 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Snowheads, making our annual Xmas ski trip to Tignes again this year and for a bit of a change thinking about taking advantage of the free day on the lift pass to Les Arcs, having never skied this area before.
As usual, the biggest consideration in all of this is wifey's highly variable skiing ability. On a good day in good conditions "double M" is manageable, but, any hint of ice or moguls and the easiest blue can become a painful experience in getting her down.
Any thoughts on the two areas and where to go and avoid, obviously all things being well this will be on a day where weather and conditions should be at their best?
Thanks for any advice guys and gals
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Will you have a car? Closest access to Les Arc from Tignes is Villaroger. If the snow's halfway good, your wife should be fine coming down the blue run there to get back. But, if there isn't a lot of snow then it can be much more tricky to get back.
The alternative is to drive to Bourg and the funicular. No access issues there, but it adds a lot to the drive.
You could post back here just before your trip and get an up-to-the-minute report on the state of the villaroger links.
Once you're in the main resort there are so many options. Blue runs everywhere, plus lots of confidence-building reds. Good tip is to go over towards vallandry; the reds and blues cross-cross so you can start a red and easily bail out onto the blue if you prefer. Great resort for building confidence.
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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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Yes we will have a car, so point of access is not an issue. Lots of confidence building reds with bail outs onto blues sounds perfect
How is the Aiguille Rouge red from the top, looks easy enough on utube but I know this is often the case in these videos?
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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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I would agree with @Mairedoconner re Villaroger, an certainly be very aware of the conditions which can be a little nasty at the end of the day, but if they are good get some fruit tart at the farm restaurant at the bottom. Perhaps more to the point I understand the polyvalence (reciprocal lift pass arrangement) will not exist this year so no free pass.
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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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I don't think the free lift pass for the day was available last year either
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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hmm... that run down to Villaroger tends towards ice so unless snow conditions are very good it might not be the best entry point for your wife. The runs down to Arc 1600 are generally more forgiving and much wider, so I would suggest that as a better entry point. It's also pretty easy access - drive to the funicular base station at Bourg and get the funi up to 1600. That's about 15 minutes further to drive. From 1600 you have easy access to both the Arc 1800/Vallandry side (lower, lots of trees) and the Arc 1950/2000 side (higher, big exposed bowl). They both have lots of easy blues, weather on the day would affect which side is better.
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@Coco, te Aiguille Rouge red from the top is daunting for the first 100m as it is narrow and often scraped/polished, as well as feeling quite exposed as there are catch nets on one side with a steep drop behind them After that section it opens up to a wide are which is a bit steeper than Double M but is often terrific skiing because there is so much space to use.
You can see the steep section at the start from the top of the cable car, and if your wife doesn't fancy it she can easily download on the cable car (quite a few people go up just for the view, so downloading is fairly common).
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@Gämsbock, +1 on heading to the funicular at Bourg.
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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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@Coco, Aguille Rouge is one of those runs that everyone wants to 'tick off their list' and it can be pretty busy. Great views on a good day, but it's not particularly easy. Usually quite a bit of weather all the way up there. If your wife gets nervous she may not enjoy it.
Treat the day as an exploratory jaunt to decide if you want to make a full trip to les arcs another year. You don't have to see everything in one day 
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@rob@rar, I find the tricky part of the Aiguille Rouge not that top 100 or so metres but the little track afterwards (the direct route is almost always closed) though not steep it is narrow and full of bodies and rocks. After that the glacier section is wonderful, truely wonderful. That is followed by a long road section then gets really nice again from Plan Violettes where lots of options open up.
I agree with the others on this post - park at the funicular station and explore the resort from 1600. Start with the mont blanc blue run which IMHO is one of the best blues in the world.
Leave the Aiguille Rouge for another day when you are prepared to spend 20 minutes queuing for the lift.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Aiguille Rouge - there is a zig zag you can use to avoid the initial steep pitch. Also there tends be a quick burst of people after the cable car arrives. If you stand back for 5 minutes it clears and then it's more pleasant. It's a great run, one of my favourite pistes.
Don't see the issue using Villaroger has a entry point unless conditions lower down are really poor.
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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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Surely there is no need to do the Aiguille Rouge from the top of the cable car? You can take the lanchettes chairlift from Arc 2000 and just ski the lower part of Aiguille Rouge which I don't remember being that hard. I haven't skied it in December though - it was April slush rather than ice when I last went down it.
Can anyone confirm whether or not there is a reciprocal lift arrangement between Paradiski and Espace Killy this year? We are staying in Les Arcs and might do the day in Tignes if it is an option.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Layne, It is but the OP said his wife was not a confident skier.
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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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| snowymum wrote: |
| @Layne, It is but the OP said his wife was not a confident skier. |
Actually he said "As usual, the biggest consideration in all of this is wifey's highly variable skiing ability. On a good day in good conditions "double M" is manageable, but, any hint of ice or moguls and the easiest blue can become a painful experience in getting her down."
IME the snow is very good on the Aggy Rouge. If it's a pleasant sunny day I'm sure she would be fine as it's no more difficult than Double M. If there is poor vis and/or poor weather I wouldn't go up there myself. I have done and it's not a pleasant experience.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
Surely there is no need to do the Aiguille Rouge from the top of the cable car?
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It depends upon whether you are talking about the piste or the mountain. One suggestion was to take the cable car up to look at the view and then down again. Another was to join the piste half way down. Early in the season this can be a real ski wrecker due to the amount of stones showing through. Unless the snow is very good if I go up the lanchettes chair i will take either the combe or the blue back down, which is a shame as the bump field below plan violettes is usually very enjoyable.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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| johnE wrote: |
@rob@rar, I find the tricky part of the Aiguille Rouge not that top 100 or so metres but the little track afterwards (the direct route is almost always closed) though not steep it is narrow and full of bodies and rocks. After that the glacier section is wonderful, truely wonderful. That is followed by a long road section then gets really nice again from Plan Violettes where lots of options open up.
I agree with the others on this post - park at the funicular station and explore the resort from 1600. Start with the mont blanc blue run which IMHO is one of the best blues in the world.
Leave the Aiguille Rouge for another day when you are prepared to spend 20 minutes queuing for the lift. |
I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this post.
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