Les Arcs, France 2001

THE RESORT

Upon first inspection the ski area appears to be very spread out and disorganized, but there's just so much of it, you'll need a day to find your bearings. The area is basically divided into 2 parts; the area around Arc 2000, which contains a lot of the steeper more challenging terrain and the area on the other side of the ridge above Plan Peisey, Arc 1600 and 1800. The snow quality was good for the time of year, despite one of the shakiest starts to the European season for many years. There was tons of snow at any altitude above 1700/1800 m, but the cover was a bit sketchy lower down at the start of our trip. About halfway through our 10 day trip the big snowstorm we'd all been waiting for arrived and we could finally ski to our door without any fear of hearing that horrible rock grinding noise we'd all got so used to hearing.

Evil Rob kicks out another one

Surfing the frozen ocean

Me kicking out a rooster at the top of the speed skiing run (unused at the time)

The pistes were generally of good standard, the green/blue/red/black grading system was strictly adhered to, and all the runs were clearly marked so there was no danger of beginners ending up where they shouldn't. There was adequate snowmaking in all the areas where it was required, except on the runs down to 1800, which are very heavily used and could begin to wear a bit thin at times. All the beginners slopes were groomed daily, however some of the other runs are left to develop naturally (a list of groomed runs is available at the bottom of most lifts, or just ask the lifties). The lift system is confusing at first due to the immense amount of ground it has to cover, however it is actually quite efficient. The queues were not very big, certainly they never started to get annoying despite us being there at a busy time of year, however some of the lifts were better than others (i.e. some of the chairs are high-speed quads and some are rickety old 2 man chairs). There are a lot of drag lifts, but because of the way the system is arranged I never had to use one in the entire time we were there. Unlike in a lot of European resorts, the lifties were quite friendly and helpful (I can only speculate that the attitude of Canadian/American lift personnel has finally made it over the Atlantic).

Didn't look that impressive to be honest

Mont Blanc I believe

Not a day we'll forget in a hurry

Lee: Showing off and looking good

Unlike in America and Canada, ducking boundary ropes is not an offence here, so if you're confident enough, you can go wherever the fancy takes you without any danger of having your lift pass confiscated. Having said that, the Les Arcs backcountry looks pretty hardcore in places and I'd seriously recommend a guide. There are 4 or 5 guiding companies all competing for your custom, so prices tend to be sensible. There are loads of officially recognized off piste routes, including one which takes you into Italy and you can heli from the nearby resort of La Rosiere (local companies can arrange this for you).

Where'd everybody go?

Seriously big powder turn from Lee

The mountain facilities were good, although those of us used to skiing in N.America are slightly spoilt in this respect especially when it comes to food and drink prices. Certainly, for European resorts the facilities were excellent and the restaurants quite reasonably priced even in the Arc 2000 restaurants which I expected to be overpriced. We spent 8 out our 10 lunch's in Arc 2000, I can't remember the name of the place, but they did a fantastic tagliatelle bolognaise for 48FF.