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Vanoise Express routes?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Going to Les Coches in January so might be using the Vanoise Express a bit.
Can anyone tell me what the runs on the Les Arcs side are like?
Is it worth buying the whole Paradiski pass or just stick with La Plagne.

Looking at the Piste map, the runs and lifts look like it is time consuming to get very far, particularly to the higher Les Arcs runs if the snow is patchy. Runs and lifts all look straight up and down with little option to travel far. I think there is a newish lift from the Vanoise Express but not sure which one it is or where it takes you.

Thanks for any advise, can't wait to get back to snow, sick of plastic. Smile
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
JulianB,

The Paradiski, while not perfect, is very straightforward to get around. Most people find the Les Arcs side easier than La Plagne in that regard. If you can ski red runs confidently than I'd get the Paradiski pass, especially as you are so close to the VE. Another option is the "Decouverte" which gives you one day on the other side, but you'll kick yourself if you love Les Arcs. I'm just a middling sort of intermediate skier and Plagne Centre to Aiguille Rouge and back in a day was quite leisurely, including a lunch stop.
Travelling "across" Les Arcs is pretty easy - Vanoise Express > Peisey > Derby > Transarc and you're at the top of the 1950/2000 bowl and two lifts from the Aiguille Rouge. Getting back takes even fewer lifts. Of course, if you want to take every lift and ski every piste on the way then it will take a lot longer. Toofy Grin

You'll be unlucky if the snow is patchy, much of the ski area is over 2000m and the important linking pistes have got more snow canons than you can shake a ski pole at.
Enjoy - you'll love it.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 15-10-12 12:32; edited 1 time in total
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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?
Btw - the interactive Paradiski map is a bit rubbish for actually finding your way around - download a pdf of the paper one (Les Arcs side) here http://hiver.lesarcs.com/download/507bfc0abb7223.86402458
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JulianB, Beautiful runs in the trees on the LA side just over the V-Express.

I would say defo get the full pass and have the freedom to roam. Great area and Les Coches is the perfect base. Are you going with Mountain Sun?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Going with Familyski.
They look after the kids till after lunch while mrs and me ski.
Then we all go off together on mostly blues.
Lovely. snowHead
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
JulianB wrote:
Going with Familyski.
They look after the kids till after lunch while mrs and me ski.
Then we all go off together on mostly blues.
Lovely. snowHead
Sounds good - you could easily get to the top of the Aiguille Rouge or (in the other direction) over to Champagny and back and then enjoy those runs above Vallandry (as red 27 says, beautiful) or your end of the La Plagne area with the kids.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
If you are in that part of the region, I would advise against skiing down to the village of Champagny-En-Vanoise (quite a nice village), if you prefer, as you suggest, a gentle ski. Both routes are generally quite difficult and at other times a nightmare. Many people take the lift down even in good snow conditions!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Mr Marmot wrote:
If you are in that part of the region, I would advise against skiing down to the village of Champagny-En-Vanoise (quite a nice village), if you prefer, as you suggest, a gentle ski. Both routes are generally quite difficult and at other times a nightmare. Many people take the lift down even in good snow conditions!
Not with the kids, sure, and maybe not all the way down to the village in any case, but the pistes in the valley above the village are well worth a visit. Cruisy blues if you want or the Kamikaze* red if you fancy a bit more excitement.

*not nearly as scary as the name suggests btw, Julian.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
As agw says you could try the Discovery pass if you didn't want to pay for the lot - gives you a day in Les Arcs, which is definitely worthwhile. But as above, Les Coches is a great base for Paradiski.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Thanks all.
Full area family pass it is then , £711 Crying or Very sad
agw- knowing you can do peisey to derby to transarc is not clear fom the map, so thanks for that.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
JulianB wrote:
Thanks all.
Full area family pass it is then , £711 Crying or Very sad
agw- knowing you can do peisey to derby to transarc is not clear fom the map, so thanks for that.
You're right, it's not clear on the interactive online thing - it is a bit clearer on that pdf I linked to. You actually don't need to take the Derby lift, you can ski from the top of the Peisey chair to the bottom Transarc station but it's more interesting to go via Derby imo.

The other way of looking at the price is that the Paradiski family pass is only €80 more than the La Plagne-only one. Smile
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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.
Quote:

agw- knowing you can do peisey to derby to transarc is not clear fom the map, so thanks for that.

Actually you do not need to go up the Derby. From Peisey just keep heading across and voila you are at the Transarc or the Vagere. I often get my timings wrong, but IIRC it is less than an hour from the Vanoise Express to the Varet in Arc 2000. And probably only about 1:30 to Villaroger.

Last Christmas we left Arc1600 about 9:30 and skied across to Champagny for an early lunch. I had never skied down there before and though it was an interesting excursion the skiing, apart from the initial descent from the Roche de Mio, was actually pretty monotonous. It was really just a track almost all the way. We got lost in Plagne centre on the way back! My son is keen to do Villoroger and Champagny on the same day with possible descents to la Grange and Montalbert along the way.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

but it's more interesting to go via Derby imo.

+1

Derby and transarc mid station, or Grand Renard if you like the cold Twisted Evil
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Peisey to to Transarc looks utterly impossible from the piste map! They really should redraw that with arrows down the runs.

I had to take my better half down the black At La Masse near Val Thorens last year. The adjacent red we had intended to take turned out to be uphill for the first 100m. Puzzled

Who knew, but it was my fault of course rolling eyes
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:

Peisey to to Transarc looks utterly impossible from the piste map! They really should redraw that with arrows down the runs.


Its fairly straight forward if you've been there. The blue pistes which head across the map are basically roads. Fairly flat, not particularly wide. The way the map is drawn is to show the continuation of each run (hence some of the loops don't seen to indicate the possiblity of continuation). Foret is the one that runs from the top of grizzly back to the bottom and winds its way all over the shop. You tend to drop in and out of it often and in more places that would seem possible from the map when you are going between the runs which run down the page. From the top of Peisey drop into Foret and onto Maitaz and you are at the bottom of the transarc (2 stage gondola)

But have some fun and take Derby instead Smile

If it comes down to the money or you don't want to put in the miles, you can save Les Arcs for another trip. Otherwise, it will be worth at least a day trip (probably 2 or 3 given your proximity). The red runs into Vallandry are good fun. Not overly steep, plenty wide and have a consistant slope the whole way down.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
La Plagne is mostly easy skiing. Les Arcs has a big range including very good tough runs. The Peisy area, on the Les Arcs side of the link is partly in glades through trees so a very good choice in bad visibility.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
JulianB, get thee over to:

http://openpistemap.org/?lat=45.54&lon=6.7574&zoom=12&layers=BTTTT

where there are much more sensible maps where you can tell up from down. (although contours don't seem to be working for me today)
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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?
What snowball, said - very good summary. I prefer the runs on the Les Arcs side, to be honest, especially over in the 1950/2000 bowl and off the 'needle'
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JulianB, Funnily enough, I was considering the Paradiski pass for the option to visit La Plagne when I went to Les Arcs in 2010 - ie doing it the other way round from yourself. As it turned out, I'm pleased I didn't buy the full domain access as there was more than enough terrain on the Les Arcs side to keep me occupied at the time. As RattytheSnowRat says, it's worth making the trip over via the VE to do the needle in the 1950/2000 bowl, some amazing views from the top as well as some great runs down from it.
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