Skiing & Snowboarding in La Plagne

With its huge number of blue runs, La Plagne has a well-deserved reputation for being a good ski resort for intermediates. There are a few stellar challenges for the expert but they on the whole limited to the off-piste terrain. Don't forget though that from La Plagne you have easy access via the formidable Vanoise Express cable car to the vast snowboarding playground of Les Arcs. Click to Tweet

The skiing and snowboarding

La Plagne really excels for those who like piste boarding with lovely cruisey blues and reds with exceptional views (60% of all pistes at the resort are blue). There are 225km of slopes to play on serviced by 80 lifts, so for a week’s boarding you should be kept plenty busy. For freeriders there are some nice wooded areas, in particular around Les Coches and Champagny en Vanoise, but be aware that a lot of the higher backcountry riding is not accessible by lift and will require a fair bit of hiking and most likely a guide – definitely seek out the wooded area from the peak of St Jacques. The major draw for the expert boarder at La Plagne is the Face Nord which offers some steep descents and nice couloirs action. There is a great snowpark in the centre of La Plagne that has great rails, a range of kickers, rainbows and a cannon train. Some of the kickers are challenging. The resort does pipes really well, and if your up for it there is a complete monster of a superpipe standing at a whopper 22 feet. There is also a little park for beginners with some nice small objects for the newbs. In fact, beginners will fare generally well in La Plagne – it’s a great place to learn and there are 12 free lifts for those first few days. In terms of snow quality you should be able to find good snow all season long. There is such a large height differential between the lowest and highest parts of the resort that bad weather on either end can easily be avoided.

Where to stay

La Plagne is composed of 10 separate villages, 2 of which are original, traditional Sayovarde villages and the rest of which have been built to service the snow sports industry with varying degrees of success. Really high end accommodation is lacking though the recently developed Carlina looks set to be a trend changer. If it’s access to the pistes your most concerned with, seek out accommodation in Belle Plagne (accommodation is mostly self-catering apartments). Les Coches is a pretty village with direct access to the Vanoise lift and some great ski-in ski-out chalets.

Where to eat

While you won’t be tucking into any Michelin starred food in La Plagne, there are plenty of good quality restaurants in each of the villages, some good options include Le Chalet des Verdons Sud, Aubon Vieux Temps, or La Cloche.

Après shred

La Plagne is a sociable spot, but definitely not for party monsters. Good après can be found in La Mine in 1800, Scottys or the Igloo Bar. There are a few late bars knocking about (the Cosy Bar is great) and if you’re looking for hardcore, late night debauchery hit up The Mouth.