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La Plagne Skiing Area
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La Plagne forms part of the fabulous Paradiski area; combining all the resorts of La Plagne Les Arcs and Peisey Vallandry into one giant heavenly playground. La Plagne itself consists of 6 high altitude resorts (linked by a free public transport service), with terrain to suit everyone, and 4 village resorts with access to the entire ski area. Snow conditions permitting, La Plagne usually opens around mid- December until the end of April and the whole Paradiski area opens from around December 23rd until April 20th (ish). |
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| Leisurely Runs in La Plagne |
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La Plagne is predominantly known for its suitability for beginners. There is a wide choice of green and blue runs throughout the different sectors of the resort with 10 greens and 73 blues out of the 132 runs and 225km pistes in total. The main sector that is the best for beginners or those of you that just want to take it easy is Plagne Bellecôte. The number of blue runs running into this area outnumbers any other area and their gradient is gentle. There is also a large ‘debutant’ area with a magic carpet next to the Arpette chair lift. The Arpette lift serves 4 wide rolling blue runs that you could spend all day on improving your technique. |
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last updated 25-Mar-2008 |
| Intermediate Runs in La Plagne |
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According to The Times newspaper La Plagne has an ‘unlimited’ number of intermediate runs, but if we're being really finicky, there are infact 73 blue runs and 38 reds in La Plagne making it a paradise for intermediate skiers. The smaller villages of the ski area tend to be the best for intermediates, taking into account all of the factors for example gradient, width of the slope, general condition of the slope etc. Monchavin/Les Coches is a great area to spend the day skiing if you are at intermediate level. There are 20 lifts in total covering 40km of piste, most of which is coded blue and red. Montalbert area is of a similar size and gradient to Montchavin/Les Coches but suffers especially early on in the season when it does not get a lot of snow. The runs in Montalbert are mostly confined to the trees and are therefore narrower and at times quite steep – a good challenge for intermediates. Over in Champagny the top section is great for beginner/intermediates with a good selection of blues but on the Verdons Sud side there are many reds that are ideal for the more confident skier. |
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last updated 25-Mar-2008 |
| Advanced Runs in La Plagne |
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Even though La Plagne has a reputation for being a soft resort in terms of piste skiing there is plenty to keep an advanced skier occupied. The first place to go if conditions allow is the Glacier de la Chiaupe or the Bellecôte glacier as it is more commonly known. There are a couple of great blacks up there Le Rochu and the Bellecôte that are definitely worth trying in any snow conditions. The mogul field at the top of the Traversee chair lift can be seen from miles away the moguls are that big and the field itself is about 200m long – a real leg burner. If you like the bumps there is a piste called Ski des Bosses which means ski the moguls and is always perfect and big bumps on the Verdon Sud. The other good area for advanced skiers is just above Aime La Plagne, Le Biolley at 2350m. There are several different blacks with Les Étroits being the longest and the most challenging. There are a couple of short but steep blacks in Montchavin/Les Coches as well. There are 16 black runs in the La Plagne resort. |
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last updated 25-Mar-2008 |
| Off Piste in La Plagne |
La Plagne has a very good reputation for off piste skiing. The resort is spread over a large area, much of which is not touched by lift systems resulting in more powder! Even with its reputation of being a great place to ride powder it takes a surprisingly long time to become tracked unlike many Alpine resorts including Les Arcs. As with the intermediate pistes, the smaller villages are good places to head for fresh snow. Over in Champagny the Verdons Sud side of the Grand Rochette is a big open face that has an amazing formation. Montchavin/Les Coches has many runs through the trees and also big open bowls in between the Dos Rond and the Mont St Jacques. There is an amazing route through the trees from the Mont St Jacques all the way to the bottom of the Olympic Bobsleigh run below Plagne 1800. For beginner powder hounds there is a nice gentle off piste run that follows the blue Les Bauches down from the top of the Dos Rond.
The main area of course is the glacier. The most famous runs are on the north face of the glacier and there are many to choose from. The ‘Petit Face Nord’ is the easiest and most accessible choice as it is a pretty simple traverse from the Traversee chair lift. The ‘Couloir Canadian’ is the next step up and involves a hike. The best place to see the north face is from above Vallandry in Les Arcs where you can see the difficultly increasing just by looking from right to left. Parts are very steep and very large avalanches are common so a guide is definitely needed for all runs on the glacier as with most off piste. Try Olivier at Evolution 2 in Montchavin.
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last updated 1-Apr-2008 |
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