In short – it’s a great resort – I go there every April and ski from April 20th with friends after the main season has died down

The snow is always very good up in Les Arcs 2000, mainly because of the altitude and the fact it has a whopping glacier on the doorstep.

It is also linked to the exclusive Arc1950 via carrousel, (5 to 10 mins away), where you can get more late night bars and boutique shopping etc, that is if the bars and restaurants in Arcs 2000 are not enough..

All in all – Arcs is a great ski area for all abilities and the Paradiski link to La Plagne gives it adequate status as a super resort in every sense of the word.

There are lots of fast blues and shallow (cruisey) red runs winding through the trees from Arcs 2000 down to Vallandry which are some of the best I have skied in France and quite a lot like the long wide runs you get over the pond in the Canadian Rockies.

You can eat up lots of miles and see lots of new runs in a day’s skiing, and there’s plenty to keep you entertained for a week or more. The restaurants on the mountain are pretty reasonable too – about 10 euros (£8) gets you a Spaghetti Bolognese on the mountain
(my staple ski-food!)

You can ski happily down to Peissey until very late April and the Off-piste up at 2000 and around Arcs 1950 remains untouched for days after a dump. I don’t know if this is because the locals don’t know how to ride it or whether there is just so much on offer elsewhere.

Resort Recommendations:
Simple really:

• Spag Bol in any Mountain restaurant around Arcs 1800 for cheap and tasty. Or
• Lunch in a trendy bar you can ski to in the centre of 1950 called “East” for steak and chips. (12 euros)
• Après Ski in “Whistlers” (Arcs 2000)
• Dinner at Chez Anne – Arcs 1950

The Ski Pond
The ski  pond is near the board park between Arcs 2000 and 1800. This is a strip of water (approx 20 metres in length) where skiers and boarders try their paws at skimming across the top.

• Get it right to cheers of adulation from a chairlift-audience overhead.
• Get it wrong and spend the day sodden to the core or the next hour wringing out your Salopettes with a vin chaud in the bar opposite.

Author

James
UK Office