les arcs ski resort

The Les Arcs Ski area is big, with one of the biggest verticals and all imaginable conditions and terrain, including Glacier skiing, snow bowls and tree lined slopes.

There are gentle beginner slopes at all the village levels. Arc 1600, is based below the treeline, in the wooded area and has nice gentle runs through the trees. Both 1800 and 2000 have sunny open pistes above the treeline.

As with all combined ski areas, intermediates benefit the most with the greatest variety of choice, with a lot of long fast cruisers and most skiers will manage red down from the Aiguille Rouge, the ski areas highest point.

For the experts there are plenty of challenging runs and extensive off-piste opportunities. One possibility is to descend the legendary 7km black with an impressive vertical of 2000m to the neighbouring village of Villaroger. Others are the mogul Dou d'Homme and the popular off-piste route from La Plagne to Les Arcs returning via the Nancroix forest.

There is also the famous flying kilometre speed skiing course where world records have been set.

Linked to Villaroger, Vallandry and Plan Peisey, Les Arcs ski resort one of the world's largest ski areas. With the funicular down to Bourg Saint Maurice you can also easily reach La Rosière with its lift link over to La Thuile in Italy. In addition the Vanoise Express double decker cable car linked Les Arcs to nearby, La Plagne, to form the Paradiski area with 425km of terrain. The cable car , take 200 people across in 4 min. To extend the ski are even further, to include the Espace Killy ( Val d’Isere & Tignes) and the Three Valleys (Courchevel, Méribel, La Tania, Val Thorens, St Martin de Bellville and Les Menuires), you just need to buy the Savoie Olympic Pass.

Les Arcs claims to be the home of snowboarding and is one of more 'boarder friendly resorts. It has great terrain for all styles and abilities and as many chairs and gondolas as surface lifts which makes getting around a lot easier.

The greater Paradiski area has a large number of facilities: - A halfpipe and the so-called 7-3 in La Plagne, with an unprecedented combination of modules spread over a 900 meter-long freestyle run, very American in design! The Les Arcs Apocalypse Snowpark, above Arc 1600, is also enormous with green, red and black descents along a variety of modules. The snow park, which is open to skiers as well, has a wide variety of features: tables, hips, a funbox, a pyramid, big and small gaps as well diverse humps and mounds which making it an attraction where all sliders can find something to suit their ability.

Les Arcs used to have a reputation for having nothing to do besides sports, and most of those outdoors. Today Les Arcs is still a centre for all kinds of sports - but there's more of them. The newest addition to Arc 1800 is an outdoor ice skating rink (36x18m) where activities available including hockey, curling and other ice games as well as free skating. There is an existing, natural ice rink at Arc 2000. Other activities to try outdoors are paragliding, snowshoeing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, ski joring, hang-gliding, ice climbing, night skiing and horse riding. The speed skiing course has a straight, smooth 1.74km (just over a mile) long descent ranging in pitch from 76 to 45 degrees - anyone aged 7 to 77 can try a run with helmet and goggles. The current male and female records are over 251kph (156mph) and 242kph (150mph) respectively. There are ten lifts on which pedestrians can travel up to the altitude resorts or access high mountain hiking routes, as well the funicular down to Bourg St Maurice. Indoor facilities are limited but include three squash courts, climbing walls, seven cinemas, six fitness rooms and an eight lane bowling alley at Arc 1800. In a bid to highlight the cultural heritage of the area in general the tourist board in Bourg St Maurice organise tours to visit local crafts people and local museums and historic buildings.