Winter & Ski Home Ski Resort Reviews Alps Arêches-Beaufort

Getting (not too far) away from it all...

There’s a distinct sense of having stumbled on something less mainstream.

Near neighbour to Les Saisies and the underrated Espace Diamant, the more compact ski station of Arèches-Beaufort lies at the far end of the Beaufortain Valley, and will appeal to anyone in search of a traditional mountain village ambiance. Located just south of the Lac de Roselend, the valley enjoys some of the easiest road access in the French Alps, thanks to its proximity to Albertville. And right away you’ll know that this is very much the real thing, with skiing on the snow-covered mountain pastures or ‘Alpages’. Best of all, the Beaufortain’s snow record is quite remarkable, despite what the relatively modest altitudes might suggest.

The Beaufortain is not only accessible but also has a reliable snow record.

Arèches and Le Planay ski areas are readily accessible from their respective villages, and there’s even a link of sorts – Red-graded in one direction (Le Cuvy to Le Planay) with a gentle Blue in the other. Arèches is the original historic village, and has ample car parking a short walk from the Grand Mont chair lift to the novice area at le Cuvy. Further along the valley road is Le Planay, a modest ski village with a family-friendly atmosphere. The varied selection of groomed pistes includes some surprisingly steep but wide runs on which to build fitness and confidence.
The only downside is that higher up, from Le Cuvy three drag-lifts are required in order to reach the Col de la Forclaz (2030m). Le Planay supplies two chairlifts and a drag-lift to take skiers to the steep terrain below the Col des Combettes (2130m) – but there are enough gentler runs lower down to provide intermediates with several hours of entertainment. And at the end of the day the return run (see above) from Le Planay to the car park at Arèches is an easy valley cruise, with the alternative option of a brief shuttle bus ride.

Not your average ski village – and that’s a major part of the appeal.

As the year-round working village, Arèches probably offers everything you’ll need, with independent local businesses, ski-hire shops and several restaurants in the main street. The nearby town of Beaufort-sur-Odon has an interesting historic centre plus a larger choice of shops and restaurants. The local co-operative dairy producing the celebrated Beaufort cheese welcomes visitors with tours of the production area, and you can buy regional cheeses at unbeatable prices. Le Planay could be a good base for young families, as it has a secure, dedicated children’s area. Despite a more purpose-built feel, it nevertheless shares the same unspoilt authenticity of the delightful and sheltered Alpine valley setting.

The low-pressure environment is particularly attractive for novices and improvers.

Families will love the facilities for young learners in the Espace Premier Traces (‘First Tracks’) areas. For intermediate skiers the pisted terrain offers enough variety and a challenge for several days, after which there’s likely to be a strong temptation to head over to explore the wealth of further terrain on offer in the nearby Espace Diamant. Non-skiers, on the other hand, can while away a few hours in the sunshine or set off on a wooded snowshoe walk from the sunny plateau at Le Cuvy (at the top of the Grand Mont). As for snowboarders, there’s a freestyle park and boardercross area, if the long drag-lifts don’t spoil the fun.

Arrive from the Alberville exit on the Lyon-Geneva autoroute and almost before you know it you'll find yourself entering the Beaufortain. But drive, as we did, from Les Saisies and Hauteluce, and you get the bonus of a buzzard’s-eye view of the deep valley spread before you. After the Val d’Arly, the Beaufortain looks altogether deeper and more mysterious. But spend a little time here and you'll find the people as welcoming as the ski terrain. Much of the latter is located at the opposite end of the valley from Les Saisies and Hauteluce, beyond the historic villages of Beaufort and Arèches, without unwelcome distractions of major through traffic at your feet. Each winter the snowfalls ensure that road stops at the ski area.

Efficient first-stage chairlifts connect with draglifts serving the highest terrain.

We begin our first day’s skiing by taking the Grand Mont chairlift up to Le Cuvy (1710m) then transfering to the Bonnets Rouges chair. Heading any higher than this means taking drag lifts, which top off at the 2300m Col de la Forclaz. The reward, not surprisingly, is that the higher we go the better the snow quality becomes. The views all around are fantastic, too, culminating in the unmistakable summit of Mont Blanc (4810m), whose nearby presence accounts for the Beaufortain's exceptional snowfalls. From up here there’s the option of a combined vertical drop well in excess of 1000m during the run back down to our starting point, but for now we spend some time getting our bearings and soaking up the winter sun on a few gentle exploratory runs below the Col de la Forclaz. The snow here is hard-packed, but due for a top-up overnight.

Fresh overnight snowfalls

Sure enough, next morning things look radically different. Even down on the valley floor the fresh snow which swept in overnight is lying as deep as the now-familiar snowy silence. There’s reduced visibility, too, shifting our attention from the snow-clearing efforts of our nearest neighbours on the valley floor to the surrounding mountains, and to where exactly our skis might take us today.

Next day the gentle hum of the chairlift is the only sound to disturb the snowy silence which hangs on on the mountain.

This time we head to the end of the valley at Le Planay, a second ski area accessible in good snow conditions (like today’s, if things are stable enough) via a Red-graded run down from Le Cuvy. After taking the more direct road approach we park below the Piapolay high-speed chairlift, which hauls us up through the trees to Les Arolles (1908m). If the first afternoon’s skiing had been mostly on reassuring Blue pistes, over here things are noticeably steeper, the runs below the 2080m Col des Combettes, for example, being mostly graded Red. To get there you have a choice of the Grand Combe drag-lift or the Combettes fixed chair.

We take the chair, and discover that there’s nothing sinister up above, making this probably as good a place as you’re likely to find from which to graduate from Blues to Reds. Alternatively, the Blue-graded Grand Combe piste now connects seamlessly with its lower counterparts le Papillon and l’Echarté to create a top-to-bottom cruise to the valley floor, with a combined vertical drop of 930m.

Clear signage helps newcomers find their way around.

For now, though, we plan to stay high. It’s a real away-from-it-all experience, with the reassurance of sheltered return runs through the tree-line, should conditions deteriorate. Fortunately for us they don't, and we pass a memorable morning simply blasting down the mountain for fresh hauls back up for more of the same. Sometimes, when the snow’s this good, that’s all it takes – and as we discover, there's potential for incorporating a few entertaining variations along the way. Better still is a sense of low-season calm, which makes it feel like we’re skiing on our very own mountain. If only...

When play finally has to end we schuss back down to the car park at La Planaz on the Boulevard de Liaison link run which takes us gently and all-too-soon through a charming assortment of ancient-looking chalets, rows of beehives, etc. It’s the perfect antidote for anyone looking for a more natural environment than the more frequently-tracked pistes of the larger, more familiar-sounding ski areas. When you ski here you really are getting right back in touch with the essential spirit of the mountains.

The return run from Le Planay down to Arèches, amid visibly authentic Alpine landscapes.

© Roger Moss