FRANCE'S THREE VALLEYS A PEAK EXPERIENCE FOR SKIERS.

Byline: Harry M. Gould Jr. Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

We probably should have skied back to our hotel here in Meribel. Instead, we went to Courchevel for dessert.

It didn't seem to matter that it was already past 2:30 p.m., or that some lifts might soon be closing, or that we'd been schussing all day over terrain roughly the size of Liechtenstein on legs gone rubbery from exhaustion, or that the sheer size of this mega-resort known by the French as Les Trois Vallees (the Three Valleys) had already exposed my flawed navigation skills.

Obviously, we'd forgotten that the area's 64,500 acres of skiable terrain, 200 interconnected chairlifts and 375 miles of marked Alpine pistes had moved even Sports Illustrated magazine to pronounce the Three Valleys "the largest ski area on Earth."

(The valleys are loosely referred to as Meribel, Courchevel and Val-Thorens, but it can get confusing because each contains resort villages with those names.)

All day long, high winds and swirling powder had kept most of the Meribel-to-Courchevel lifts shut down. When word reached us that the lifts had reopened, we jumped at the opportunity to ski to Courchevel - miles away in the next valley.

To get there, eat dessert and return to Meribel before the lifts closed, we would have to cover a lot of territory in a limited time. We decided to risk it.

It was a persistent craving for something sweet that compelled me and my companion, Pam Bigelow, to make one final grand excursion across miles of spectacularly beautiful Alpine terrain. We would top off our day with a sumptuous dessert at a certain rustic restaurant that a friend had recommended for having "the most expensive desserts in all of Courchevel, but worth every franc." Then we would return to the big Saulire cable car for the return trip to our home base in cozy Meribel.

We would have to hurry. From our late-afternoon starting point at the far side of Meribel - the big "middle" valley - the journey would require several lifts and gondola connections to get to the 8,983-foot-high Saulire ridge station. From Saulire's cloud-shrouded rooftop we would begin our descent into Courchevel valley over trails christened with the previous night's snowfall.

Into the fading light we plunged off the Combe de la Viselle as it looped and twisted past ghostly glacial massifs and misty canyons.

Finally, as the hotels and chalets of Courchevel 1850 (so named because the altitude in meters is 1850) loomed into view, we spotted the redoubtable Chalet de Pierres - reputed home of the richest chocolate mousse on Earth. But would the restaurant still be open?

Would we make it back before the Saulire cable car clattered up the ridge for the last sortie of the day? And, if not, could we pay for the dessert and still cobble together the $70 we'd need for the cab ride back to Meribel?

Like a modern and efficient little city, Meribel lives up to the promotional literature's description as "the heart of the Three Valleys." Its narrow hilly streets are dotted with those pitched-roof chalet-style lodging facilities hewn from cozy pine. It boasts 29 hotels, 90 shops and restaurants, a French-language movie theater, a tourist center, several currency exchanges, a British-owned pub and dance hall and even a nifty supermarket.

From Meribel, you have the best possible access to the other main ski areas - the Burgin-Saulire gondola goes directly to the Courchevel ridge top and the Tougnete gondola will launch you on your way to Val-Thorens and Les Menuires. In all, 16 gondolas and 16 chairlifts serve the area.

Intermediate skiers are sure to fall in love with Meribel's wide-open vistas. As you begin your descent from Saulire, try the Sangleir and Epervier pistes, each a speed-cruiser's dream come true.

But if you really want to run with the wind, you might choose Val-Thorens as your base. This vast treeless "third" valley is ringed by five sun-drenched glaciers, the largest of which is the visually overwhelming 11,684-foot Aiguille de Peclet glacial massif. Generally south of Meribel, Val-Thorens is 11,000 acres of windswept snow-laden prairies crisscrossed by 32 lifts and 50 wide-open trails that barrel down from the dizzying 10,483-foot Cime de Caron tram station and take you to the towns of Val-Thorens and Les Menuires or to the village of Saint-Martin de Belleville.

Finally, there is Courchevel - a resort complex composed of five separate villages distinguishable by their elevations. Hence you have Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1850, Courchevel-LaPraz 1300 and La Tania 1350. Much of Europe's glitterati tend to flock to Courchevel 1850 to savor the comforts offered by dozens of ritzy hotels, discos and pricey restaurants.

If Courchevel's 85 runs, nine gondolas, 15 chairlifts and miles of challenging terrain fail to maintain your interest, you can wander over to the tres chic Jardin Alpin section and drop a few francs on something outrageously expensive. Or hang out at Madame Raymonde Fenestraz's tony Hotel des Airelles, where you just might catch a glimpse of Prince Albert of Monaco or Princess Anne of England.

At last, we had arrived. But the maitre'd at the Chalet de Pierres had begun clearing the buffet table of dozens of plates filled with chocolate mousse, fruit tarts, creme brulees and cherry cheesecakes.

We'd blown it! We were too late.

"Could you wrap it up in a bag, s'il vous plait?" I pleaded with the maitre d'. "We'll take it home with us."

With only minutes to spare before the Saulire tram would finally fall silent, we left the Chalet de Pierres with our desserts lovingly encased in a bag that was now tucked into the upper region of my one-piece ski suit.

Many hours later, we sat before a roaring fire in the lounge of Meribel's Hotel L'Eterlou and unwrapped the desserts.

They were worth every mile traveled. C'est magnifique!

On location

For information on lodgings and skiing in Les Trois Vallees region, contact the French Government Tourist Office, 444 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; call [phone].

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Photo (Color) A family pauses for luncheon a mountain in the Courchevel section of the Three Valleys. Bert Fox/Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service Box On location (See text)