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Back from La Plagne



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 5th 06, 06:10 PM
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Default Back from La Plagne

In brief, they need fresh snow!

Most pistes were skiable, though rather hard; more heavily used ones
were pale cafe-au-lait in colour, some with the odd bare patch. By the
end of the week, some of the home run blues were getting very hard and
icy on the steeper bits. We did eventually see artificial snow but not
earlier in the week - there was a rumour of a water shortage for the
cannon, so perhaps they were saving it for the French mid-term
holidays.

One or two runs, including the steeper bit of the blue run between
Plagne Centre and Plagne 1800 had pebbles scattered over them, adding
to my new skis' battle scars. Another disadvantage to buying skis!

The weather was unseasonably warm towards the middle of the week
causing spring conditions, though it cooled a bit at the end of the
week. I took a 1.5 hour lesson on the Wednesday and my eyes were
stinging with sweat!

I only skied over to Les Arcs once, so I somewhat wasted my Paradiski
pass. This was largely because it takes a surprisingly long time to
get there and back, and I preferred skiing with friends in the
afternoon when they were out of ski school.

The resort runs were generally blues, though I think that one or two
could've been upgraded: it was generally agreed that the runs to 1800
were closer to red than blue in places and Java, the run down beside
the slalom course, seemed closer to a black. Sadly this run had bare
patches spread across the middle and across the very top and was
closed later in the week, so I only skied it once.

As our Saturday departure from the resort was 3PM, for once I had the
chance to get in over half a day of extra skiing. Wow, I've never seen
a resort so quiet!

An unusual feature was the number of walkers about, especially above
Plagne Bellecote. There were a number of cross-country trails in that
area, too. If the "downhill" pistes had got really bad I might have
had a go.

The sunny weather was great and certainly helped make up for the
relatively poor snow. The locals we encountered were pleasant and the
restaurant we went to (Le Petit Chaperon Rouge) on the chalet girl's
night off was very nice.

So, despite the beating my skis took, a pleasant week.

--
-Pip
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  #2  
Old February 6th 06, 10:17 AM
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"Pip Luscher" wrote in message
...
In brief, they need fresh snow!


A good fall is coming in around Wednesday night which will cover top to
bottom as it's bringing in cold air from the N.

Joe


  #3  
Old February 6th 06, 02:55 PM
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On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 18:10:58 GMT, Pip Luscher
wrote:

In brief, they need fresh snow!


I agree Paradiski needs a lot of fresh snow. Most Arc 2000 blacks
have been unable to open this year. (Initially avalanche risk, then
lack of snow). With Arc 1800 declaring 50cm under normal conditions
Arc 2000 would declare over a metre but it also only claimed 50cm. Of
course many pistes have much less than that.


Most pistes were skiable, though rather hard; more heavily used ones
were pale cafe-au-lait in colour, some with the odd bare patch. By the
end of the week, some of the home run blues were getting very hard and
icy on the steeper bits. We did eventually see artificial snow but not
earlier in the week - there was a rumour of a water shortage for the
cannon, so perhaps they were saving it for the French mid-term
holidays.


I skied over to Champagny en Vanoise. The reds were more that a
little worn. Kamikaze had large bare patchs and Harikiri was closed
and unskiable. I skied down Mont de le Gueare which closed later in
the week. Horrible, had to stay on the road rather than the piste for
most of the way.

On the other hand if I stuck to the blues there was no problem. Away
from the South facing pistes there seemed to be less problems.


One or two runs, including the steeper bit of the blue run between
Plagne Centre and Plagne 1800 had pebbles scattered over them, adding
to my new skis' battle scars. Another disadvantage to buying skis!


Don't forget the bushes sticking out of the black pistes. My skis
are due a major service too. But they have paid for themselves in
hire charges. I aim to get ten weeks out of my skis and budget the
next pair based on what it would cost to hire them less service and
transport charges. This means I can buy almost anything I want to but
I pay a lot less than that.


The weather was unseasonably warm towards the middle of the week
causing spring conditions, though it cooled a bit at the end of the
week. I took a 1.5 hour lesson on the Wednesday and my eyes were
stinging with sweat!

I only skied over to Les Arcs once, so I somewhat wasted my Paradiski
pass. This was largely because it takes a surprisingly long time to
get there and back, and I preferred skiing with friends in the
afternoon when they were out of ski school.


Its not that bad. I was staying in Arc 2000. I was able to get to
Champagny (the bottom) and on another day Plagne Montalbert for Lunch
by indirect routes. And was back in Les Arcs by 3pm.

Lifts from Villaroger to Arc 2000
1 Replat (TS2)
2 Plan Violettes (TS3)
3 Droset - (TSD4)

Lifts from Arc 1950/2000 to Valandry
1 Bois de L'Ours - Decoupling 6 person chair

Lifts from Arc 1600 to Valandry
1 Cachette - Decoupling 4 person chair
2 Arpette - 3 person chair

Lifts from Arc 1800 to Valandry
1. Vagere (TSD6), Transarc (TC8), or Villards (TSD4)

Lifts from Valandry to Plagne Bellecote
1 Vanoise Express (Cable Car)
2 Lac Noir (TC8)
3 Bijolin (TSD6)
4 Sallo (TS6)

--------------------------

Lifts from Plagne Bellecote to Valandry
1 L'Arpette (TSD8)
1.5 A Rope Drag (for people who can not skate)
2 Vanoises Express

Lifts from Valandry to Arc 1800
1 Peisey (TSD8)

Lifts from Arc 1800 to Arc 1600
1 Vagere or Chantel(TS)

Lifts from Arc 1800 to Arc 2000/1950
1 Transarc 1 & 2

Lifts from Arc 2000 to Villaroger
1 Lanchettes (TSD4)

Ok, getting into La Plagne is harder than getting out. Les Arcs
allows freer movement than Montchavin-Les Coches. I believe
Montalbery - Villaroger is doable but not necessarily much fun.

The resort runs were generally blues, though I think that one or two
could've been upgraded: it was generally agreed that the runs to 1800
were closer to red than blue in places and Java, the run down beside
the slalom course, seemed closer to a black. Sadly this run had bare
patches spread across the middle and across the very top and was
closed later in the week, so I only skied it once.


La Plagne is very blue. I would not agree that anything should be
upgraded. Snow conditions can change the difficulty of many runs.
Some become harder and others easier. In Les Arcs the long black from
the top of the Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger has mostly been downgraded
to red. Apart from the steep top the main difficulty was the length.
With modern bashed pistes this is no longer enough. There are still
some fun Black pistes off this piste but sadly none of them were open
last week. I am told, there are some great off piste routes over the
back but only two of these are legal (with approved guide only).

My first ski holiday was in La Plagne Bellecote. It is hard to
believe how flat some of the pistes have become.

As our Saturday departure from the resort was 3PM, for once I had the
chance to get in over half a day of extra skiing. Wow, I've never seen
a resort so quiet!


Try the week the resort opens. Usually the week before Christmas. I
went to Les Arcs a few years ago. No lift queues anywhere (except
Sunday). Skiing on my own private pistes. Places like Tignes are
busier.

Also use the Friday and Saturday night trains. Ski all day both
Saturdays. (weather permitting)

Saturday was nice. Lunch above Champagny looking across to the
Pralognan en Vanoise ski area and down on Courcheval on the other side
of the Bozel valley.

Does anybody know when Courcheval and Pralognan are going to complete
their link? Then we need Vanoise Express 2 to get us across the valley
and it would then be possible to ski from Villaroger to Orelle (and
get stranded. I don't think the lift system would be fast enough for
any skier to get back)

So, despite the beating my skis took, a pleasant week.


Glad we both had a good week.
  #4  
Old February 6th 06, 03:00 PM
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Joe Hunt wrote:
"Pip Luscher" wrote in message
...

In brief, they need fresh snow!



A good fall is coming in around Wednesday night which will cover top to
bottom as it's bringing in cold air from the N.


Do you think so, the local (Savoie) forecast is for 2-5mm of
precipitation which certainly won't bring the pigs in.
  #5  
Old February 6th 06, 03:02 PM
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La Plagne isn't call as that for nothing. In frech, it means something
completely punt.
So do not use your snowboard if you are riding in la plagne ! you will
much have to "skateboard" instead of riding.
Arno
Ian Blake a =E9crit :

  #6  
Old February 6th 06, 04:39 PM
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I heard ontheground reports of an incredible +19c in the sun at
resort-level in Meribel last week. It was, for sure, unseasonably warm
for a few days, and this hammered the pistes from top to bottom across
most of the French Alps.

The snow forecast for the next 10 days looks weak for La Plagne - just
a few cms at best - so the poor snow conditions look set to continue
for a while.

  #7  
Old February 6th 06, 06:57 PM
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On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 14:55:39 +0000, Ian Blake NoNotMe@NotAnywhere
wrote:

On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 18:10:58 GMT, Pip Luscher
wrote:
I skied over to Champagny en Vanoise. The reds were more that a
little worn. Kamikaze had large bare patchs and Harikiri was closed
and unskiable. I skied down Mont de le Gueare which closed later in
the week. Horrible, had to stay on the road rather than the piste for
most of the way.


Ah, missed that one. kamikaze was

Don't forget the bushes sticking out of the black pistes.


I only did a couple of blacks - Mercedes and Les Bosses and even then,
I didn't do the top 50m of Les Bosses - it looked a bit steep for me
and the snow looked too patchy. I'm not quite confident enough to be
able to ski any marked piste despite the number of years I've been
skiing.

My skis
are due a major service too. But they have paid for themselves in
hire charges. I aim to get ten weeks out of my skis and budget the
next pair based on what it would cost to hire them less service and
transport charges.


Yes, pretty much my calculation. For me, it's not actually
cost-effective to buy, I just generally prefer to own the kit I use.

La Plagne is very blue. I would not agree that anything should be
upgraded. Snow conditions can change the difficulty of many runs.
Some become harder and others easier. In Les Arcs the long black from
the top of the Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger has mostly been downgraded
to red.
My first ski holiday was in La Plagne Bellecote. It is hard to
believe how flat some of the pistes have become.


Possibly over the years of skiing steeper runs, the blues you learned
on just seem flat to you :-)

My girlfriend found one or two blue runs very intimidating, and my ski
instructor described part of one run as "dark blue"!
When first asking my friends' instructor where I could meet the class,
he said that he probably wouldn't take them back to 1800 because the
runs were "nearer to red than blue". Still, as you say, conditions
count for a lot and maybe that's what he meant.

--
-Pip
  #8  
Old February 7th 06, 07:35 AM
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I am near La PLagne at this moment and I confirm. No snow showers till
next tuesday...
Terrible...

  #9  
Old February 7th 06, 12:23 PM
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"ski alpes" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am near La PLagne at this moment and I confirm. No snow showers till
next tuesday...
Terrible...


Man, will people please quote! I suspect this is google groups' fault and
they should really fix it cause they are screwing up Usenet..


  #10  
Old February 7th 06, 12:44 PM
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On Tue, 7 Feb 2006 13:23:57 +0100, "AH" wrote:


"ski alpes" wrote in message
roups.com...
I am near La PLagne at this moment and I confirm. No snow showers till
next tuesday...
Terrible...


Man, will people please quote! I suspect this is google groups' fault and
they should really fix it cause they are screwing up Usenet..


An educated user can still post correctly though.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.
 




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