WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? New lifts for Les Arcs

It's more than 50 years since the first ski lift appeared in the area, linking Bourg St Maurice to Les Granges.  And the last 10 years have seen some big changes, with draglifts almost eradicated.  The whole Arc 1600/1800/Peisey flank of the valley can now be negotiated using fast chairs - more on the history here.

Before the Edenarc: The Chantel site at Arc 1800

The excellent Espace Arcadien site has carefully prepared a series of short essays on each lift.  Among the fascinating facts:

• The Peisey Lift was the first Leitner construction in France, and isn't ageing well
• The Pré-Saint-Esprit lift, at 15 minutes, is the slowest in Les Arcs
• The Bois de l'Ours lift reduced journey times from 7 mins to 3, and waiting times from 20 mins to 5...

What next?

It seems the next developments will be at Arc 1800, with a chair and potentially a mini-gondola to serve Chantel and Edenarc.

Meanwhile, no-one is clear when the 32-year old Pré Saint Esprit will finally be pensioned off. Espace Aradien reckons maybe around 2015.

And some have dreams that the Col de la Chal (the slope facing the Nancroix valley on other side of the Transarc) will be opened up by a new chairlift.  Others - the mairie at Peisey, the départemet and "the ecologists" are less keen.  This projet is very very unlikely to ever see the day.