 Poster: A snowHead
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Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 28-02-24 16:53; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, Blanchets/Carella for me too - but my point is that you may as well be staying in Bellecote - the advantage of escaping the hordes higher up in Belle Plagne is lost.
Upgrading Roche di Mio could change that, of course.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Blast, Staying in Bellecôte and getting the first lift at 9am means walking up a steep hill, if you are not staying in the highest building: résidence 3000. Heading down from Belle Plagne is less intense 
But yes Roche de Mio in Belle Plagne opens later and can have its off-days.
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@JulieAimeLeSki, That's not been my observation regarding queues - every time when I've been close to the front enough to see what's happening, the gaps on the chairs appear to be caused by people holding back at the last second in order to sit with their group. It's really common to see the 8-seaters going up with only 3-6 people on them, despite there being a queue. Hardly any are fully loaded. I've not really noticed this to such an extent at any other resort before.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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8-seater chair lifts are a bit like 4-lane motorways. People just spread out more!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Blast wrote: |
Yes, Blanchets/Carella for me too - but my point is that you may as well be staying in Bellecote - the advantage of escaping the hordes higher up in Belle Plagne is lost.
Upgrading Roche di Mio could change that, of course. |
Except that that upgraded lift will not serve Belle Plagne at all! (There will be a shortened version just linking Belle Plagne to Bellecote, but the upgraded Roche de Mio lift will go from Bellecote to Roche de Mio via Col de Forcle instead of via Belle Plagne).
I agree with the sentiment that although they are upgrading lifts, and adding capacity, there are severe pinch-points when anything goes wrong (and in peak weeks even if it doesn't go wrong). It seems that accommodation is being added faster than uplift capacity.
And they have removed some of the options for avoiding the bottlenecks, like the old Leitchtoums and Colosses drags (and soon probably the Col de Forcle drag).
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Does it feel like there are fewer lifts that either take you half way up from a base town, or take you from half way to the top now Vs ten years ago?
Problem being that beginners who might want to stay closer have to make a journey further out, and then everyone has to come back into the base town on the same run which tracks it out and makes it more difficult and crowded.
I know the lovatiere is an example of this Vs the verdons Nord which it replaced. What was the name of the little wooden 2 seater from yoinks ago?
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| Quote: |
I know the lovatiere is an example of this Vs the verdons Nord which it replaced. What was the name of the little wooden 2 seater from yoinks ago?
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Are you thinking of "Vega" lift? I miss that too!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Ruswit wrote: |
Does it feel like there are fewer lifts that either take you half way up from a base town, or take you from half way to the top now Vs ten years ago?
Problem being that beginners who might want to stay closer have to make a journey further out, and then everyone has to come back into the base town on the same run which tracks it out and makes it more difficult and crowded.
I know the lovatiere is an example of this Vs the verdons Nord which it replaced. What was the name of the little wooden 2 seater from yoinks ago? |
Not only that, there was a complete circuit of drag lifts that gave rise to many 'shortcuts' and queue avoidance. Classic example is Leitchoums drag which allowed access back to Plagne Centre without going back to Bellecote or Champagny but once that was removed (along with the Z drag lift) Collusus from Bellecote and Verdons South became the only way to get back over the ridge. There is pressure from some French groups to get Leitchoums re-instated, there is a glimmer of hope as the Lift Hut and electric sub station are still there.
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@boredsurfin, Fully agree Leitchoums is missing dearly. Very interesting your information. When I used to live in Plagne Centre 2021-2022 I never did Colosses at lunchtime in busy periods but got some speed on the Blanchets slope and poled 200m on the hiking trail to get to Centre with no further lifts.
Today, I taught morning and lunchtime, lovely weather. Sunny, blue skies with a cloud hère and there. Busy though. This afternoon when arriving home at around 15.25pm it seemed like the Bellecôte queues were touching for a moment. I didn't stick around to check it out. Tonight was the Born to be show - event in Plagne Centre with a torchlight descent, numerous demonstrations and a moment of appreciation for the athletes of the resort.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@JulieAimeLeSki,
| Quote: |
| got some speed on the Blanchets slope and poled 200m on the hiking trail to get to Centre with no further lifts |
Yes that was a good 'short cut' once Leitchoums had gone, but have you noticed last season they changed the access to the hiking trail track so you can no longer go straight along the path and so can't get enough speed to get most of the way up!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@boredsurfin, True. I did notice but I don't have a need to use the route regularly at all at the moment.
Today started with a cm or 2 of snow on the ground, not much but still nice, lightly snowing untill 9am.
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I stayed in La Plagne once and vowed never again, non-peak time. Biggest queues I have ever seen in my skiing life - whereas even in New Year in Tignes or St Anton queues are insignificant.
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You know it makes sense.
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JulieAime: you say "got some speed on the Blanchets slope and poled 200m on the hiking trail to get to Centre with no further lifts."
Is the hiking trail marked from the piste or do you need some local knowledge to find it? I assume it's on the bend of the Blanchets piste?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@Blast, No its not on the ski maps and hardly marked on the ground but you can see it clearly from the Colosses chairlift.
On the piste map Blanchets blue becomes Leitchoums blue to run parallel to the Colosses lift, there is a bend with what looks like a random full stop on the map to the right on the bend - that vaguely marks where the cross country track is near the piste. The track then runs up under the lift logo on the map to come out near the Trieuse blue which you then need to cross going up hill (you will be walking or shuffling along on your skis by then) to follow the cross country track to join the Ecartee piste.
Its probably less sweaty to go to Bellecote and get the bus round to 1800 or Centre but not as much fun....
As I said its best to check it out from the lift before attempting it particularly as there is another lower nearby track that is no good to you at all!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Many thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Did anybody get caught on the new bellecote chairlift today?
It looked like a serious technical breakdown and an evacuation was in progress this afternoon.
We went up the Inversens chairlift 4 or 5 times today to stay above the clouds and we could see no movement at all on the bellecote lift so people must have been stuck on there for ar least 2 hours. There was also the occasional plume of thick black smoke coming out of the equipment room at the top of the lift so not a good sign.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@skichampcouk, At 2pm my radio announced ''evacuation à la corde'' de Chalet de Bellecôte. That's all I know. I was not nearby.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Any more details about this lift issue at Bellecote today? My daughter is living in resort and knows nothing of it and Googling reveals nothing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Blast, it's not in Bellecôte. It is the chairlift at the bottom of the ''glacier'' area.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Oh - you mean Glacier 1 lift?
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The original post said chairlift. Glazier 1 is a gondola. So I’m confused.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@JulieAimeLeSki, Yes, that's the one - the chalet de bellecote chairlift. Looks like there is a major problem with it, can't imagine it will be a quick fix.
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So it's a new 20 year old chairlift. And I thought it was something shiny and new and fast!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Ruswit wrote: |
Does it feel like there are fewer lifts that either take you half way up from a base town, or take you from half way to the top now Vs ten years ago?
Problem being that beginners who might want to stay closer have to make a journey further out, and then everyone has to come back into the base town on the same run which tracks it out and makes it more difficult and crowded.
I know the lovatiere is an example of this Vs the verdons Nord which it replaced. What was the name of the little wooden 2 seater from yoinks ago? |
My cynical take on this is that it has been a deliberate attempt to create longer lift queues to reduce the number of skiers on the piste at any one time, therefore to allow higher lift pass sales at peak periods.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Today: the weather went up and down, we went in and out of the cloud at various times during the day. In the end it started snowing continuously at about 4pm, with stronger winds at the top.
Tomorrow: Course Odyssea in Belle Plagne, a run against breast cancer.
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| PatrickK_ie wrote: |
| wyattjnr wrote: |
Off to La Plagne on Thursday for 4 days with 4 complete beginner kids. Staying at Ho 36 as it was only cost effective place we could find that allowed us to go across to HT's.
Any tips would be appreciated for ski hire and what passes to get, also some nice places to eat with kids!
Kids in private lessons for 2 -3 hours per day.
Use to go to Belle Plagne as a kid but cannot remember much about La Plagne! |
We rented from Ski Republic Les Ecrins through here - https://www.alpinresorts.com/en/ski-rental/france/rhone-alpes/la-plagne-centre-aime/ski-republic-la-plagne-bellecote
Was the cheapest I could find around - 209e/week for 2 adults and 2 kids and equipment was fine for our needs
We went for the local (La Plagne) ski pass rather than the Paradiski pass and there was more than enough for us to discover in that - Paradiski includes Les Arcs but we would not have had enough time to use that and get back to pick kids up from lessons |
Thanks for all that great info.
We're staying same place as you did (Front De Neige) and have also booked ski hire from Ski Republic Les Ecrins so just wondering about how to get there on the Sunday morning ? I'm guessing it's a bus journey into Plagne Centre.
Also as we have a beginner with us has anyone tried the Coolski Pack at Plagne Centre ?
Plus we're all first timers to La Plagne so any tips would be appreciated thanks.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Jammy 07, if I understand you right you are staying in Plagne Villages but renting in Plagne Bellecote. That probably means 2 buses, one into Plagne Centre then a separate one to Bellecote (that may go via Plagne 1800).
You could avoid the first by walking to the Telebus and taking that down, then walking to the bus station.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hi and thanks for the reply.
To the best of my knowledge the rental shop in Plagne Centre, although Ski Republic do have a branch in Bellecote as well. They had a great online discount so decided to try and save some money by pre booking, not something I'd usually do but France is expensive compared to where we usually ski.
Think it was 74 euros (boots & skis) for the week for top of the range for my teenage son (adults were about 120 euro for their best skis).
Not exactly sure where our apartments are but looking at a map they seemed on the bus route to Plagne Centre.
It's quite daunting going to a large resort with lot's of different areas but I guess we'll get used to it in a day or two.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Oops. I made the mistake of assuming the hyperlink above saying ... bellecote ... was to the branch there!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| ecureuil wrote: |
| Oops. I made the mistake of assuming the hyperlink above saying ... bellecote ... was to the branch there! |
 Hadn't tried the link but thanks for trying to help as it's much appreciated.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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What are the piste conditions like currently?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Unsurprisingly a big dump yesterday and blue skies today led to huge crowds today. Queues for the gondola in Champagny went outside of the esf complex into the residential streets and chairlift queues were easily 20 mins getting out of Champagny.
The new gondola up to the glacier means that the combe red run is now ridiculously easy. Admittedly the snow was perfect today, but I'd expect it to be a blue really.
@Gassy222, really excellent after the last 2 days of snow, but not great at lower altitudes,maybe 1600m or lower.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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And talking of Huge Queues Ruswit, Bellecote at 4pm yesterday was bonkers: the queues for Blanchette, Colosses and Arpette all merged into one massive melée.
We fought our way through disgruntled skiers reluctant to give way between Colosses and Arpette, skied thro Bellecote and took the bus.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That sounds horrendous ! I wonder if this is the plan now or if it’s just a year when factors have combined to cause this ?
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boulevardier, it has been The Plan for some time now. A quick Internet search will find pictures of the merged queues from previous years. This thread has many references to avoiding Bellecote at key times, such as end of the day, and bemoaning the removal of useful lifts that allowed us to bypass.
Yesterday was first decent sunny day of the week. It is still French holidays. It was inevitable.
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I saw that at new year week as well, but only passed through there once at that time. It was the worst queue I've ever seen but it "only" took me 15 / 20 minutes to get on Arpette but a lot of elbows involved. Back next week but will be outside school holidays so will report back.
Edited for poor grammar
Last edited by After all it is free  on Fri 8-03-24 11:38; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I had an awesome full days skiing Les Arcs on monday with the Paradiski pass, decided to toss a coin whether to ski La Plagne on Tuesday or ski the same as Monday.
La Plagne won the toss (don't toss coins over it), I am surprised how long it took me to get to the glacier, and when I got there most was closed and had to come back down glacier 1 gondola.
Afterwards 2 red runs then escaped to the Vanoise Express, for 2+ hours skiing.
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This year was my first visit to LP and was at half term. I expected busy but not like that. Is Les Arcs similar? Nowhere will be quiet but it seemed inescapable and really bad.
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