Skiing In Nendaz Gets The Best From The 4 Valleys System

Michael Cranmer goes skiing in Nendaz And Checks Out The World’s Highest Zipline, Rides Above A Thousand-Year-Old Tree, And Tries Rando’ Miam. Read On…

Nendaz is a ski resort in the 4 Valleys network of Switzerland little-known to Brits. Why? Because it lives in the shadow of its neighbour the glitzy, ritzy, snobsy Verbier, always in the news for perhaps the wrong reasons…a lifestyle magnet for likes of Sir Richard Branson, the Grand Old Duke of York, his bro Harry, and Posh and Becks. Meanwhile, across the hill, Nendaz gets on with life without the fragile veneer of celebrity; ordinary lives, ordinary tourists, but sharing common mountains and ski slopes with its brash neighbours.

Absolutely Topping.

The village of Nendaz sits at 1,400 metres on the sunny side of the Rhône valley. The centre – typically Swiss ‘60s design – has the usual allocation of shops, restaurants, bus stop, and lift station with more traditional chalets and apartments radiating from there. A gondola takes you to 2,200 metres, and thence, via four other quick lifts to the Col des Gentianes at 2,894 metres, in about forty minutes.

However, the cherry-on-the-top, the jewel-in-the crown, the king (or queen)-of-the-castle, is a bit higher: Mont Fort, 3,300 metres above. There are several reasons to venture up here. The view – stunning, with Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn in sight; freeride, if crazy is your thing –the World Champs are held here; steep and very deep – the 40º black run is a proper black; and the zip line, billed as the ‘world’s highest’. Should you accept this daft challenge you are clipped into a seat harness and launched into the void reaching, conditions permitting, 100 kph. Be warned, it is cold up there and if there’s any wind, which there usually is, it’s sub-Arctic.

The Long and Winding Red.

There’s a long winding red from the Col des Gentianes which strays into those posh next-door-neighbours’ sector, via La Chaux or Fontanet, thence rather circuitously it must be said, back to Nendaz-land at Tortin. Alternatively ride the cable car down to the same place. After all that highfalutin stuff it is time for lunch at the Restaurant Le Hameau de Tortin set in the sheltered head of a valley with a choice of fine dining or self-service. Guess which I chose? Yes, the former; a light lunch of oysters, a spaghetti main, with a glass – just one – of Fendant, the local Valaisan white.

Joy Division.

The run down, a wide gentle blue, is a perfect postprandial joy, hugging the soft shoulders of a valley, nowhere better for notching up confidence for nervous intermediates, excited children, or contented codgers happy with life. In fact, it was such fun I did it twice. The end point at Siviez is less of a joy, more a practical conglomeration of apartment blocks, car park, sports shops, bakery, and a bar where I had a small beer killing time waiting for the bus back to Nendaz.

Royalty Spotting.

Next day I explored the large area I had missed the day before in my eagerness to head high – and discovered in passing a wonder unremarked by most skiers as they sit on the Prarion chair lift but, known to locals. You ascend above Balavaux, a wooded summer pasture dotted with ancient larch trees; one amongst them is a thousand years old; and, yes, I spot it there below, encircled by a tumbledown fence, the ‘King of Balavaux’, his venerable girth 14.6 metres. When this tree was a sapling the Normans defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings but this King survived.

Sundowners at Le Bob.

Tracouet-Prarion, with red and blue pistes fanning out from the top of the Nendaz gondola, has safe slopes for early learners, and three restaurants for hot-chocs when energy levels drop. Families and the less adventurous would find a day playing around here fun and beneficial. For all abilities there’s an exciting and whooshy blue that trickles down through the trees, with red loops for the more confident, ending above the village.

It’s the perfect place for a sundowner, with a knockout view of the Rhône separating the Pennine from the Bernese Alps. Le Bob is the place for this; a ramshackle friendly ‘Ski Bar Bistro’, complete with an old-school skinny-skis fence and rusty corrugated-tin walls. Warm your cockles by the roaring stove before the last section down to village level.

Timid skiers can negotiate this steepish end-of-run with a good old-fashioned snow-plough (or pizza as it’s now called). Compared to the neighbours, where champagne is northwards of 1,250 CHF a bottle in some posh joints, après ski in Nendaz village is limited, from the makeshift Edelweiss to the soulless bar of the new budget Mad Mount Hotel, right by the lift.

Anyone for Rando’Miam?

Skiing in Nendaz shares the same 4 Valleys network as Verbs without the inflated attitudes and prices. Not a Porche, Maserati, or Ferrari in sight but a free ski bus circling Nendaz and Siviez. For those wanting a leg stretch or an afternoon off skiing, Rando’ Miam (translates as ‘an unexpected yum’) is a marked itinerary combining walking and discovering local culinary specialties along an easy 7.7 kilometres trail highlighted by three gourmet stops.

Aperitif and starter at the Restaurant La Tétine where I chose pumpkin soup (yummy=Miammy?); main course at the Restaurant Le Hameau de Tortin; finished with dessert and coffee at the Bar le Tipi. Jolly nice.

Rest in Peace.

The Hotel MAD Retreat, Nendaz, focusses on the concept of tranquillity, wellness and ‘authenticity over opulence’. On the edge of the village and set in a handful of acres of south-facing forest, it has 45 rooms crafted from wood, many of them ancient ‘mazots’ – the small rustic farmhouses once used by local winemakers.

There’s a choice of facilities, including saunas, a hammam and heated pools. MAD retreat has a full range of holistic treatments, including aromatherapy, sound therapy and a variety of massages for complete regeneration. Meditation, forest bathing, hiking and many other experiences are also included in the package. Individual sessions, curative treatments, massages and group activities concentrate on renewing the soul and rejuvenating the body. Delicious locally sourced organic food is included. Skiing in Nendaz, It’s a welcome haven from the venality of Verbier.