Pra Loup france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Pra Loup France.
Pra Loup Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1961 the French ski resort Pra Loup lies at 1500 metres altitude in the Alpes Du Sud region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes at 2600m Pra Loup ski area is snow sure. Over 252 snow cannons ensure artificial Pra Loup snow making covers 122km of ski trails, which equates to around 50 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Pra Loup (France) is Marseille Provence at a distance of 250km or approximately 240 minutes driving time. Pra Loup ski season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
Pra Loup is one of the major ski areas in the Southern Alps with a friendly, laid back reputation and excellent lift systems. Lively, sunny, purpose built centre with two bases - the larger Pra Loup 1600 and the smaller "Molanes" at 1500m. Strong emphasis on family facilities and an excellent lift system linked to La Foux d'Allos in 'La Liberté de l'Espace'. The Pra Loup gondola is ideal for boarders and beginners as it goes straight up from the village at 1600 to sunny nursery slopes with nearby restaurant and stunning views. The easy green "clappe" run down from the gondola is fitted with permanent snow cannons ensuring snow cover at early and late season. Intermediates can easily get around the area on the numerous blue and red runs. Developing skiers will particularly enjoy this resort with its long open runs and lack of queues which makes it so much easier to ski non-stop and put miles under the skis. The off-piste is easily accessible and because the area is so huge compared to the tourist capacity theres often untracked powder which stays light and dry much longer on the north-facing slopes. Freeriders will love Pra Loup too - plenty of wide open fast runs with the occasional tricky stretch to hold your attention. Reputed to have some of the best snowmaking facilities in France, most of the runs back to the village have snow cannons which are used early season to provide a good base and then late season to keep access open. Purpose-built in 1961 the resort was named after the previous inhabitants of this spectacular site - the mountain wolves. Pra Loup is made up of 2 villages, Molanes at 1500m (Pra Loup 1500) and Pra Loup 1600m - the larger of the two - with most of its shops, café's and bars within easy reach of the slopes.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Pra Loup France
Beginner Trails
 15 runs 20km |
18% |
Intermediate Trails
 26 runs 58km |
32% |
Advanced Trails
 34 runs 89km |
42% |
Expert Trails
 5 runs 5km |
6% |
Pra Loup Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €144 - €144 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2012 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Apr 2013 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Pra Loup Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 180km |
| total length of Pra Loup trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 6.34km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | N |
| direction Pra Loup ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 2600m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1500m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 1500m |
| centre of Pra Loup ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1100m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1100m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Pra Loup
Skiing Pra Loup you'll enjoy 80 pistes and trails and that means approximately 180km of ski runs. Pra Loup lifts number 50 with the capacity to uplift 43970 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Pra Loup is over 6.34km long.
Pra Loup Ski Area
Pra Loup ski area has 18% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 32% intermediate, 42% advanced ski slopes and 6% for expert skiers - the most difficult Pra Loup piste is the 3km La Noire run, with a steepness/slope angle of 45%. You can't ski Pra Loup after dark.
Pra Loup for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Pra Loup
If you snowboard Pra Loup you'll want to know that, of the 50 ski lifts in total, 32 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Pra Loup snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Pra Loup snowboard facilities include 2 terrain parks and 1 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 150 metres), 1 quarter pipe and 2 boardercross courses.
Pra Loup for snowboarding gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Pra Loup Apres Ski
The apres ski Pra Loup scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
34 apres ski bars 34 restaurants 1 bowling 3 night club 1 cinema 2 billiards / pool 1 games room 0 concert 0 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 0 saunas 0 hot tubs 10 solariums 0 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 1 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 1 horse riding 5 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 0 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Adventure Park, Go-Karting (7km away), Quad Biking.
SNO-man says
The tourist office in the centre of Pra Loup 1600 has a list of current events taking place in the resort. Pra Loup 1600 has an outdoor skating rink and indoor tennis courts. There are swimming pool and sauna facilities in some of the resort hotels. There are many trails around the area for winter hiking or snowshowing and some hikes are organised with mountain guides. Its worth hiring a guide for a hike in the Mercantour National Park where you're sure to spot some wildlife or maybe spot some tracks in the snow.
Snowscooters are available for rental, just like a scooter but with a ski instead of wheels. Suitable for 12 to 70 year olds and training courses are available. Snowmobiles and quad bikes are available for hire with special small bikes for the 4 to 12 year olds.
Parapente is very popular in France, this is the same as paragliding but its done with skis on. Panoramic Le Lac summit is used as a take-off point for parapente/paragliding on skis and tandem flights are available at the resort. You simply ski off the edge of the mountain and the instructor (who is attached to you) will do the rest.
In the valley, 7km from Pra Loup, there's a bowling and ice karting centre. 30km further up the valley dog sledding is another possibility.
In neighbouring Foux d'Allos you can brush up on your driving skills - on ice! The driving school has its own ice driving circuit and both instructor and school car are available for hire either for half or whole days.
Pra Loup for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
More Pra Loup Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Pra Loup resort - ski Pra Loup by any other name
The French ski resort of Pra Loup ski resort is also known as Pra Loup Ubaye and has the following common misspellings:
Pra Loup ski area has ski slopes which face N
The direction which the various Pra Loup ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Pra Loup ski resort has ski slopes facing N.
Pra Loup for snow gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Pra Loup reviews, 4 star rating and resort and ski area information is collated by SNO man from staff experience and customer feedback.