Les Arcs Ski Area

Each area of Les Arcs has a great deal to offer skiers and boarders alike.

Too many visitors to the area automatically head to the long western flank above Arc 1800 and the large bowl of Arc 2000. In fact, the imperious peak of the Aiguille Rouge (3226m) is the gateway to 12km of runs heading down into Villaroger. The initial few kilometres down Aiguille Rouge itself can be busy, but the tree-lined runs towards the bottom are often quiet and powdery. At the other side of the resort, the Derby lift between Arc 1800 and Vallandry provides some of the best skiing in the resort with a black, a red and a blue of equal excellence.

Peisey-Vallandry
Vallandry and Plan Peisey, once small satellite villages on the fringes of the ski area, find themselves in the heart of the Paradiski area following the construction of the Vanoise Express lift in Plan Peisey linking Les Arcs and La Plagne. Peisey is inclined to be packed and icy, even after sun and snowfall, but on a good day Ours is a fun, undulating red, and Écureuills is a perfect confidence-building black which gives you the option of joining the red Combe before it gets really gnarly.
Over in Vallandry, the eponymous lift and the new Grizzly start and finish close to one another. Blanchot, at the top of the Grizzly, is a very wide red ideal for novice boarders. Aigle, Morey and Myrtilles, three excellent forest runs, depart from the top of Vallandry, or thereabouts – all are steepish but wide, but can become bare and icy through lack of snow. La Foret is a gentle summer road blue linking all three and proceeding down to the village; it’s excellent for novices but probably best avoided by everyone else! Inexperienced snowboarders will find its slight incline particularly heartbreaking.

Moving away from Vallandry, Coqs and Renard, both interesting, steepish blues, link to the bottom of Derby, a new lift that finishes up above 1800. From there, off to the right the full length of Renard provides varied terrain and easy off-piste to either side with plenty of bumps to be jumped. There’s also opportunities to cut through the trees on to Bosses, an intermediate-friendly black next door, which begins with three distinct short, steep slopes, and ends with a natural halfpipe with moguls just off the piste to the right. Also just off Renard is Belette, a wide, speedy red. To the left at the top of the lift is Reches, an interesting red and the fastest route to the mid-station of the Transarc gondola.

Arc 1800
Reches runs past the Transarc and continues down into 1800. The initial station of the Transarc is here, but don’t miss the Vagere lift, which provides access to some of the most interesting skiing in the area. Carreley and Froide Fontaine are good, varied reds leading to the bottom of the Col des Frettes lift, while Grands Melezes is a challenging blue running the full distance back to 1800.
Also here is the Apocalypse Snowpark, accessed from Vagere, Col des Frettes or Clair Blanc, with jumps, rails and a big kicker graded at three levels of difficulty.

Arc 2000
The Transarc bubble takes you straight up to the top of the Col de la Chal (2600m) allowing you to drop over into the Arc 2000 valley or choose from a variety of runs back to 1800. From here, you can ski straight down reds or blues to the bottom of Arcabulle, and thereafter along the rather flat route into 2000 itself. The area around Arc 2000 is a warren of gentle blue runs ideal for beginners. Alternatively, nip round the blue Col de la Chal to the Grand Col lift – no prizes for guessing its destination! A red and a black lead down – both can be icy early in the day or through lack of snow, but both are challenging for the intermediate skier and fun for the advanced. The views are excellent too.

Down in 2000, take the Varet lift for Arandelieres, a red mogul run, or any one of three ungroomed blacks. Alternatively, squeeze into the alarmingly superannuated cable car to the very summit of the Aiguille Rouge for a black then red run descending for 12km towards Villaroger. The top half of Arandelieres provides a red route down from the top. Those wishing to avoid the black but still see most of the long run down from the summit can take the Lanchettes lift from 2000 and arrive a third of the way down at the beginning of the red section.

Arc 1600
1600 isn’t much of a village, but there are some interesting runs here for those on the way back from 2000 or Villaroger. There’s also access to the funicular down to Bourg. There are some characterful tree-lined runs of all colours, including Cachette, a red accessed from the lift of the same name.

Les Arcs

Base	5,249 ft (1,600 m)
Summit	10,663 ft (3,250 m)
Elevation	5,414 ft (1,650 m)
Snowmaking
Ski area	1,730 a (700 ha)
Beginner	51 %
Intermediate	31 %
Advanced	18 %
Number of trails	105
Longest trail	1 mi (2 km)
Snowfall	118 inch (300 cm)
Season start	mid Dec
Season end	late Apr