Where To Go in the Paradiski For......

The best area for steep and deep runs is the Bellecote glacier. Whilst there are not many runs up there, the ones that are, are well worth the trek and if there is fresh snow then there is plenty more to enjoy in between the pistes. Off the back of the Grand Rochette and Les Verdons there are plenty of steeps to enjoy and again there is easily accessible off piste when the snow is deep. Head up to Le Biolley and down the blacks Les Étroits, Morbleu, Les Coqs and the Palsembleu. If you were to get Les Étroits and the Morbleu first tracks you may find yourself walking out at the bottom as they both come out on a track that follows the river along the valley floor to the Adrets chair.

There seems to always be empty pistes in La Plagne especially in the smaller villages. In Montchavin/Les Coches L’Esselet red is always quiet and then the Route des Bauches which you must take afterwards is equally as deserted. Also, even though it is a main route back to the village of Les Coches, the red called Les Coches is often empty but the snow should be good if you are to do this piste as there are no snow cannons on this run. Over in Montalbert the long, tree-lined blue, the Pravendue is a favourite one where we go to avoid the crowds.

Arc 2000 and 1800 tend to be the busiest areas in Les Arcs so if you are looking for quieter areas to ski then head to either Peisey-Vallandry or stay more on the Arc 1600 side. That said, in Peisey-Vallandry try to avoid using La Foret, which is a very shallow and therefore slow, very narrow and extremely busy path.

The best place to go when the weather is bad is to the trees! Anywhere in the trees will be better than on the open piste as there is more shelter and visibility, definitely avoid the glacier at all costs, if the weather is really bad it will be closed anyway. One of the many good things about La Plagne is that there are plenty of trees especially in Montchavin/Les Coches and Montalbert.

There are many runs in La Plagne that are little gems. Over in Plagne Bellecôte there is one in particular which is a blue called Arnica, accessed by the Colorado chair. It is not an outstanding run for any reason apart from the fact there are loads of little jumps and bankings to play on. A similar run over in Montchavin/Les Coches is the Pierres Blanches blue. For a blast, try the wide, rolling Les Laines and L’Arpette from the Dos Rond to Plagne Bellecôte - both really fast. Also the big long run of Inversens onto Les Crozats black to the Bauches chair accessed from the top of the Roche de Mio.

If you want to try the longest run in the world, then get yourself to the top of the Aguille Rouge cable car at Arc 2000. From here you can travel 16km into Villaroger, on the Aguille Rouge black run. At about a third of the way down it changes into a red, but it is still demanding. The only problem with this is the queue to get on the cable car and the busyness of the slopes once the run converts into a red, so have this on your list for the first run of the day.

Or if you love moguls the head to the top of the Comborciere or the Ours black runs. Both of these runs are on the side of the mountain where you would drop in from the 1800 lifts. They are very demanding and steep which means that even with a dump of fresh snow, you’ll need your legs to be ready for the challenge!

From the top of the Comborciere chair lift take the Malgovert run into Arc 1600, often quiet and wonderful after a good dump of snow.

Family-Run Le Sauget

There are many great restaurants spread across the La Plagne ski area. In Plagne Centre on the Lovatière piste there is a fun, busy, more touristy restaurant called Mère-Grand that serves snack food and regional specialities at lunch time and in the evening. It is an easy ski to the restaurant but you can just as easily get there on foot too. The menus are well priced, at lunch time you can expect to pay €14.50 for a dish of the day with salad and local cheese or pastries and €10 for the children’s menu.

One of the highest restaurants in the Paradiski area is Le Chalet de la Grande Rochette which is located at the top of the Funiplagne Grande Rochette that runs out of Plagne Centre. As you can imagine, at 2505m the views past Champagny and over the Glaciers de la Vanoise and Courchevel are spectacular. The restaurant offers two types of dining with a snack service that you can eat on the terrace or take away or a traditional ‘sit down’ meal including Savoyard specialities, a mixed grill and Italian dishes too. The beauty of this restaurant is that if you have too much wine you can jump straight back into the Grande Rochette lift and be back down in Plagne Centre without having to negotiate the slopes!

The Colosses restaurant is a small establishment, situated just above Plagne Bellecôte, underneath and next to the chair and drag lift of the same name, and at the bottom of the international mogul run. The restaurant has a small terrace overlooking the Bellecôte bowl and up the valley you can also see Belle Plagne. The food is excellent, the burgers being our personal favourite and it is most importantly very reasonably priced. Get there earlier rather than later to be guaranteed a table on the terrace.

A local favourite has got to be Le Sauget situated at the bottom of the Pierre Blanches lift above Les Coches. Patricia and Gerrard welcome you with two roaring open fires and a big, traditional Savoyard menu plus the Plat du Jour which is always a tasty bet. Le Sauget is also an Auberge with six cosy, traditional rooms. It has a great atmosphere and is very popular with the French and English who keep coming back year after year for the fine atmosphere and fine food (and lots of home made Eau de Vive).

Le Plein Soleil, also in the Montchavin/Les Coches area is another good restaurant but for different reasons. The restaurant serves a small amount of traditional food but also some very random yet tasty dishes from Austria and the Alsace area of France, for example a wide range of sweet and savoury strudels. You must also have one of the famous big mugs of vin chaud or hot chocolate. This restaurant has a great terrace literally on the piste, just around the corner from the learner area at the top of the Plan Bois lift. It is also just off the cross-country track.

Over in the Champagny area, situated between the top of the Borseliers chair and the bottom of the Rossa lift, is a great restaurant and snack bar on the piste with the most amazing seating area in the Alps, called Le Roc des Blanchets. At 2100m, the restaurant has a fabulous big terrace or if you would prefer to relax in deck chairs and eat a shorter, cheaper meal you can choose the snack bar just around the corner.

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