La Plagne Lift System - Winter

The winter season 2009/2010 is due to open in La Plagne on 12th December 2009 and close on 25th April 2010. The links to the remainder of the Paradiski area should be open from 19th December until the end of season, snow conditions permitting. 

Below is our speedy overview of what the current lift status is in the valley, very handy if you wake up undecided about where to head for the day! The list summary is probably most useful if you already know the valley and the lift names. If you don't, you may also find the piste & lift map handy if you are less familiar with the area.

These maps are useful for printing off and taking up the mountain, allowing you to see how the resort is laid out and which lifts and pistes lead where - indispensable for organising where to stop for lunch! Alternatively paper copies can be found in resort at the Tourist Office, lift pass offices, hotel receptions, etc...

The Vanoise Express is the “one of a kind” cable car that links the ski areas of La Plagne and La Plagne. Opened in 2003, the lift can carry 2000 people per hour in its 2 huge double decker cable cars. Travelling at a speed of 12.5 km/h, it only takes 4 minutes to span the 2kms between Plan Peisey (1612m) and Les Coches 1548m) and when it first opened, it was the biggest, longest and fastest cable car in the world!*

The final design of the lift was created from a set of demanding specifications that aimed to maximise capacity whilst causing the least impact on the surrounding environment. The designers, POMA, and the investors, SELALP (Societe d’Exploitation de la liaison Les Arcs La Plagne), opted for a link with no interim towers; stretching in a single span from one station to the other and therefore minimising the areas that required development. By using double decker cabins, their volume is significantly reduced which consequently limits their impact on the natural surroundings. The aesthetics of the lift stations was also taken into consideration by POMA, and their resulting streamlined shape and larch cladded exteriors blends in well with the local surroundings.

Each car can hold a maximum of 200 people (over two levels) and they run independently of each other on two separate cables. This means that in the event of a technical hitch on one side, service can continue as normal on the other. The aerodynamic shape of the cabins and their dual-cable technology also ensures that they have good wind stability for a more comfortable journey. Customer surveys conducted at the end of its first winter revealed that, of the 400000 skiers that had used the lift, over 95% of them were delighted with the service provided, comfort and above all the views of the new installation.

In the summer, hikers, bikers and sightseers still flock to use the cable car; if only to enjoy the spectacular views of the surrounding peaks or down into the Ponthurin valley, 380m below.

Costing €15 million, the Vanoise Express is the largest aerial lift of its kind ever built.

* The record breaking Vanoise Express has since been beaten by the “3S” gondola that connects Kitzbühel/Pengelstein and Jochberg/Resterhöhe in Austria, when it opened a year later for winter 2004/2005. This lift has a span of about 2,500m between towers and crosses up to 400m above the Saukasergraben valley. However, the Canadian resort of Whistler is opening a new gondola in December 2008, linking Whistler and Blackcombe mountains that will surpass both in terms of distance between towers (3.024km) and height above the valley floor (415m). Trust the North Americans to be the biggest!

Vanoise Express – The Stats

• Opened: December 2003
• Cost: €15 million
• Designed by: POMA
• Links: Plan Peisey (1612m) in La Plagne to Les Coches (1548m) in La Plagne
• Distance: 1830m
• Height: 380m above the valley floor
• Cabins: 2 double decker cable cars holding 200 people each
• Capacity: 2000 people per hour
• Speed: 12.5 km/h
• Journey time: 4 minutes