Skiing in La Plagne
La Plagne has been linked with the Les Arcs ski area since the 2003/4 Season, resulting in a massive ski area (Paradiski) large enough to rival The 3 Valleys and Espace Killy. The full area offers 240 pistes and over 425km of skiing. Thus, in theory, with a 6 day lift pass, it is possible to ski 40 different runs each day without doing the same one twice! However, it's not just the number of pistes, but the quality of the snow that is more reliable, as 70% of the slopes are above 2000m.
Never skied La Plagne? Not sure how it will measure up? Well, La Plagne is officially the world's most popular ski resort, with more skiers choosing to go there than any other ski resort in the world, and that is no co-incidence. Please see the following Daily Telegraph article on the Swiss International Report on the Ski Industry.
| Paradiski Area | |
|---|---|
| Resort height: | 1250m-3250m |
| Km of piste: | 425km |
| Green pistes: | 12 |
| Blue pistes: | 132 |
| Red pistes: | 65 |
| Black pistes: | 29 |
Belle Plagne is ideally suited to take advantage of this extensive area - being only 2 lifts away from the impressive Vanoise Express telecabine - 200 skiers and boarders on a double decker telecabine. We don't know of a bigger, faster or smoother one. 4 minutes to cover the 2km across the valley. That's 30km/hr average - including starting and stopping! New, fast lifts have been put in to make the return back to Belle Plagne as effortless as possible. A trip over to Les Arcs for the day (Discovery Pass) costs only about €25 extra on your weekly lift pass. It is well worth it, if only to experience this amazing telecabine.
Further info on the La Plagne Area is below:
La Plagne is one of the most popular destinations for skiers and snowboarders travelling from the UK.
The resort excels for the intermediate skier or boarder. The piste network has extensive blue and red runs connecting it, so there are no 'beyond-ability' sections on the lift map for the majority of skiers and snowboarders. Thus, this allows access to the top of the glacier at one end of the resort, to the many tree-lined runs at the other; picking up any of the 11 villages that make up the area in between.
This does not mean advanced skiers and snowboarders are neglected. 'Fall-line Skiing', the free-skiers magazine, refers to La Plagne as having '…some scary off-piste'. There are seventeen blacks to test you - and when the fresh snow falls, the tracks under lifts, between runs, and from the glacier are evidence of many routes away from the pistes that can be sampled.
Off-piste, a guide is recommended; especially to take advantage of the routes off the north face of the glacier (3250m) - dropping 2km vertical (that is worth repeating - 2km vertical!) into Nancroix (1200m) making for one of the truly classic Alpine descents. Also don't miss the opportunity to tackle some of the many tree-lined opportunities the area offers.
And for those Tricksters amongst you, the Half-pipe, Snow Park and Boarder Cross are only 1 lift away from your accommodation in Belle Plagne.
For beginners there are some free lifts and nursery areas on which you can practice.
As evidence of the resort's commitment to continually improving access to visitors, the lift system is constantly being upgraded, with new, fast (mainly 6-pax or 8-pax) express chairs being added each season.
Click on the pic below to take a fast-paced whirlwind tour of some of the local spots in La Plagne with La Plagne's own Kevin Rolland (Half-Pipe World Champ, 3x X-Games Gold, Olympic medallist) and a few of pals as they play a game of cat-and-mouse:
