Super Slalom 2018 in La Plagne review

The comp was first held last year and is open to top pros and amateurs who compete on the same course. Make no mistake, while the majority of competitors take part mainly for fun, the top-level skiers take it very seriously indeed. It’s quite an honour to say you’ve lifted top prize in the world’s longest slalom comp.

For those familiar with La Plagne, the course was set just below the top of the Becoin chair at 2340m and snaked its way down the Pavane blue piste to Aime 2000 before funnelling into the Emile Allais red all the way down to the finish line at La Roche at 1555m. That’s almost 800m vertical over a distance of 4km. Between top and bottom, lay a daunting 350 slalom gates (a typical course has just 50-70). With so many different levels of skier taking part, the track times varied massively with the top pros taking around 4 minutes to get down while the lower-grade amateur skiers took closer to 10. The event started just before 09:00 with the pro skiers going first at 30-second intervals followed by the amateurs.

Riding down the side of the track, it was immediately obvious just how tough the conditions were. At the top, the snow was firm and grippy (the night before we’d had around 10cm of fresh snow in resort). However, it gradually transformed into hard-pack about mid-way with the finish line at La Roche being bullet-proof ice. At regular intervals, marshals side-slipped the course to level out the ruts which began to form as more skiers went down. However, down at the finish line, there was no need– the track was slick and solid. In total, 370 skiers took part through the day with the event finishing around 14:00. A short prize-giving was held followed by live music and a party at the base at the base in La Roche.

I filmed through the day and got what would have been pretty spectacular video, had I not once again forgotten to change my camera back from time-lapse mode to its normal filming function. As a result, two hour’s footage ended up being around 4 seconds. Ah well, there’s always next year I guess!

The Super Slalom is fastly becoming a firm favourite on the La Plagne events calendar and is sure to return again next winter. With each passing year, its stature grows to the point it’s now attracting top-level competitors from around Europe, a trend I’m sure will continue into following years. Although dates are yet to be confirmed, you can expect the comp to take place around the end of March or the start of April. The event is open to all.