Orcières 1850 ,
Hautes-Alpes, France.
Altitude: 1850m - 2725m
Downhill ski terrain: 100km
32 Green, Blue and liaisons
19 Red | 6 Black
1 Snowpark | 1 Jardin de Neige
31 Lifts:
3 Télémix | 7 Chairlifts
Cross-country terrain:
50km ski de fond | Pedestrian & snow-shoe trails
Beginners/Families
Intermediates
Advanced/Expert
- Value
- Accommodation
- Dining Out
- Nightlife
- • High-mountain skiing above some pretty stunning scenery.
- • Terrain for most levels, including entertaining Blue cruises.
- • Accommodation for most budgets.
- • Dependable snow record.
- • Capable lift system.
- • Large, dedicated children’s Ski-School area and new Snow Park.
- • Some of the best terrain looks tougher than it is, which can deter less confident skiers.
- • Lower South-facing slopes get soft and heavy on sunny afternoons.
- • Long distances for anyone driving from the UK.
- • Get your bearings and find your ideal terrain by skiing early-on with a guide – and start your skiing early in the day.
Skiers at Le Drouvet (2655m).
Fancy hurtling across the mountain
while suspended below a cable?
- Seen, tried and tested.
Résidence Le Roc Blanc
05170 Orcières-Merlette
Well-refurbished apartments
whose balconies – if you have a head for heights – offer stunning views. Although quite compact, the apartments are comfortable, have adequate storage and everything you need in well equipped kitchens. We did, however, find things a little overheated. On the lower and ground floors are a bar/café and restaurant
. The ski lockers (request a padlock) have direct access onto an easy piste, just metres from the new télémix lift and the ticket office. You can also ski back thanks to a small drag-lift on the Front de Neige.
Parking outside the residence is limited (and costs 3€ per day) but the village provides plenty of free, undercover parking not far away. There is a supermarket, baker and delicatessen nearby, but all the shops and facilities are within walking distance.
The ESF ski school provides transport to the Jardin de Neige for small children and will pick up from outside the residence.
Enquiries and bookings:
Ski Collection
0844 576 0175 (UK)
or +44 (0)2392 890 960
reservations@skicollection.co.uk
Mamie Nise
05170 Orcières
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 44 10 01
Pleasant Savoie style interior and a large terrace situated near the main lifts and opposite the La Grande Ourse sports centre. The restaurant offers a good range of regional specialities and the most enormous pizzas.
Chalet de Rocherousse
Orcières, at the top of the Rocherousse télémix (accessible by pedestrians).
Tel: +33 (0)4 9255 89 63
Cafeteria style mountain restaurant with large sunny terrace in a very popular area of the mountain, with pedestrian routes, dog-sledding and beginner area nearby.
The food is typical mountain fare in generous portions
and with plenty of choice for around 9€ for a main dish. Vegetarians would have to be creative, mixing pasta/chips with side dishes and salads. Be prepared to queue at busy times.
La Grande Ourse:
Le Palais des Sports
Tel: +33 (0)04 92 55 89 96
Open: December - April
Centrally located in Orcières 1850, La Grande Ourse is great for all weather activities and entertainment. The swimming pool has impressive views to the snowy peaks, loungers, water cascades and a water slide. We took advantage of the Espace Détente, where for 22€ you can enjoy hammam, sauna, Jacuzzi and relaxation room overlooking the pool.
There is also an ice rink, plus cinema, multimedia room, bowling alley, and a bar.
Purchase a Carte Loisir to save money on multiple activities.
Oser Plonger (Ice Diving)
Centre du Plongée sous Glace
BP5-05170 Orcieres 1850
Tel: +33 (0)06 88 67 56 90
Diving under the ice at an altitude of 2480 metres didn’t appeal to us, but you don't need to be a diver to give it a try. Rodolphe Doubleau and his team accompany anyone (over 16 years old) who wants to discover a world of light and bubbles under the ice. An unforgettable experience, apparently.
Information: OSER PLONGER
Tyrolienne
At the summit of the Drouvet lift (2650m) is the longest Tyrolienne in the world. What's that? A cable suspended more than 100 metres high and nearly 2kms long beneath which passengers are strapped to a harness before descending at about 100km/hour. If you fancy having a go, it's 35€ per descent. See the team on site for details.
In the Southern French Alps within the Ecrins National Park, and readily accessible from the town of Gap, Orcières 1850 is a purpose-built ski village above the old village of Orcières 1450. The south-facing slopes catch lots of sun, but some very significant snowfalls generally ensure a long season. Although it’s a long journey for skiers driving from the UK, airport transfers are surprisingly realistic for those taking budget flights into Genoble, Marseille and Turin.
The terrain is predominantly graded Red, with a few Blues and even fewer Greens, making things look pretty demanding. In practice, though, it's mostly far less daunting than might appear on the piste map. There’s plenty of cruising potential, on pistes which are generally wide enough to provide everyone with plenty of room to go at their own pace, rather than feeling pressured to leave their comfort zone. The occasional long, smooth undulations, though, are best tackled with a bit of speed to avoid polling. The altitude currently tops off at a healthy 2725m at the Col des Freissinières , where snow quality can be exceptional and which has a real sense of remoteness. And there will be even more of both once the long-awaited plan to create a cable-car link to the nearby Roche Brune (2956m) is finally realised.
The purpose-built ski village of Orcières 1850 has a high proportion of privately-owned apartments, some of which are now showing their age – but which also tell you something about the quality skiing on offer. The village centre feels relatively compact, and you may not notice all of its range of accommodation unless you explore the area overlooking the sector dedicated to the excellent children's ski-school.
On reflection, we’d have to say that Orcières' strongest appeal is undoubtedly to young families – particularly where both parents are committed skiers , who want their children to learn quickly in a safe environment and to acquire the confidence and skills to share the passion. To this end, it would be hard to find a more reassuring start than the Piou-Piou dedicated ski-school area for small children. This covers an impressive 2Ha, well removed from all distractions (apart from proud parents peering at their offspring from beyond the perimeter fencing).
Meanwhile, the parents will enjoy the entertaining pisted terrain, much of which will encourage those who are less skilled to go for it and raise their game. Best of all, it's a solid value option for everyone.
The drive from Gap to Orcières 1850 is not one we'll forget. The landscapes of the Southern French Alps, at the gateway to Provence, can be unnerving for a travelling skier, convincing you until you begin to climb that surely there's no snow to be had nearby. This time we're driving through it long before the ascent to the village, and the scene is just pure picture-postcard. As we climb, though, we're seeing less and less. As we enter the village in thick mist we're peering at every sign for the name of our hotel. It appears to us just in time, at the top of the resort.
The next morning we awake and gaze from the balcony at the fresh accumulations of snow on the mountains which surround us. We never tire of moments like this. Better still, the exit door of the hotel ski-locker room feeds directly onto the piste for a 30-second drop down to Drouvet 1 ‘télémix’ lift carrying both chairs and gondola-style cabins. We grab a cabin, and after transferring to the lift's successor (Drouvet 2) arrive at the summit of Le Drouvet (2655m) feeling in every sense uplifted and ready for anything.
Alighting from the high-speed Drouvet 2, one of two télémix lifts.
With broad smiles on our faces we launch off along a nearby ridge on Les Bouquetins, a long Blue-graded cruise which connects to another (Les Vallons) for a steeper Red-and-Blue drop which eventually takes us all the way back to where we began. After taking the same lifts back up, we peel off the ridge onto Les Clots, a Red-graded blast which we have all to ourselves on the run back to the base of the Drouvet 2 lift. This time we spend time taking in the scenery, which is fast acquiring a surreal quality as a thick white carpet of mist builds in the valley floor far below.
A pause from skiing high above the clouds, as the village and the entire valley disappear from view.
Since we’ve obviously found Ski-Heaven, we take the Blue-graded Les Pépés and savour the above-the-clouds moment. The sense of space up here is a real revelation, with wide pistes and very few tracks to disturb the previous night’s efforts by the grooming crews. A couple of gentle hauls up to Le Drouvet on the La Croze des Hommes chair is followed by a couple of Red descents on Les Crêtes and Bartavelle, before we go for a change of scenery.
The snow quality (and quantity) around the Col de Freissinières in late March...
The Les Lacs chair takes us some way towards the Col de Freissinières (and also accesses Le Gourou, a truly long and winding Red), but for now getting there means dropping down to pick up the Le Gourou chair for the final haul up to 2727m. Eventually there will be a cable-car even higher to the 2956m Roche Brune, and new Red-graded terrain, but we're not compaining; the ride is magical, as we glide in near-silence past huge walls of pristine snow. At the top La Jalabres spears off into a steep Red descent which brings us to the base of the lift for another haul, by which time we're feeling the call of the nearest mountain restaurant.
Diners enjoy the sun terrace of the Chalet de Rocherousse.
So we glide off on a succession of Blue cruisers – Freissiniêres and Sirènes – which will take us down to the Roche Rousse, and the promise of a hot meal on a spectacularly-sited sun terrace.
As for the afternoon, well, we take it easy, particularly on the final leg, as we encounter soft conditions and enter the still-rising mists. But we've had a wonderful day’s skiing in truly epic scenery and the following day we return to do it all again.
© MountainPassions.com
By car
From
Grenoble follow the RN85 (Route Napoléon) direction Gap. Take the D944 to Orcières.
From the south take the A51 to Gap then the RN85 and D944.
By air
The most convenient airport is Marseille (189km), where you can transfer by the Navette Blanche for around 35€ per adult (90€ family ticket). This winter service operates from the airport and from the TGV station at Aix. See the Navettes Blanches website for details.
By train
There is an overnight train from Paris Austerlitz to Gap where you can hire a car for the short journey to Orcières or catch one of the regular buses that leave from the train station. These are operated by Cars Giraud and it is necessary to book your place 48 hrs in advance. Travel by TGV to Aix-en-Provence then hire a car at the train station or catch the Navette Blanche from Aix. Alternatively, there is a daily bus service also by Cars-Giraud direct to Orcières from the Gare TGV at Grenoble.
Regular services from London to Paris to pick up your connection.
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