{"id":933,"date":"2014-11-03T11:43:23","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T10:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=933"},"modified":"2019-01-24T16:39:25","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T15:39:25","slug":"ski-saint-francois-longchamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/alps\/ski-saint-francois-longchamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint-Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A<\/span> flurry of newly-falling snowflakes is just the kind of welcome we like when arriving at a ski resort which is completely new to us. Even without that, as we glimpse the village of Saint-Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp ahead of us twinkling in the dusk, the effect would be just as intriguing. The final approach takes us past the rear of the development overlooking the front-de-neige, so there\u2019s little to see until we\u2019ve parked, unloaded the car and are peering at things from the balcony of our hotel room at Le Lac Bleu. We like what we see, and head down to take a first look around, among plenty of other people who obviously have the same idea. First impressions: clean, cheerful and unpretentious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n… we\u2019re floating over a mountainside made pristine by the previous night\u2019s snowfalls, the few freshly-dusted trees here and there adding the finishing touches.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\"The\n<\/div>\n
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Warming Up in Saint-Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp<\/h2>\n
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Next morning we return, crunching our way \u2013 just a few steps, really \u2013 to the Lune Bleue six-seater chairlift. The onward ride proves doubly uplifting since we\u2019re floating over a mountainside made pristine by the previous night\u2019s snowfalls, the few freshly-dusted trees here and there adding the finishing touches.<\/p>\n

At the top station we glide off and turn to take in the wide views across the valley. From here the village already looks a surprisingly long way away. A few minutes later it\u2019s growing slowly larger as we cruise down Shogun, a blue-graded link run to the base of our next lift, the Soleil Rouge four-seater. This time we ski off at a healthy 2271m, where the snow quality is excellent, giving plenty of edge grip for the run down the red-graded Samourai, which either drops skiers back at the base of the lift, or feeds neatly onto a blue-meets-green cruise over to Le Hameau, where it\u2019s down to a choice between the Sapin drag-lift or the Marquis high-speed six-seater chair).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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No contest; we press on to ride the powerful lift up to 1918m \u2013 in absolute terms not so high this time, but the views from the top make this a very worthwhile ride. It\u2019s about to get even better. A minute or so\u2019s gentle glide on the Rimolard \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The snow-clouds open<\/h2>\n
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The big views continue as we wind our way down through the tree-line on this enjoyable blue piste, which finally flattens a little where it\u2019s joined by Les Coqs, a red offering a rather more direct drop from the top of the lift. From here it\u2019s a gentle cruise back round to the base of the Marquis chairlift \u2013 a necessary haul for anyone heading beyond La Hameau and back to the slightly higher developments around Plan Mollaret. By the time we\u2019re back to our starting-point the scene has transformed into what are fast becoming full-on blizzard conditions. Sure enough, things clamp down and we call it a day, but with a sense of achievement from what we’ve managed to fit in before the latest falls intervened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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