The Espace Arcadien website tells the story, with the aid of some great pictures, and then goes on to provide what is probably the only history of how the lift system in Les Arcs has evolved over the years.
Back in those snowier days there was a piste right down to 800m, the foot of the new chairlift, by the Montrigon bridge. A second chairlift went from Les Granges up to Courbaton. By the mid-1960s various draglifts had opened up skiing on the Arpette plateau (site of today's Snowpark; see below).
Some other highlights (!):
1. A cable car was built from Bourg St Maurice to Arc 1600 in 1974. It closed a year after the opening of the funiculaire, in 1990. This suggests its return on investment was, er, not very good. You can see the old gare on the left of the tracks as you arrive at 1600. If, like me, you have nothing better to do, you can take a ride on the funiculaire here.
2. The Espace Arcadien site also provides a photographic record of the construction of your favourite lifts, including the Transarc (1992), Varet (1999) and Vagere (2003). They don't seem to be updating the site at the moment, but the new lift at 1600 means that fast lifts now cover pretty much the whole ski area, with Pre St Esprit and Comborciere the only weak links remaining.
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