Les Arcs, France

PETER HADFIELD from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

Just returned after a new year week holiday in Les Arcs 06/07. Stayed at Du Golf hotel in 1800, great location by the lifts, nice clean rooms, attractive lounge bar with open fire, food truly awful, cheap cuts of meat and fish served semi warm.
The snow conditions where superb even before the big dumps we had early in the week, this is at a time when other resorts were dry. The ski area is superb,full of challenging varied skiing for all levels.Aiguille Rouge closed all week,avalanche risk. Favourite runs, the bosses black above Vallandry, great fun, the refuge black down from Grand Col (scary),the lac red from the L,Arpette lift down towards 1950, the grds melezes blue back to 1800. Lift queues only realy a problem in 2000, the Plagnettes and Arcabulle lifts, almost walked straight on to all other lifts. The Chantel lift in 1800 needs replacing with a six pack. ESF ski school excellent, good English, friendly, my daughter had a week of lessons and was going down reds by the end of the week, her first week on skis. One word of warning though ESF will challenge your group and push you which was too much for my nervous wife and a number of others in her group. Nursery area not big enough in 1800. Complete beginners better off in Plan Peisey/Vallandry. Children have seperate excellent learning areas above all villages. The main problem for nervous beginners is progression,the reds are real reds and some blues have steepish sections, especially at 1600. The sign posting at the top of lifts and intersections is superb, no need for a piste map you always know were you are heading, this is something a lot of other resorts could learn from. Vast ski area, superb variety of long runs for all levels, great snow, enjoy.

2007-01-08