A handier, brighter new bottom station for the Olympe gondola (Brides-les-Bains), new high-performance and more comfortable cabins for the Rhodos gondola, new services and a fresh design for the “Lounge de Chaudanne” packed-lunch room at the Saulire Express gondola, a new area for the Wednesday First Track… Let’s go through all the new features of the Méribel ski area as the 2025/2026 season gets underway!
Olympe gondola (Brides-les-Bains): a handier, more accessible (and prettier!) new bottom station
Great news for skiers who usually reach the Méribel pistes (and the 3 Vallées) from Brides-les-Bains: the bottom station of the Olympe gondola has been completely refurbished. A major project started in spring 2025 that wins us over for more than one reason:
The building is very bright thanks to its large bay windows, and it blends in particularly nicely with the surroundings;
Pedestrian and reduced-mobility access is now much easier and smoother thanks to the escalators and lift (a real blessing when you’re wearing ski boots);
No time wasted when buying your pass, especially when you know exactly what you want: you can use the self-service kiosks on your own while the welcome hosts and hostesses advise undecided guests in the new indoor sales area;
There are even automated ski lockers!
Rhodos gondola: nearly 40-year-old cabins replaced with the latest-generation cabins
After 36 years of loyal service, the Rhodos gondola cabins took a well-earned retirement at the end of the 2024/2025 winter. From now on, you’ll travel aboard latest-generation “Poma Diamond 8” cabins — more durable, higher-performing and more comfortable — to reach the “Rond-Point” and “Altiport” sectors, especially loved by beginners, families and ski schools.
The bottom and mid stations were also refurbished in the process (you’ll have to wait until 2026 for the top station refurbishment, but it’s already on the cards).
Saulire Express gondola: a full refurbishment of the packed-lunch room at the bottom station (the Lounge de Chaudanne, to those in the know)
Skiers in a hurry know the Lounge de la Chaudanne well — a packed-lunch room opened in 2014 at the foot of the Saulire Express gondola, where you can grab a quick sandwich in the warm before heading back to the slopes.
From this 2025/2026 winter onwards, the packed-lunch room is being given a fresh look: a welcome makeover for even more comfortable and cosy lunch breaks. You can even now charge your phone safely and free of charge — handy on really cold days, when the battery starts playing up…
On the services front, the essentials have of course been kept, including free Wi-Fi; and two small additions have been made: a drinks machine and a snacks machine. The question is who’ll use them to speed things up (no need to make your sandwich in the morning, big time saved!) or slow things down (fancy a quick coffee?).
Bonus: a new area for the Wednesday First Track, which moves to the Tougnète side (access via the Legends and Olympic chairlifts)
Cet hiver 2025/2026, the meet-up for the Wednesday First Track (Première Trace in French) is at the foot of the Legends chairlift.
What’s not changing: an early wake-up, exclusive access to the ski area before the lifts open to the public (Roc de Fer blue run and Gélinotte blue run), freshly groomed pistes lit by the golden light of the rising sun, a privileged moment with the resort’s ski patrollers, and a delicious breakfast with your fellow first-trackers of the day.
Ce qui change : le secteur (c’est dans le titre !). Goodbye Saulire, hello Roc de Fer. This prestigious area, host of the 1992 Olympic Games, the 2015 and 2022 World Cup Finals as well as the 2023 World Championships, promises uplifting mornings – or rather mornings that make you want to lay down your finest carved turns to honour the skiers who made history on these slopes.
On se donne rendez-vous le 6 December 2025 pour l’ouverture des pistes de Méribel!
