Now that's what I call skiing

The massive dump of powder last weekend was immediately followed by days of sunshine and blue skies, creating wonderful conditions for skiing across all the resorts. The vast majority of the pistes and lifts are open, with snow conditions being rather good everywhere.

I have spent the last few days exploring the newly-opened runs and finding the best snow on-piste. The recent snowfall has transformed the whole ski area, filling the gaps between the pistes and increasing the amount of available fun quite significantly.

Temperatures have remained very cold meaning that, despite the sunshine, the snow is sticking about (to the pistes, the trees, the roofs, and almost everywhere else).

Aiguille Rouge to Villaroger

Practically the first, and last, thing I did this week, when the snow had settled and the lifts had re-opened after the deluge, was take the Aiguille Rouge gondola to the top of Les Arcs before snowboarding all the way down to Villaroger. This is around two kilometres of vertical descent and, depending on which route you take, can involve a one-way downhill trip of over 7km! It’s an amazing thing to do and often a real test for your legs. Just be prepared to sit on three separate lifts to get back up to Arc 2000.

At the moment, the run is pretty decent but, due to the extreme altitude change, is divided into a few different sections. The very top is riding pretty consistently with the wide red/black section, before the piste splits from Arandelières, hardening up a bit: it was fast but not quite “full whack” fast. You can speed up, however, in the mid-section around the Droset lift. After the bottom of that lift you soon reach the moguls which are persistent if not particularly difficult to navigate. There are alternative blue pistes at this stage, so you can opt-out of the bumpy stuff if you prefer. The bottom section has some bare patches and some small stones breaking through. If you are not staying in Villaroger, I would suggest getting on the Plan des Violettes lift at the moment rather than heading all the way down. The Pre and Sollieres runs near to the village are still closed.

Comborcière and Muguet

There are two ways of getting onto the Comborcière black run. You can take the Clocheret chairlift above Arc 1600 and Arc 1800, before hurtling down Muguet (black) which joins the Comborcière (black) slope in the upper half. You can also take the Comborcière lift from below Arc 1950 to join the piste at the very top. Find them on the piste maps. 

Muguet is riding very quickly at the moment. It is initially very steep, before turning sharply right and flattening out; it’s worth scrubbing some speed off (but not too much) before you start to turn as it’s not particularly grippy in the corner.

Comborcière is not quite at its best at present, but it’s still a very good run. At the top, the moguls are still reasonably-sized, soft and pretty easy to navigate. There’s even some soft off-piste still available up there too, but it will improve massively with a bit more snow. The only real complaint is the lowest moguls have a few patches of ground showing though, but nothing too drastic or difficult to avoid.

The top of the Comborcière lift also allows access to the Belvedere (blue) run above Arc 1600, although Malgovert (the un-groomed red run where dodging rocks and trees is the order of the day) is still closed.

Bosses, Belette and Renard

Technically Renard (blue) has been open for a few weeks, but it is much wider and more pleasant that it was. The other two runs from the top of the Derby lift are finally open for business and a sterling trade they do too...

Bosses means “bumps” in French, but at the moment this usually-moguled black piste is pretty smooth and very fast. There are a couple of sheer sections where riding flat out can actually help, and, whilst the piste is not as broad in the bottom section as it can be, it’s a great run nonetheless.

Belette is one of my perennial favourite pistes and, right now, it’s feeling great. From start to finish it is super-quick and quite confidence inspiring. Just be careful on the very last part before it joins the Plan Bois blue run.

The off-piste underneath and adjacent to the Derby lift has been tracked out throughout the week making it easier to ride, but arguably less fun.

Other Areas

Above Peisey-Vallandry, the Grive, Blanchot and Perdix pistes have finally combined to make one massive open skiing area and, whilst there are now only a few hints of powder, it is a great place to learn the basics, improve your technique or simply pick your lines with relative freedom. The Ecureuils (black) run is open from the top of the Grizzly lift, but rudely abbreviated where it meets the Peisey lift. Apparently the snow lower down is pretty thin. Ourson is now fully open but something of a “mixed bag”: the top section is fast and interesting with large asymmetrical rollers coming in from both sides, but the bottom is thin, patchy and unpleasant.

The Golf and Vagère (red) runs are both open from the Vagère chair. They are good value in their own right, but also have a huge amount of accessible off-piste directly alongside.

If you enjoy cross-country skiing, all of the pistes in the Nordic area close to Peisey-Vallandry are now open.

Overall, the slopes are in very good condition and, from the blacks to the blues, seem to be running pretty quickly. I have not found any icy areas, although the top layer is thinner in those places where the wind tends to sweep through. With plenty more clear-sky days on the horizon, it is definitely the time to get out there and enjoy some skiing.