The Last Week & a Half of Summer in the 3 Valleys

It was a big weekend in Belleville with both the St Martin Fete and the Enduro de Belleville MTB race taking place. Unfortunately after a summer of great weather and lots of sunshine it was all very British and poured with rain, which was such a shame.

The St Martin de Belleville Fete took place on Saturday and included such delights as a woodcutting and hay bale throwing competition, a nice reminder that you are in the mountains. Usually it is a great event for whiling away the day and watching people take the zip wire from the top of the church onto the piste! The band continued to play despite the washout and the evening celebrations certainly brought out all the locals.

After this day of non-stop rain the biking trails for the Enduro de Belleville race were in a super muddy condition. This did not put competitors off who still turned out to give it their all with Valthonet local Sam Gerrett coming in sixth place which was a great effort given the wet conditions. The event involves different courses between Les Menuires and St Martin and is open to all, men and women and all abilities. It's also a good introduction for anyone wanting to give mountain bike racing a go. The finish point this year was in St Martin de Belleville next to the drag lift, rather than Les Menuires as in previous years, however the ‘pasta party’ still took place as is the norm after such events. Well done to everyone who took part.

An event that actually finds more mud is better is ‘La Frappadingue’ in Le Praz. Taking place on Sunday this race involves a 12km run with obstacle course and normally lots of fancy dress. It's a fun event that is never taken too seriously and I am sure competitors won’t be bothered by a few rain drops if the weather man sends us some more of the same this weekend.

Over in Meribel it’s all about ‘the green’ with the Golf Show taking place from Saturday to Thursday. There are competitions for both amateurs and pros, depending which category you feel your skills fall into! There are events taking place all week, who knew during the Winter there’s a golf course hiding under all that snow.

So with just a week and a half left of the summer season, there's still time to enjoy the best that Val Thorens has to offer in summer. Find all the 3 valleys lift closing dates here.