discovered it’s a paradise for hikers and cyclists
- He hared down a lofty cart track and cycled along an incredible mountainside ‘motorway for cyclists’
- READ MORE: I’m an adventure photographer and these are some of the amazing photos I’ve taken
‘You’re allowed to overtake, aren’t you?’ I remarked with an evil laugh as I skimmed past my companion on a gravity-powered mountain cart, a fat-tyre three-wheel go-cart. We were high above the resort of Les Menuires in the Les 3 Vallees ski/bike domain in the French Alps, and I was in no mood to go slow.
With gravel kicking up behind me, I dove down the mountainside, a big-kid grin on my face.
Five of us had rented these mountain-specific go-carts at £25 per person per descent. We were given almost no rules except for the instruction to wear tres chic hair nets beneath rental full-face helmets.
We’d arrived at the 2,300-metre-high (7,545ft) starting grid on a gondola, swooping over some of the 20 or so bends we’d soon be barrelling around.
The switchbacks form part of a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) downhill course, a dirt track cut from the mountainside that in winter becomes the Roc N Bob toboggan run. Mountain-cart riders negotiate berms, a few tame jumps and enjoy plenty of opportunities to cut in front of their slowpoke companions as they drop 500 metres (1,640ft) in elevation.

A cyclist on an electric mountain bike enjoying the panoramic views over to the Vanoise glaciers and Mont Blanc on the new Via 3 Vallees cycle trail, a veritable motorway for cyclists through the mountains of Les 3 Vallees

Courchevel has an astounding 20 five-star hotels — more than most world capitals — with the crème de la crème, known as ‘palace level’ hotels, spread through Courchevel 1850 (above), the highest of the four villages that comprise the multi-level resort
It’s easy to let rip on straights, with the mountain cart’s wide wheelbase and low centre of gravity inspiring confidence even on the steeps.
At times, the rock-strewn course flattened out, requiring feet-down pushes, Flintstone-style, to cross asphalt trails.
Later, we rode on this newly-asphalted trail, but in the opposite direction. Instead of pointing downhill, we were on electric mountain bikes heading uphill. We pedalled — with motor assistance — from Les Menuires to lifts above the higher ski resort of Méribel on the new Via 3 Vallées, a veritable motorway for cyclists through the mountains with panoramic views over to the Vanoise glaciers and Mont Blanc.
The 34-kilometre-long (21-mile) track goes from Courchevel to Val Thorens through both Méribel and Les Menuires, the Belleville valley part of the 3 Vallées, a playground in the summer.

The new Via 3 Vallees route goes from Courchevel to Val Thorens through both Meribel (above) and Les Menuires

Carlton enjoys a thrilling mountain-cart experience on a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) course in Les Menuires. Above is the start point

Carlton stayed in the four-star Hotel Lodj in Saint Martin De Belleville, where rooms start at £130 B&B in summer. Highlight? ‘There’s an outdoor hot tub with killer views over to the peaks,’ he says
A chairlift ride is required on one high section for now, but by 2024 the entire asphalt trail should be fully open.
There are no hikers on the Via 3 Vallées. It’s a bike-specific two-way route, with road-style painted lines separating ascending and descending cyclists.
Some cyclists on lightweight road bikes tackled the climb without batteries, but most riders were motor-assisted.
There’s a cafe bar at the Col de la Loze at 2,304m (7,559ft), but we continued to the heights above Méribel, where we caught our breath before the swooping return to Les Menuires, crossing the mountain-cart course several times.
Les 3 Vallées is a gravity-junky’s dream. You can drop on two or three wheels or throw yourself off the peaks strapped to a parapente but with waterfalls, wildflower meadows, and a wealth of walking trails, it’s also a hiker’s paradise.

Mouthwatering food – and views: Outdoor seating at Chez Pepe Nicolas restaurant outside Les Menuires

The amazing scenery at Les Menuires, which is part of the world’s largest connected ski area with 600km (372 miles) of runs

One of Carlton’s stays was at Manali Lodge in Courchevel Moriond (above – an amazing view from it)
After a fabulous lunch in the famous, family-owned Chez Pépé Nicolas we shuttled to the turquoise-coloured Lac de la Rosière, where we started a four-hour hike beside the fast-flowing Torrent de la Rosière beneath La Dent du Villard, a peak above Courchevel.
We were lucky enough to be in the region during a good spell of weather, but should it have been inclement we could have decamped to the Courchevel ice rink or the new-for-2023 Le Board sports centre in Val Thorens. This vast complex has a distinctive snowboard-shaped roof covering a spa, a water park, basketball and volleyball courts, and fitness areas.
Fun is pretty much guaranteed in Les 3 Vallées, whatever the weather.
For more from Carlton visit www.youtube.com/@cyclingnews. He can be found tweeting at twitter.com/carltonreid.
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