Great conditions in variable weather in La Plagne

This weekend marks the start of the Paris holidays so the area is going to be very busy again. There were a reported 38,000 cars heading up to resorts in this region last week and we can expect similar numbers through Saturday into Sunday. With slight snow forecast tomorrow, you should prepare for possible transfer delays. The freezing level won’t be particularly low (2150m dropping to 1250m on Saturday night) but it just takes one crash or one person not prepared with chains to cause significant tailbacks all the way down the valley.

We’re now almost midway through the season and snow depths remain impressive everywhere. We still have top to bottom riding (though I see the glacier is again closed today) but the rest of the area is fully open. I’m sure the resort staff will be working hard at opening the upper reaches and glacier as soon as possible but, even without those sectors, there’s plenty space across this vast area to allow for quiet pistes here and there. You just need to look a little harder for them during the holidays.

In terms of the skiing and snowboarding, we have 380cm on the glacier, 230cm in the main station and 55cm down in the villages. 9/9 green runs are open, 70/73 blue, 27/34 red and 8 out of 19 black. As a guide, more or less everything below the glacier is running and the liaison with Les Arcs is also open, doubling the available terrain.

So, with regards the coming week, it’s looking like a fairly mixed bag. A bit of cloud here and there, possibly some light snow at times and a couple of sunny days. It is February after all and we are 2000+ metres up a mountain so really, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Being Scottish, this weather is pretty much par for the course to me but, if you’re in any doubt, get like a Boy Scout and be prepared by dressing in multiple layers. Not only does layering insulate better, it also gives you options when the temperature dips or rises.

This coming week we have the annual Born to Be Show – a celebration of La Plagne put on by the resort’s Club des Sports. I went to the show last year and it’s definitely worth a look if you’re here. Born to Be is held on the Jean-Luc Crétier Stade de Slalom run next to Plagne Centre and features displays by local up-and-coming ski and snowboard talent as well piste basher displays, big air sessions, synchronized skiing, torchlight descents and even a performance on a two-man snowboard contraption. Yep, two people – one board. Not sure how – or, perhaps more importantly – why this thing exists but it does. The Show culminates in a big fireworks display as well as a raffle to win a car. La Plagne sent more athletes to this year’s Olympics than any other French ski resort – and they call came through the ranks of the Club des Sports – so expect a carnival atmosphere.

So, in summary, conditions remain very good across the resort but watch out for the odd icy patch here and there after the recent rain. Pistes will obviously improve with the new snow which is forecast over today and tomorrow so my advice would be to watch the freezing level over the coming days and pick your area based on temperature to find the best conditions. Down low, you will likely find Spring-like riding (hard in the morning, softening as the day goes on) while up high, it’s quite possible you’ll score some powder turns. This is the joy of riding a resort with altitudes ranging from 1250m up to 3250m.