Lift upgrades in La Plagne for 2020

The aging glacier gondola is one of the most problematic lifts in the entire network and really is well overdue an upgrade. Along with the Belle Plagne and Roche de Mio sections, these three lifts provide vital access to the higher sectors of the resort. While La Plagne no longer offers permanent summer skiing on the glacier, the sector still remains a vital part of the area, particularly in bad snow years or later in the season when the snow is best up high.

Having reviewed multiple options for the path of the new lift, it seems the developers have settled on redeveloping the existing gondola sticking to the same general route. Previous draft suggestions had included a two-stop option dropping past the current base of the Chalet de Bellecôte chair but it seems these have been ditched in favour of renovating the existing line. Works are currently scheduled to begin in summer 2019, initially with the pouring of the pylon bases and the developers hope to achieve an expected launch date of Christmas 2020.

The current three-stage network of lifts accessing the glacier from Bellecôte all suffer terribly from queues in all but the quietest times in resort. Plans to upgrade the lower Roche de Mio and Belle Plagne stages were also on the table but seem to have been shelved temporarily.

As anyone who’s stayed in 1800 will attest, access out of the resort early morning can be a tortuous affair with just two lifts rising from the base, namely, the Mélèzes and 1800 chairs. In particular, the existing Mélèzes lift rises a short distance out of resort to drop you at two equally busy lifts - the Bergerie and Boulevard (both very popular with ski classes and, subsequently, very prone to long queues).

To combat this, proposals have been put forward for a completely new gondola rising much further up the hill from Plagne 1800 to a base above Villages, near the top of the Aollets poma. Details are scant at present but this new lift would hugely improve access out of 1800 giving options to drop directly down to Villages/Soleil, Plagne Centre and even Bellecôte using a combination of Mira and Trieuse.

While most of the current lift upgrades have been on the table for a while, the idea of a new lift out of 1800 has come completely out of the blue so we await further details with interest. There is also talk this lift may coincide with the scrapping of the old Telebus pedestrian gondola between Centre and Villages, with the link being provided by an improved shuttle bus network. Also, there are rumours the Aollets poma out of Villages might be removed.

Perhaps the most significant development is the proposed construction of a new lift between the base of Inversens and the top of Crozats, providing a direct link back from the Roche de Mio sector to the area above Montchavin / Bellecôte. The resort has been crying out for a lift here for ages as there’s currently only one-way direct passage between the two by dropping down from Crozats to Inversens via the Marmottes red. A longer route exists by taking the Crozats black and returning on the aging Bauches followed by Crozats chairs but the black is an intimidating prospect for many and, in low-snow years or late season, this isn’t an option. Moreover, the route seems a tad ridiculous considering how close the two sectors are to one another. Here’s hoping this lift gets the go ahead as it will provide a great return option from Roche de Mio and, in particular, the Inversens red which always feels rather isolated.

La Plagne seems determined to modernize and improve its lift network over the coming years with a huge number of planning proposals being submitted lately. Deliberations on the exact details and location of the new lifts will no doubt continue over the coming months but we’ll have all the latest updates as and when they’re announced.

Stuart Hamilton is Creative Director of iRide App (iOS / Android) and Editor of Ski-App and Snowboard-App (ski and snowboard video apps available exclusively on Android).