Les Arcs/ La Plagne conundrum

A snowHead

It is that time of year again and I am trying to resolve impossible demands from many different angles. In case it matters/helps, we are talking mid January here.

Basics:
Chalet preferred, mid price.

The awkward squad I am trying to cater for: 1 Me likes to cover a distance and go different places. 2 Bev - good skier but limited range due to unbelievably wrecked (and I mean wrecked) right leg. Sometimes just has to get back quickly by gondola from wherever we are. BUT wants to support a charity do in La Plagne and ski with friends also supporting it at least once in the week. 3. Sue - bit of a snowplougher but better than she thinks she is. Likes blues. 4 Steve- non skier. Likes to tinker in chalet of take buses or gondolas to meet ski party. 5 Jon- Young fast ace skier who HATES La Plagne. Would be OK with Les Arcs, though. 6 Matt Likes flat blues and easy runs.

Now I am thinking Plan Peisy as that gives Bev best chance of getting to support the charity event in La Plagne, but it is a bit cut off for our non-skier. Any suggestions?

Thanks, in anticipation.

A snowHead

Chris Bish, Is your non-skier a walker? If so, Plan Peisey would be be fine for him - several nearby restos to walk to, to meet skiers (particularly thinking La Vache). The Vallandry lift is a pedestrian one also, so he could get to Les Enfants Terrible for lunch, and its about 40 mins to walk to Les Arcs 1800 & the cable car up to the top. A friend & I made it ovr to 1600 whith my dodgy knee & her broken ankle last year, with a combination of walking & Les Arcs buses. Buses regularly down to Nancroix, lobster pots down to Peisey - all free. Definitely one to think about Very Happy

Give me a shout if you want to know anything else about the place Very Happy

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I think Bev's criteria need the most consideration. In La Plagne you can end up over the ridge and hence in a difficult position to recover from. Les Arc offers a better chance in that you can largely return by bus. Once my knee gave out in Villaroger, a couple of lifts and a gentle ski on one leg got me to Pre St. Espirit and a navette home. If he or she is in good condition a day in La Plagne would be no trouble at all, but getting back might become a problem should pain strike

You would be happy in either Les Arcs or La Plagne and easily go from one to the other. No doubt from Villaroger to Champagny and back in a day. Sue and Matt may prefer La Plagne but there are gentle blues on both sides of the divide.

Steve is not really a consideration since he will not ski so the resort is largely irrelevant, but the flesh pots of Bourg st Maurice may be tempting (there is the cheese factory). At which point it has to be Les Arcs and the funicular.

Jon, well it has to be Les Arcs.

My suggestion would be Arc 1600 but I am not sure of the chalet situation there at the moment. There are a couple of hotels.

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Massively encouraging genepi, thanks. I think Plan Peisey fits the bill for our skiing needs but I was not wanting to leave Steve unable to get around. He does walk and likes forest trails, which I recall there are. He loves to get about on buses too. Is that an option from Plan Peisey?

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johnE, Steve would love the funicular. Can you get to it from Plan Peisey (which seems to have plenty of nice chalets, which is why I am attracted to it.} Bev is very good at knowing her limits and managing her pain levels. I am also attracted to the proximity of the Vanoise Express which means La Plagne access is easy for those who like that kind of thing - OK I admit I share Jon's prejudice a bit!

A link to bus maps would be very useful...

Thanks all. snowHead

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Lots to do from Plan Peissey or Valandry - buses going down to the main Valley or the beautiful Nancroix valley. Also the "lobster pots" take pedestrians down to the old Peissey village. I would look closer at Valandry given a lot of chalet accommodation there (check out Les Chalets des Bellecote for mid range rentals) - and also it is closer to Les Arcs 1800 for walking over through the forest trails

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The navettes serve Plan Peisey, Peisey, Vallandry, the Nordic centre down in Rosuel (some beautiful walking to be had down there - in fact, lovely walk down from Plan Peisey - & you can get a bus back) & Landry. Its a walk over to 1800 to pick up the buses there for 1800, 1600 (& funi) 1950 & 2000, but its a pretty walk down a service road which is kept passable only for emergency services, so quiet. Locally, I've only used the buses back up the hill from the Nordic area, as the rest is very walkable.
Ski Beat & Direct Ski have some nice chalets there. Last year, for 15euros, the Vanoise Hotel allowed the use of their pool/spa/ gym too, which was lovely.

After all it is free

http://www.peisey-vallandry.com/villages-stations.html

The bus shuttle timetable will be up soon.

All excellent info, thanks. Having had doubts that this was the right place for Steve, it now looks as if it is superb for Steve. Are runs back down to Plan Peisey reasonably gentle? They would need to be blue on the map for the nervous ones.

johnE, is right to be concerned about Bev. Few of the people who have skied with her appreciate how much pain she endures to ski at all. For scale, last year she managed to get over to St Martin de Belleville from La Tania and back, but that was about the limit. The event she wants to support will be in that bit of La Plagne that looks like a wooden cliff. Is that 2000? Though I suppose her friends could ski over towards the Vanoise Express to meet up with us. What is "the ridge"? What makes it an obstacle?

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Chris Bish, The Retour Plan Peisey is a blue road. The last little bit can get busy, but you'll very quickly learn to miss Club Med returning to basecamp for food wink

You can also download on the Plan Peisey lift if necessary.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Though technically possible to get the funicular by bus it is pretty tedious. You have to get the infrequent bus down to Bourg st. Maurice and start from there. There is a bus service up the Nancroix valley and the access to the Vanoise national park

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johnE, Well explained. Thanks. It looks as if most of our skiing will be in Les Arcs then, with Bev having the option of going over the Vanoise Express if she feels up to it. Plan Peisey is looking admirable for our purposes. had a very good experience with Ski beat in La Tania last year, so I will try them first.

snowHead

You know it makes sense.

Try Ski Olympic - Chalethotel La Foret - right on a blue piste (which is actually a cat track leading down to the Vallandry lift). They have a public bar/cafe which does reasonable lunches so you could meet your non-skier for lunch there as well as up the mountain.

Oh and if your friend does get stuck and unable to ski back then a cab down to the valley and back up (in our case from Arc 1950 to Vallandry) was €100 two seasons ago.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

It's not the end of the world if you drop into Vallandry either - is not a huge walk or there is also a bus. personally think there are more options going into Vallandry and a lot more gentle - particularly La Foret.

Our non-skiing in-laws joined us in Vallandry and found plenty to do with walks and lobster pots etc

A snowHead

Chris Bish, Greetings. Very Happy

Long time no see. Sorry to read that Bev has rogered her knee.
Anyway, I admire your determination to pander to all your group. I would never have the compassion. But from my reading, there is only one of your group presenting any real problem, and that is "Young Fast Ace Skier" (presume he can walk-the-walk). Otherwise La Plagne would be fine for everyone.
Peissey/Vallandry would be an ok compromise, but I suspect that Bev's "charity do in La Plagne" could be based beyond Bellecote (Plagne Centre or 2000) which could be quite a trek for someone with dodgy knees and no easy way back.
So, this Young Fast Ace Skier - what's his problem with La Plagne? They've put back Rochu and Bellecote runs, two superb black runs. But - and sssshhhh!, keep this to yourself - La Plagne has some of the finest off-piste runs anywhere in the alps. There are runs going off in all directions from the top of the Bellecote glacier, and the North Face of Bellecote is one of the finest off-piste runs around.
I've been going to La Plagne for 20 years now. I like steep and tricky. I've never been bored.
(I have tried Val d'Isere/Tignes, 3 valleys, and Verbier valleys, but always drift back to Paradiski)

A snowHead

Jonpim, sounds like sound advice. Anyway if he is that good he won't have any trouble skiing himself to Les Arcs and knocking himself out on Robert Blanc

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Thanks everyone for helpful ideas and info.

Jonpim, Long time no see too. I think we last met when I was starfishing one of those "Oh so tame" La Plagne blacks! Bev's right leg was written off in a motorcycle accident back in 1977 and it has got very difficult for her due to bone spurs in her ankle, not to mention no ACL. She only just dodged ankle fusion back in 2011 thanks to massive pain-killer upgrades. She has been doing a lot of road cycling this year which has helped strengthen what is left of her leg. All the same, she has to be careful. She is very keen to support this event in La Plagne (2000 - I think). I think Jon might just have to put up with it as everyone else will be happy with the place. Jon is our son, for new readers.

Latest complication is that one of our number has an unavoidable event on the Saturday, so it needs to be a Sunday to Sunday trip. That rules out Ski Beat (shame as they were superb last year in La Tania.) It does open up Mark Warner which I believe is nice. I imagine there are other companies that do Sunday to Sunday in that area. (Just done some searches - not many!) The more I think about it, I am coming to think a base in La Plagne is the best bet as the two "long-range" people can pop off over the Vanoise and the cruisers can enjoy La Plagne. I assume there are good places in La Plagne for our walking non-skier?

Thanks again.

snowHead

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Chris Bish, Esprit do Sunday to Sunday, & so do Club Med.

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Chris Bish, The friend who is stuck in the UK on Saturday could get the train on Saturday night and meet up with the rest of the party on Sunday morning.

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johnE, What a great idea. Overnight to BSM on TGV I guess. Esprit looks a bit child orientated. Is it?

snowHead

After all it is free

Esprit is a family thing - look at their sister co, Ski Total, as they share charters & transfers etc so do Sunday to Sunday. We went to Pesiey 2 seasons back in January - when getting over to Les Arcs and on the VE to La Plagne was a no go because of winds and white out, there was still some local tree line skiing available. Don't remember much going on in the resort but then we were with Esprit due to 2 under 2's so have no idea what a social life is!

Hi, Ski Olympic do Sunday to Sunday and have a ski in/out property in La Plagne - The Graciosa. We went there last Xmas and is was excellent.

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Big thumbs up for Ski Olympic from me Chris, We have been on multiple tripos with them. Some were eventful, but all were brilliant holidays.

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Chris Bish, impressed Bev is soldiering on so well - hope she does manage some good skiing this coming season.
Anyway, your decision to go for La Plagne is of course very sensible.
Sunday to Sunday is not problem.
You mention Mark Warner. We did stay in their Hotel Christiana for Xmas 2007. We had a great time: rather basic accomodation, but good food, friendly staff, and Scotties underneath if you wanted some fun Apres Ski - don't worry, we were never bothered by noise even though our room faced out front.
Unfortunately, the great bonus for Mark Warner was their Ski Guide Service, now no longer available due to the ongoing dispute (see inthesnow and snowheads)
Instead I would support those who have suggested the Graciosa. It is an excellent position just above Plagne Centre (and so easy access to 2000), made recently even better by the widening of the adjacent piste.
I've not stayed they myself, but a number of good friends have, and they are all very complimentary. As are the comments on Trip Advisor. The English manager is very welcoming.

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We have already had a veto from one member of our party on the grounds of noise at Christiana. The Graciosa looks lovely and we particularly like the prospective views from the top floor lounge. Is it well connected to bus and pedestrian lifts for our walker?
We are also looking at Chalet Campanules down at Les Coches. The only downside to this appears to be the odd bathroom/toilet arrangements. It also seems a long way from civilisation. On the other hand it is good for access to the Vanoise Express and has bus links for our walker.

Thanks for all the info everyone.

snowHead

Hi Chris Bish,

It's a 2 min stroll down the piste into Plagne Centre where your non skier will find shops / bars / etc. From here they have two gondola options, one to Aime Plagne & one to the top of the Grand Rochette with reataurants & bars at both destinations.

Bus wise, Plagne Centre is served by a Navette that links the other Plagne villages (1800 / Belle / Soleil)

You know it makes sense.

Chris Bish, That Chalet Campanules is a tricky place to find on a map. The map on the chaletdirect site is useless.
However, it is clearly pinpointed on the stations2ski.fr site as C43, right next to Bellevue at C44.
The map from montchavinlescoches-immobilier.com is more useful in showing the set up of bus-stops and other facilities. This map does not pinpoint Campanules, but it does show Bellevue as Chalet 2 (top right).
The chalet is a bit out-of-the-way, but they do serve meals for all 6 days, and the write-up on the site looks good.
Slightly odd are the 4 "reviews", which are all dated 16 June 11.

AS you say: this place is good for the Vanoise, but the problem of getting Bev to 2000 and back remains.

SnowMonkey69 is quite right that the Graciosa has easy access to Plagne Centre, and hence a whole host of lovely walks. There is one especially delightful walk that goes up to the Dou du Praz restaurant between Plagne Centre and Bellecote. I've only done it from the Bellecote side (bus to Bellecote and walk back), but I'm sure its just as delightful the other way.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Jonpim, good to see you back and as usual the posts with an above avrage of links. All good stuff.
How is the El Dorador in BP these days ? Still a Mercure ? I stopped going when they blitzed the tiny single roomettes !! wink

A snowHead

Dubaian, El Dorador sorely missed. Mercurisation a disaster.
Bernie has moved on to Val d'Isere.

A snowHead

Graciosa booked for he 19th January.

Thanks for much helpful advice.

snowHead

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Well, just got back, and what a tribute to snowHeads this thread is. The advice I received was truly excellent as was the holiday in almost every respect.

Bad news first. One of the charity events was a toboggan run from the top of Golf down to La Roche. At night this was VERY challenging (to those of us over 75kg at least). Sue broke her arm and that was the end of her week. She remained cheerful and wants to go back.

The charity, by the way, is in support of an Instructor at La Plagne, Fabien Plassard who has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease. He married one of my former students. Bev worked with his wife's father. The charity is funding treatment for Fabien as well as research. Fabian has difficulty in speaking and eating, but still skis like a demon. A group of friends, which we joined for a while, were skiing the height of Everest as a sponsored event.

So, first objective, to support the Absolutely Fabulous charity was successfully achieved.

Piste conditions were superb throughout the week, which meant Bev was able to get more skiing in than she has done for years. Cycling has certainly helped her fitness and muscle strength thus built up did wonders for her. She skied every day and had two lessons of high-speed carving with the excellent Jenny from Oxygene (highly recommended.)

The location of the Graciosa also helped hugely. You can ski to the door - or the bar if desperate- and it is so convenient. The place shows its age a bit, but we had superb service from the young and enthusiastic staff. That was a great recommendation, thanks, and I suspect we will go there again.

Matt (hippo) did his lessons with Jenny too and rediscovered his enthusiasm and ability.

Our non-skier Steve, loved being in the centre of the action and the views from the chalet are exceptional.

Our second weeker had a ball with Oxygene's ski-school and progressed very well. Slight snag was Bev and I taking her down the direct way back to the chalet on the first day in the fog without realising that "La Plagne Blue" means anything from a pole-fest to a very fair degree of redness, like the St Saveur run involved here. She side-slips very well now! I think that has got to be a favourite run. It offers such a range of technical challenges and lets you use all of the types of turns I got from my lesson with Jenny, who very kindly said I was not crap and did not look that much like a wheelie bin on skis.

We covered a lot of Km and didn't see all of it. My prejudice against La Plagne was soon exposed as ludicrous nonsense (like oh-so many of my opinions to be honest!)

Really, I can't wait to go back, but given the choice I still have a sneaking preference for the booming reds of the 3V. But that off-piste at La Plagne looks a great place to start that stuff.

Brilliant holiday for all. Thanks to all snowheads who contributed help and advice.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Updating this thread to confess that Bev and I are returning to Graciosa on Sunday. Just the two of us. At less than half price, it was too good to pass over. Beer in the sun is my main ambition!

snowHead

After all it is free

Chris Bish, so glad you had a good time in January.
And I'll still be here in 1800 next week.
Might i join for that beer in the sun?

Jonpim, Would be good to meet up. I'll pm you my mobile number later on.

snowHead

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Les Arcs/ La Plagne conundrum

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