La Plagne (Paradiski)

The ski resort La Plagne (Paradiski) is located in the Tarentaise (France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Savoie Mont Blanc, Savoie, Albertville). For skiing and snowboarding, there are 225 km of slopes available. 92 lifts transport the guests. The winter sports area is situated between the elevations of 1,207 and 3,167 m.

La Plagne is a skier’s paradise where skiers can live out their ski dreams. This ski resort, with its 225 km of slopes in a surprising and diverse ski paradise, offers a multitude of villages, snowparks and glaciers. Seventy percent of the ski resort is situated at over 2000 m above sea level guaranteeing extraordinary snow reliability. A ride on the Olympic bob run of La Plagne (La Roche) offers another alternative.

Source: skiresort.info

 

Has the climate crisis and the higher temperatures affected snow conditions in La plagne?
Look at the statistics and graph of historical snow depths for the ski resort.
For the last 5 years, week 9 has been the most insecure with 133 cm snow depth on average in La plagne.
The measurement is made as an average of the snow depth at the highest and lowest point of the mountain.

La Plagne is an intermediate’s paradise, even if you don’t use the link to Les Arcs. For experts, it has huge areas of off-piste that don’t get skied out too quickly. We are pleased to note that last season the resort reinstated the two rewarding black pistes dropping 800m vertical from the glacier, wiped from the map a few seasons ago, but this is still an area where advanced intermediates and experts need to look off-piste for challenges. The lift network has gradually improved over recent years (most recently with an amazingly powerful eight-pack at Plagne Bellecote), and now seems to cause problems for our readers only at the real peaks of the season. Bigger problems these days are the number of slow chairlifts in some sectors, and the serious overcrowding on some pistes. La Plagne consists of no fewer than 11 separate ‘villages’. Each is a self-sufficient mini-resort, though they vary widely in character. They divide basically into two groups: seven units purpose-built at altitude in a broad bowl, on or above the treeline; and four real villages, adapted and expanded for skiing, at lower altitude on the fringes of the area. At the heart of the high-altitude area, Plagne Centre is aptly named: it is the focal point for shops and apres-ski. Directly below Centre is the chalet-filled suburb of Plagne 1800, spread across a steep hillside. A short lift ride away from Centre are the slightly higher units of Plagne Aime 2000 and, in the opposite direction, Plagne Soleil and Plagne Villages. Over a low ridge, beyond the last two, are Plagne Bellecote and Belle Plagne. Outside the main bowl, at the northern edge of the area, are Les Coches and Montchavin. At the southern edge is rustic Champagny. Beyond Plagne Aime 2000, at the western edge, is growing Montalbert. A cable car from Montchavin links to Les Arcs via Peisey-Vallandry. Day trips by car to Val d’Isere-Tignes or the Trois Vallees resorts are possible. Staying in Champagny means quick access by car or taxi to Courchevel.

PROS:

• Extensive and varied intermediate pistes, plus excellent off-piste
• Good nursery slopes
• High and fairly snow-sure
• Wide choice of resort villages: high or low, convenient or cute

CONS:

• Lift system still needs investment
• Pistes get very crowded in places
• Few challenging pistes
• Lower villages can have poor snow, especially sunny Champagny

Source: Ski Club of Great Britain

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