NEW SKI SEASON: 10 Things To Know

Not long now until the start of the new season at Les Arcs.  By way of an update:

1. The Snow 

It's here.  Take a look at the Arc 1800 webcam.  At this time of the year the first snow can come too soon, then melting away to leave the resorts scratching around for snow.  But one can be cautiously optimistic this year, as La Plagne already has 75cms on top: follow Perso La Plagne for all the latest news on goings-on on the other side of the valley.

2. The Film Festival

It's the 8th year of the annual season-opener - this time things kick-off on 10 December: all the details on the website.  There are some good accommodation deals as well.

3. The Pisteurs

The Facebook sensation of Les Arcs over the last year.  Their tails are now officially wagging, and there have been various updates in recent weeks.

Click here for the Pisteurs' Facebook Page

It's well worth getting up early and joining them for the First Tracks tour - which runs once a week in season.  Being up there before everyone else is quite something.  Plus you can pick up some useful facts: they have 7 dogs and 26 piste bullies working on the slopes.

4. The Pistes

Ski map and timetables are here.  It annoys me that you have to look at the Paradiski map all the time, even though you are likely to be only skiing one resort.  So here's an old map as well.  This season will see increased snowmaking in the Villaroger area; there may also be a new lift at Pre Saint Esprit below Arc 2000: more on future plans for here.  

5. LA Radio Station

Also worth following on Facebook.  R' Les Arcs provide regular updates including some super photos.  You can even listen to them at home, thanks to the internet.  The DJ likes The Cure.

6. Le Marketing

This will be the first season for the new Les Arcs' logo.  It's much better than the new Peisey one, and has tried to keep close to the resort's heritage.

It's said that 200k€ was spent on the rebranding

7. The Artist

Pete Caswell has painted scenes at many European resorts, but is a particular fan of Tignes and Val d'Isere.  And his online gallery includes a range of pictures of Les Arcs - such as this one charting the Grand Renard from the top of the Transarc:

8. The Snow Artist

Simon Beck takes art one step further by leaving his prints in the actual snow.  Les Arcs is where he creates his masterpiece.  And the area just to the left of the Varet piste is a particular haunt of his.  More on his work, including his sand creations in Somerset, here.

"The Most Famous Snow Artist in the Word". More here.

9. The Ski Racer

David Poisson is a member of the Peisey-Vallandry club.  His career has been marred by injury, but he has had some real success, including bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming.

Click here to watch David achieve 6th place
at the Lauberhorn race in Wengen, Jan 2016

10. The Snow Park

Les Arcs' snow park, located on the slopes between 1600 and 1800, gets better and better.  It's just been recognised as the 3rd best venue in France - see this report from L'Equipe.  They write:

When it comes to snowboarding, Les Arcs tends to be more associated with the backcountry.  

But its snow park has been growing in influence over the last 2-3 years - driven on by local skiers who are full of good ideas.  The John Doe session at the end of the season is 
the high point of its annual calendar.

Les plus: Originality of its layout, enabling you to ride in various different ways
Les moins: Queues at the T-bar during peak season

Philippe Gillot in front of his machine
Source: Le Dauphiné

The snow park is kept in order by piste-bully driver Philippe Gillot, 36.  A native of Bourg Saint Maurice, he has been working the pistes for 20 years.  He was one of the few to show much interest in organising and shaping the park.  He now follows in his father's footsteps by working the summer at top Chilean resort (and Les Arcs lookalike) Valle Nevado.

JAMES BOND: Back on skis

Welove2Ski is celebrating the return of James Bond to the ski slopes by showcasing its recent filming in Soelden, an endeavour which involved up to 500 crew members in January and February this year.

They have also dug out seven classic scenes, alongside some useful facts - for example the Russians using Elan (i.e. then Yugoslav) skis in View To A Kill (1985).

For a more amateurish summary of 007 on skis, click here.

www.soelden.com

The best Les Arcs can manage is the visit of the former Top Gear crew to Arc 2000 some years ago.

With the ski season over, filming of Spectre has now moved to London.  It opens in November.

PARADISE LOST: Force Majeure

Snow Therapy (French). Turist (Swedish).  And now Force Majeure (in English....).  Now on release in the UK, this Swedish film, set in Les Arcs, is now in UK cinemas.  You can also watch it online at home via Curzon Home Cinema.

Arc 2000 has moved location, and now sits
in the main Haute Tarentaise valley

The Guardian put it on the front page of G2, gave it four stars and interviewed lead actor Johannes Bah Kuhnke.  They filmed the interior scenes in a Swedish hotel (it looks like the Hotel du Golf, but rather swankier) with Les Arcs forming the backdrop to the exterior shots.

"This ice cold Swedish drama about a family torn apart by cowardice is like Bergman with a wicked streak", says the Telegraph, also awarding the film four stars.

At Le Solliet, above Villaroger?

For Les Arcs fans, there is of course the opportunity to completely miss the point of the film and play "spot the location".  These include:

• Arc 2000 moving location (see photo above)
• Drinking at Le Solliet
• Skiing from La Plagne back towards the Vanoise Express
• The Varet and Aiguille Rouge lifts
• The Pierra Menta block at Charvet
• The scary pedestrian tunnel linking Charvet with the Croisette parking at Arc 1800
• Plus, the star of the show: La Creche restaurant at the top of the Transarc, location for the pivotal avalanche scene:

Click here for an interview with
Ruben Ostlund

THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

"This is what we want in our lives - get married and then have kids and live in a nuclear family.  To question that lifestyle is very provocative in our time"

Ruben Ostland

Les Arcs' connections with the film industry are further strengthened this week with the launch of Snow Therapy, a Franco-Swedish film set in a French ski resort - aka you-know-where.

The film is called Turist in Swedish and
Force Majeure in English-speaking countries

While at a mountain restaurant that looks rather like La Creche at the top of the Transarc, a Swedish family witnesses an avalanche which briefly threatens the assembled skiers.  It turns out to be a false alarm.  But, amidst all the excitement, the father apparently makes a run for it - taking his iPhone, while leaving his family.  Result: the existing family relationships, including his role as "patriarch" are thrown upside down.

The film made its debut at Cannes, but is now on general release in France.  It is getting quite good reviews, like this one in Le Parisien.   The New York Times quite likes it too.

Many of the Les Arcs' sights are on show - including a scene on the Transarc, and fine shots of the architecture, including the family's holiday accommodation in what looks like Belles Challes in Arc 1800:

JAMES BOND: BACK ON THE PISTE

The Telegraph reports that James Bond will shortly be making a welcome comeback to the ski slopes, with scenes from the forthcoming Spectre film to be shot in the excellent resort that is Soelden.

In doing so, they took the opportunity to revisit some of the great ski scenes from the past.  Click here for the photos.

And, from this blog, here are some video clips, featuring Cortina, St Moritz and Murren...

LES ARCS 2014/15: Latest News

Opening dates are now confirmed: 13 Dec-25 April: more on what's coming up can be found at the newly revamped official website.

The season starts with what is now a regular fixture: the Les Arcs Film Festival.  The "special country focus" will be on Irish cinema.  This year the programme includes a Music Village, which will run from 12-15 Dec.

The big news is the transformation of the Chantel slopes at Arc 1800, which sees a new beginners area, luge track and swimming pool complex, served by the equally new Villards gondola.  In an audacious move, this new area, dubbed Mille 8 in the resort's press release, will allow skiing until 7.30pm.  The press briefing also confirms that December 2015 will see a new "Dahu" pedestrian lift introduced to serve the upmarket but isolated Chantel and Edenarc complex.  Not to mention an upgraded 6-seater Carreley lift which will provide direct access to Arc 2000.  And another restaurant.  It's all a bit too much to take in....

The top station of the new Villards gondola,
August 2014

Still on the snow, Les Arcs has a new Freeski Academy, which will teach young people aged 12-20 up to competition level.

The backcountry freestyle competition aka The Red Bull Linecatcher, runs from 17-24 Jan.  Last year there wasn't enough snow, so it was cancelled.

The Vanoise Express will no longer look like this, as JC/DC has been commissioned to decorate it with a new design for 2014/15.

Over in La Plagne, the new Colosses lift is ready for action - a mega-fast 8 seater which, it is hoped, will reduce the notorious queues of up to 50 minutes that have blighted Plagne Bellecote for so long.  For more on the background, including the Montalbert gondola, now due in December 2015, click here.

Meanwhile, Simon Beck's snow art continues to gain publicity, most recently through this piece in The Independent.

Click here for more

YES WE CANNES: Film and the Mountains

Some of the best film and TV moments were of course shot in the mountains, for example many of the best James Bond scenes and unforgettable pop videos by Wham, the Police and the Jacksons.  Not to mention the, er, iconic Apocalypse Snow, shot on Les Arcs' slopes in 1983:

But a number of resorts have developed their own niche in hosting film festivals, as part of their bids to broaden their appeal - for example in Les Arcs.

The season kicks off above Bourg St Maurice with the  Les Arcs Film Festival which runs from 14-21 Dec.  This year includes a special focus on film from  "Yugoslavian countries", for example the 2011 Serbian/Macedonian production "Punk's Not Dead":



Prior to all this excitement, next week sees the 30th Mountain Film Festival taking place at Autrans, over in the Vercors:

Click here for the official Autrans site

Over Christmas, Autrans' neighbour Lans-en-Vercors will be holding its own festival, this time centred on childrens' cinema.

It looks like some of the new Belle et Sébastien film was shot in the Vercors - in cinemas from 18th December:



Finally, at the end of January, Alpes Magazine will be hosting a 3 evenings looking at alpine cinema, including this classic film from 1944:

28-30 January, Palais des Congrés, Chambery

THE BIG SCREEN: The Les Arcs Film Festival

Les Arcs has a number of cinemas: Bourg St Maurice (which has a special architecture of the 20th century label), Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 1950...

But it has only recently had its own film festival.

It's never been a resort which opens really early, ie the minute December arrives and there's enough snow.  It's too far from Geneva & Lyon, and has no "special features" like the glaciers of Tignes or Les 2 Alpes.

The Film Festival has become a real focal point around the start of the season.  Without it, the slopes would be the preserve of Staffordshire, Surrey and Coventry universities (who are on the agenda for this season).

It started slowly, but seems to have found its niche.  More here.  The idea is that it is an opportunity for independent film from across Europe to get a good airing.  Each year there is a "special focus" (Belgium in 2012), and each year there are various meetings and workshops for film makers, producers, etc.

The official site is here.

Salle Bernard Taillefur - the Arc 1800 equivalent of the Millennium  Dome

Alongside the 14 Belgian films there are also French premiers for two British productions, namely I, Anna and Shadow Dancer.  Thanks to www.lesarcsnet.com for the link.

Along with all these films are some quite good posters.  La saison de ski, c'est parti!

A WEEK IN ARC 1800: The Non-Skier's Guide

Updated 10 Feb 2013

Les Arcs cannot claim to be the best destination for non-skiers.  All is not lost, however. Here are some things to do if you are going to be in Arc 1800 for a week, and have some time to kill....

SATURDAY

Take the bus to 1600 and then the funicular down to the market in Bourg Saint Maurice. The Grand Rue is quite animated, and the assembled stalls sell more cheese, ham and jam than you can shake a stick at.  There's even a horse butcher.  It starts at 8 and is over by lunchtime, so you'll need to be organised.  After lunch you could have a swim in the municipal pool, which is on the road to Tignes and Les Arcs.

SUNDAY

To the top of the Transarc to see the Grotte de Glace.  This is actually quite good - each year there is a different theme.  During November they create an ice cave, and then expert sculptors do their thing.  The only downside is that the adjacent restaurant (La Creche) isn't Les Arcs' finest.  But it's a good place to meet skiers and the view from the terrace looking over to the Nancroix valley is great.  The Transarc is one of the lifts open to non-skiers (see below).

MONDAY

Snow-shoe walking.  This "snow art" below the Varet lift (below) was created by a gifted snow-shoer, by the way.  (Search for "Simon Beck" on Google to see his latest work). There are quite a lot of organised outings - Arc Aventures have a daily programme, as do the ESF in both 1800 and 1600.  Some outings go from the top of the Tranarc; others in the forests above 1800 and particularly in the 1600/Courbaton sector.

TUESDAY

Les chiens de traineau are not cheap, but it is an amazing experience.  Their kennels have now moved from the Comborciere lift to Arc 1800, so the dogs can be closer to their clients.  More here.  

                          

WEDNESDAY

Check in at the Hotel du Golf.  You can get good deals out of high season if you book direct.  And they now have a small pool/spa complex which will be nice and quiet during the day.

THURSDAY

Running out of options here, but today might be the day to take the bus round to Arc 2000 and meet your skiing chums at the Chalets de l'Arc (more on restaurants in Les Arcs here.)   Pedestrians can (just about) make it to the Varet lift, and onwards to the Aiguille Rouge at 3226m).

If it snows or rains, the option of going to see a film in Arc 1800 and Arc 1600 is sadly no longer available.  (The cinema in Bourg St Maurice on the main road is a listed building by the way).  Occasionally some of the big blockbusters are shown in "v.o.", with English subtitles.  Of course if you come before Christmas, you can immerse yourself in an entire film festival.

FRIDAY

Connect with the "real France" by going back down to Bourg St Maurice and taking the train to Chambéry, which has a lovely setting, a fine old town and some good shopping.

Chambéry is, by some distance, the largest town in Savoie, is the capital of the department, a university town and one of the few places in the area to vote for the Parti Socialiste.  More on the town here.

It is also home to a noted handball team, which regularly records attendances of 5,000+.

AND FINALLY....

The tourist and lift pass offices sell a special "pedestrian guide", which includes one or two other attractions eg the "luge run", which goes from the top of the Transarc down to Arc 2000.  A day's lift pass for pedestrians was €16.50 in 2011/12, with the following lifts on offer: Transarc 1 and 2, Arcabulle, Vallandry, Vanoise Express and the Funiculaire.

LES ARCS: 2011/12

Les Arcs opens its doors to skiers on 10 December (review of last season here).  A few things to look out for this winter:

Things kick off with the not-exactly-world-famous Les Arcs Film Festival , which runs between 10-17 December.  There will be 60 films, with a special focus on Italy.  There's a bit of a debate about whether the Festival is proving to be a worthwhile initiative, but the commitment has been made, and it's into its 3rd year now.  And, although early season snow has been patchy in recent years, it's a good excuse for pre-Xmas visit.  Tignes will also be open.

At Arc 1800, the big news this season is the opening of the long-awaited (by some, anyway) Edenarc apartments at the top of the Chantel lift.  It took a number of years to sell enough units off-plan, but now the chantier has begun, and stage 1 will be open in December, apparently.  Lots more on this at the Edenarc web site which includes a new webcam, showing where they've got to with the works, as well as the beautiful tennis court which will soon fall victim to the bulldozer :(

More noticeable to skiers will be the new lift at 1600, which will replace the old Mont Blanc chair, and open up the Deux-Tetes area.  The entire 1600-1800-Peisey Vallandry flank of the mountain (by far the most rewarding part of the ski area) is now covered by fast lifts.  For more, see the Building for the Future in Les Arcs posting.

Les Arcs wouldn't be the place it is without Paradiski and its wonderful marketing.  You can see this year's delightful "Lord of the Rings" promo here.  And, perhaps more to the point, we now have the opportunity to take advantage of the newly launched app.

To "reach out" to fellow Brits with news and views on Les Arcs, you can join the SnowHeads ski forum for Les Arcs here.

Finally, some more links to the various websites around the valley.  The official site is at www.lesarcs.com.

WEBSITES OF THE TARENTAISE

All of the resorts have their own sites of course (my favourite is www.pralognan.com). The Les Arcs official site looks quite smart, but loses marks for not being kept up-to-date.  For example (on 27/12/11) the link to the piste map is for 2010/11 rather than the new 2011/12 version.  Here are some links to some other places on the web:

For Les Arcs: www.espace-arcadien.fr.  The content is a tad out-of-date, but has good links to local webcams.

Also for Les Arcs: www.lesarcs.net will sell you chalet/apartment accommodation, but has lots more.

Finally, a bit more of a collector's piece: the Les Arcs film festival.  Oh yes.  There's still a bit of a debate about whether the investment has been worth the while (the idea was to extend the season, as part of a more "diverse" offer of activities....)

For La Plagne: www.perso-laplagne.fr.  This is a great site - lots about new developments, history of the resort, etc etc.  La Plagne fans who don't speak French will still enjoy the pictures.

For the weather: Meteo France.  This is the local forecast, with "previsions" for the next few days.

For getting excited/depressed about local snow conditions: www.snoweye.com.
This has just about every resort in Europe, with various cameras in the big reports...

For cycling: www.grenoblecycling.com.  This is based further down the Isere valley, but includes descriptions of most of the main cols in the area.  Recent posts include video, which makes it doubly exciting.

To improve your French: www.bourgstmaurice.tv was set up this year by an enterprising local.  And the regional newspaper www.ledauphine.com is worth a browse/a follow on Twitter.