Property and local area description
Superb apartment located high in the French Alps
The apartment sleeps 4 people and is fully furnished, which includes a cd player, television and DVD. There is also private underground parking in our own bay , which is included. This normally costs an extra 40 euros a week but we have included this in the price.
The only things you need to take would be towels, duvet covers and sheets/pillowcases
There is a separate toilet and bathroom. Sitting room with balcony, which looks down the valley and the road. The sitting room is separated from the dining room and bedroom by a factory built sliding partition. At night one couple sleep in the sitting room on two sofa beds. The other couple sleep in the bedroom, which opens on to the dining room and kitchen. Both rooms have independent access to the toilet and bathroom. The kitchen although very small is fully equipped to include small oven and three hobs + dishwasher. We have also recently put a microwave in the apartment as well. So it really is well equipped. It is in immaculate condition and is very tastefully furnished.
There is loads to do in la Plagne! Although entertainment (cinema) is geared to French speakers. To get the full low down on the resort it is best to research on the Internet although I have attached some really good info. There is a swimming pool in our resort (Plagne Bellecote) there is an ice rink/shops/cafes/restaurants. There is a free bus service every 30 minutes between all the resorts. The resort is normally snowbound and they do not clear the pavements!! Great but be careful when walking!
Info taken from the internet
(FROM THE INTERNET)
Residence 3000
La Plagne, France
This relatively small residence comprising of 76 apartments is right in the heart of Bellecote and ideally situated for all its facilities and skiing. Accommodation, studios- sleeps 4. Comprises of a living/ dining area, with 2 single sofa beds and another sleeping area with two single beds a sliding partition separating the areas. A bathroom with a separate WC. A kitchenette with hob, oven and dishwasher, and a balcony.
There is covered parking available for a supplement. (Included with our apartment.)
Heated swimming pool nearby.
Features
Doorstep Skiing
Swimming Pool
Village Location
One of Europe’s largest and most popular resorts offering 'something for everyone.'
In a land of world record statistics, La Plagne can claim to have the largest single ski area of any resort (there are bigger ones of course, but they are made up of joint areas shared by two or more resorts). La Plagne is, officially at least, all one resort with a world class 2000m (6562 foot) vertical drop. The 210km (130 miles) of trails are served by over 100 lifts, including 68 draglifts and 8 gondolas, with a combined hourly uplift capacity of a remarkable 120,600 skiers.
Apart from the skiing La Plagne offers a number of exciting alternative snowy experiences, including runs in the ‘taxi bob’ on the Olympic bobsleigh run.
Vertical Drop: 2,000m/6,562'
Top Elevation: 3,251m/10,663' (Bellecote Glacier)
Lifts: 110 (1 tram, 8 gondolas, 30 chairs,
71 surface)
Marked Runs: 210 km
Cross Country: 90 km
Snowboards: Yes/park/half pipe
Winter season: Mid December - Late April
Activities: Tobogganing, Para-gliding, bowling
Christmas 2003*, The Vanoise Express, a veritable lifeline between La Plagne and Les Arcs, will 'teleport' you from one side of the valley to the other, to Peisey-Vallandry.
Giving you access to the wide-open spaces, the snow, all altitudes, mythical summits, large ski stations, and quaint little villages.
Give in to the longing, have the best of both worlds, see the contrasts, double your pleasure, blur the edges - don't just stick to one route: make your own plans, There's nothing like it!
* Opening date might change according to conditions
420 kilometres of emotions, sensations, discoveries, escapism, from top to bottom, bottom to top, upwards, downwards and across, all altitudes on all the faces, for every age group and all abilities.
Information about skiing in La Plagne and the new
Paradiski, a few figures:
· 2 skiable glaciers:
The glacier de la Chiaupe, on the slopes of Bellecôte, above la Plagne
The glacier du Varet, on the slopes of the Aiguille Rouge above Les Arcs.
2 peaks above 3,000 metres:
Aiguille Rouge (3,226m)
Bellecôte (3,416m)
232 pistes of all levels:
12 greens
125 blues
64 reds
31 blacks
144 ski lifts:
1 funicular 4 lightweight cable cars 1 'Funitel' (twin-cable cable car)
10 sections of gondola lifts
18 detachable chairlifts
47 chairlifts
28 ski lifts suitable for walkers
25 ski lifts accessible free of charge
2 boarder cross, 4 snow parks and 2 half pipes
314 snow cannon covers 118 hectares of the pistes.
http://www.paradiski.com/index_flash.htm (link to Paradiski info)
http://www.ski-laplagne.com/site/2003gb/defaultgb.html (La Plagne tourist info)
Skiing: La Plagne
Never mind the package company brochures that only give it 'good' for 'advanced' skiers and 'excellent' for everything else; it's a 5 star resort all round. Here are the basic facts:
Number of runs : 124 (6 black, 35 red, 72 blue and 11 green)
Number of lifts : 110 (1 cable-car, 8 gondolas,33 chairs and 68 drags)
Marked pistes : 212 km of sign-posted and groomed runs
Off Piste: 300 sq. kms of ski able domain
Capacity : 120.600 skiers per hour
Catering; 21 high-altitude bars/restaurants
X Country: 100 kilometres of trails, sign-posted and groomed.
With only 6 official black runs it seems that really good skiers get a raw deal but the vast expanses between and beyond the pistes open a superb domain for the advanced recreational skier. Regular off piste usage results in huge mogul fields developing beyond the marked runs that are capable of testing anyone. Other classic off piste routes, such as the North Face of Bellecote, cannot be bettered anywhere for a really serious powder challenge. From beginner through to those in race training, La Plagne provides every facility necessary to ensure a great holiday………..after all, Jean Luc Cretier, the current Olympic Downhill Champion, is one of our locals!
Of course, there's a DEDICATED SNOW PARK as well :
Snow boarding is definitely no short-term fad……and La Plagne has some tremendous opportunities for all levels of boarder. Half pipes, pyramids, sheer powder cliffs and rolling motorways are all to hand for the enthusiast and beginner alike. With such wide expanses to ski and snowboard, the two dominant alpine disciplines exist happily side-by-side……often literally!
And what's more, we've got EXCELLENT SNOW COVERAGE :
We are never without snow in la Plagne, thanks to its location at the wetter North Western edge of the Alps, its high altitude, sheltering forests and full artificial snow coverage on the lower slopes. The village resorts also have fitted snow cannons so that you can always ski all the way back to the resort. Montchavin has a total of sixty-six outlets (1750 down to 1250 m) whilst the high-altitude resorts have also fitted mobile systems that can be set up wherever a shortage might appear.
And, thanks to an ultra-modern patrol service, we've got OPTIMAL SECURITY:
115 specialist technicians; para-medics, explosives experts, dog-handlers, first-aid instructors and mountain rescue specialists, monitor the slopes, ready to intervene in a matter of minutes. If the weather is poor, highly experienced teams, accompanied by avalanche rescue dogs if necessary, trigger avalanches as a preventive measure. At the end of the day a team of about thirty drivers are busy grooming the snow. When there are heavy snowfalls, the fresh snow is packed from midnight until the slopes open the next morning, so that skiing conditions are as perfect as possible, regardless of the weather.
And there's great X COUNTRY SKIING as well :
Your lift pass also allows you free access (except Champagny) to a hundred kms of groomed and sign-posted X-country ski trails for all levels of ability at an average altitude of 1450 m. Montchavin has it's own 25km circuit. At Champagny en Vanoise, a circuit so good that a number of national teams train there, a modest fee of about £15 a week is charged.
Not to mention organised MOUNTAIN TOURING :
(Yep, that's becoming increasingly popular as well……here's the local promotion of this fast developing activity)
'What could be more beautiful than the pure grandeur of the mountains? With your snowshoes or touring skis you will be able to get off the "beaten track" and explore unsullied nature. Take your time and really appreciate the landscape, breathing pure, clean air. Equipped with your snowshoes or touring skis you can explore Vanoise or Beaufortain and maybe, as you move silently across the snow, you may surprise some of the wildlife, free to go as you please in complete harmony with nature.'