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La Plagne's final festive week of 2016

Time’s up 2016

featured in Snow report Author Anita Gait, La Plagne Reporter Updated

Merry Christmas all, hope you had a good old festive time out on the slopes but the party ain't over yet. I absolutely suggest that you spend this week out and about soaking up the festivities in La Plagne, hop from après venue to sunny terrace, live music spot to NYE party.

The festivities continue in resort with live music daily at the Grande Rochette and Bellecote centre being turned into festival central as the stage gets constructed for La Plagne’s biggest New Year’s eve party! La Nuit Du Pompon Rouge is a piste party on the snow below the Arpette lift, this year it’s Disco themed and the dress code is 70’s and 80’s style. Always a good night, the party will feature banging music, usually of the euro pop/dance variety, food stalls, pop up bars and many extremely over the top decorations. One year, the event was entirely filled with giant inflatable sea creatures and, come on, who wouldn’t want to see that? The party starts at 22:30 and carries onto 01:30. It’s easy to get to via the free shuttle buses which will all be running until 02:30, but do be aware that it tends to be a bit of a scrum to get back on the buses after the party finishes.

2016 is drawing to a close with our slopes not in the best condition. The pisteurs and the snow cannons are doing everything they can but they can only work so much magic and some of the base layers are eroding away. Runs are beginning to show some wear and tear.

Spots that experience high ski traffic have been the worst affected, especially anywhere that several runs converge, and the bottle neck that forms as you head back into the main villages. The bottom of the blue runs Mira, Ramy, and Bridge coming back into Plagne Centre are busy at the best of times but now, as well as dodging other skiers and moguls, you’ll need to also watch out for patches of mud, rock and ice. The same goes for the main run back into Bellecote where Ours, Arolles, Leitchoume and Trieuse all join together.

That being said, it’s not all doom and gloom, we’ve definitely had weeks of worse snow in my time here. This stuff is most definitely still skiable and if you know how you can make the most of it. Get your gear serviced so you’re working with good edges, wear a helmet, bum pads and wrist guards to limit bruising. Get out early to enjoy freshly pisted runs when the coverage is at its best, get out mid-afternoon when the sun has softened up the hard pack and ice, and always get up as high as you can go, head to the Roche de Mio or the glacier for the best of the snow we have.

Also, fear not, 2017 is coming in strong with snow forecast for us on the 2nd of January. Just a sprinkling at this point but, with a bit of belief and some snow dances, we can hope that it turns into a sizable dump to see in the new year!

2017, show us what you’ve got!

Location

Map of the surrounding area