{"id":174,"date":"2014-08-06T12:24:43","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T10:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=174"},"modified":"2023-02-07T10:29:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T09:29:23","slug":"ski-la-plagne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/alps\/ski-la-plagne\/","title":{"rendered":"La Plagne"},"content":{"rendered":"
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W<\/span>e\u2019ll be honest; the first time we came to La Plagne was many years ago, at which stage we simply didn’t have the experience to explore more than a fraction of what this huge ski domain offers. Since then, however, after skiing another sixty-something areas in France alone, we\u2019ve put a lot of mileage under our skis in all kinds of snow and weather conditions. This time, we tell ourselves, will be different.<\/p>\n

So will our report, which acknowledges the sheer scale of things by focusing less on our exact routes than usual and more on where we ended up and our experiences and observations along the way, starting with the journey up the mountain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\nThe following morning the snowfalls show no sign of easing, so we decide to stay low and enjoy floating around on the fresh powder on some of the forested runs above Les Coches and Montchavin…\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\"Wooded
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The wooded pistes above Montalbert offer welcome shelter in poor weather.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Forested
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Blue graded runs through the forest are great for beginners.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Getting to La Plagne<\/h2>\n

The mountain road, despite the altitudes involved, feels somehow like a less arduous climb <\/strong>than many areas, not least since there\u2019s a sense of openness<\/strong> for much of the way which allows you to see something of where you\u2019re heading. As we pass signs to the first of the ski villages<\/strong> we glimpse some modest-looking ski-lifts<\/strong> with car parking for local day visitors<\/strong> who prefer to take the easiest access point<\/strong> to the skiing and forego potential parking issues further up the mountain. So far it all looks pretty down-homey, with no hint of La Plagne\u2019s major-league ski area reputation, but as we continue on the names keep coming, the signs look more slick and accommodation becomes ever more visible until we\u2019re clearly in the thick of things. Now we really need to keep an eye on signage to find our way to our base in Plagne Soleil<\/strong>, but we\u2019re on it almost before we realise it and hunting for car parking. Things get suddenly better as the hotel reception staff hand us a remote \u2018plip\u2019 unit for the secure underground garage, into which we roll gratefully. Minutes later we’ve transferred our gear to our apartment and are attempting to getting our bearings as we take in the views from the balcony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Making sense of it all (or trying to)…<\/h2>\n

The following morning we awake to the leaden skies of a looming depression; snow is on the way. So we head out straight away and ski down to Plagne Bellecote<\/strong> to join the waves of like-minded skiers taking the Collosses high-speed chairlift<\/strong> up to the 2250m ridge<\/strong> which will allow us to drop down past Plagne Villages<\/strong> in favour of Plagne Centre<\/strong>. When we get there it\u2019s already lively, to say the least, with skiers heading in all directions to their chosen departure points. We take the Becoin chairlift<\/strong> up to 2345m<\/strong> for a run down past Plagne Aime 2000<\/strong>, followed by a Blue-graded cruise through the trees down to the foot of the Adrets chairlift<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One final haul gets us to Le Fornelet<\/strong> (1970m), for a longer swoop through near-silent forest down to the village of Plagne Montalbert<\/strong> \u2013 a vertical drop of some 620m. Even down here the snow cover remains good and the village has a cheerful feel, with a large, sheltered novice area, making it ideally suited to young families. Nearby are some nice Blue-graded runs through the forest, Gentil proving to be particularly memorable for the natural beauty of the setting. Montalbert\u2019s lifelines with the rest of the ski area are the two-stage chair-lifts back to Le Fornelet, which keep us entertained with overviews of those riding a pair of draglifts and heading off onto more inviting tree-lined runs. We like it over here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Colosses
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The Colosses chairlift takes skiers up from Plagne Bellecote to a choice of blue runs.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Off-piste
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Off-piste near the epic Mont de la guerre piste to Champagny en Vanoise.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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To the brink…<\/h2>\n

Once we reach Le Fornelet we take another long Blue-graded, tree-lined cruise on Cornegidouille<\/strong> down to La Roche<\/strong> (1418m), where we join the high-speed six-seater chairlift for a haul back to Plagne Aime 2000<\/strong>. This time we\u2019re covering some distance.<\/p>\n

After dropping back into nearby Plagne Centre<\/strong> and negotiating the throng once again, we board the Funiplagne<\/strong> lift up to the windswept ridge of La Grande Rochette<\/strong> (2505m). Here the visibility is less than ideal for an onward run all the way down to Champagny-en-Vanoise<\/strong>, much less a chairlift ride up past the Roche de Mio<\/strong> 2700m to reach the Glacier de La Chaupe<\/strong> and the slopes of Bellecote (3417m). So for now we content ourselves with the more sheltered option of an enjoyable Blue-graded cruise down Petite Rochette<\/strong> and Les Leitchoums<\/strong>, which serve up glimpses of scenic entertainment through the gathering cloud, all the way down to Belle Plagne<\/strong>. By now conditions are clamping down fast, as the expected heavy snowfalls sweep in. They\u2019ll keep the La Plagne road clearance teams busy throughout the night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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