ski chalets les arcs

chalet ski holidays in les arcs

There are four 'Arcs', at 1600, 1800, 1950 and 2000 metres. Les Arcs pioneered the Ski Evolutif tuition method, slope-side accommodation, speed skiing and 'nouveau' winter sports.

Established in 1968 the French ski resort Les Arcs lies at 3226 metres altitude in the Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Les Arcs ski area is snow sure. Over 143 snow cannons ensure artificial Les Arcs snow making covers 22km of ski trails, which equates to around 11 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Les Arcs (France) is Geneva at a distance of 150km or approximately 180 minutes driving time. Les Arcs ski season runs from December to April.

les arcs resort and apres ski

Les Arcs used to have a reputation for having nothing to do besides sports, and most of those outdoors. Today Les Arcs is still a centre for all kinds of sports - but there's more of them. The newest addition to Arc 1800 is an outdoor ice skating rink (36x18m) where activities available including hockey, curling and other ice games as well as free skating. There is an existing, natural ice rink at Arc 2000. Other activities to try outdoors are paragliding, snowshoeing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, ski joring, hang-gliding, ice climbing, night skiing and horse riding. The speed skiing course has a straight, smooth 1.74km (just over a mile) long descent ranging in pitch from 76 to 45 degrees - anyone aged 7 to 77 can try a run with helmet and goggles. The current male and female records are over 251kph (156mph) and 242kph (150mph) respectively. There are ten lifts on which pedestrians can travel up to the altitude resorts or access high mountain hiking routes, as well the funicular down to Bourg St Maurice. Indoor facilities are limited but include three squash courts, climbing walls, seven cinemas, six fitness rooms and an eight lane bowling alley at Arc 1800. In a bid to highlight the cultural heritage of the area in general the tourist board in Bourg St Maurice organise tours to visit local crafts people and local museums and historic buildings.

skiing les arcs

The Les Arcs Ski area is big, with one of the biggest verticals and all imaginable conditions and terrain, including Glacier skiing, snow bowls and tree lined slopes.

There are gentle beginner slopes at all the village levels. Arc 1600, is based below the treeline, in the wooded area and has nice gentle runs through the trees. Both 1800 and 2000 have sunny open pistes above the treeline.

As with all combined ski areas, intermediates benefit the most with the greatest variety of choice, with a lot of long fast cruisers and most skiers will manage red down from the Aiguille Rouge, the ski areas highest point.

For the experts there are plenty of challenging runs and extensive off-piste opportunities. One possibility is to descend the legendary 7km black with an impressive vertical of 2000m to the neighbouring village of Villaroger. Others are the mogul Dou d'Homme and the popular off-piste route from La Plagne to Les Arcs returning via the Nancroix forest.

There is also the famous flying kilometre speed skiing course where world records have been set.

Linked to Villaroger, Vallandry and Plan Peisey, Les Arcs ski resort one of the world's largest ski areas. With the funicular down to Bourg Saint Maurice you can also easily reach La Rosière with its lift link over to La Thuile in Italy. In addition the Vanoise Express double decker cable car linked Les Arcs to nearby, La Plagne, to form the Paradiski area with 425km of terrain. The cable car , take 200 people across in 4 min. To extend the ski are even further, to include the Espace Killy ( Val d’Isere & Tignes) and the Three Valleys (Courchevel, Méribel, La Tania, Val Thorens, St Martin de Bellville and Les Menuires), you just need to buy the Savoie Olympic Pass.

Skiing Les Arcs you'll enjoy 105 pistes and trails and that means approximately 200km of ski runs. Les Arcs lifts number 62 with the capacity to uplift 82924 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Les Arcs is over 7km long. Ski Les Arcs summer or winter as there is also glacier skiing in Les Arcs.

Les Arcs Ski Area

Les Arcs ski area has 0% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 51% intermediate, 30% advanced ski slopes and 18% for expert skiers - the most difficult Les Arcs piste is the 1.8km Robert Blanc run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can ski Les Arcs after dark as there is night skiing on ?km of illuminated piste.

Les Arcs for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall

snowboarding les arcs

Les Arcs claims to be the home of snowboarding and is one of more 'boarder friendly resorts. It has great terrain for all styles and abilities and as many chairs and gondolas as surface lifts which makes getting around a lot easier.

The greater Paradiski area has a large number of facilities: - A halfpipe and the so-called 7-3 in La Plagne, with an unprecedented combination of modules spread over a 900 meter-long freestyle run, very American in design! The Les Arcs Apocalypse Snowpark, above Arc 1600, is also enormous with green, red and black descents along a variety of modules. The snow park, which is open to skiers as well, has a wide variety of features: tables, hips, a funbox, a pyramid, big and small gaps as well diverse humps and mounds which making it an attraction where all sliders can find something to suit their ability.

If you snowboard Les Arcs you'll want to know that, of the 62 ski lifts in total, 26 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Les Arcs snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Les Arcs snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 0 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 2 boardercross courses.

Les Arcs for snowboarding gets 5 stars out of 5 overall