La Plagne pioneers adaptive snowsports

La Plagne is one of the few ski resorts in France that caters really well for people with people with disabilities who want to ski.

La Plagne Aime 2000 is part of the resort that is a building completely adapted to wheelchair access. Complete with disabled parking, all of the apartments, shops and restaurants are wheelchair accessible. There is also ski in and out access.

Association Antenne Handicap is also based here. It's a ski school designed with the aim of making skiing easier and more accessible the people in a wheelchair or suffering from other disabilities, whether it be physical, mental or sensory.

Three types of skiing are available depending on the type of needs the person has.

Ski Standing up

With the help of an instructor to guide you, this is suitable for people who have good coordination of their limbs or if they are blind, deaf or an amputee.

Ski Sitting Down

A specially adapted chair is used with skis attached to it, this is suitable for people in a wheelchair, who have good coordination of their limbs, and is available from beginner to advanced.

Ski Sledge

For people who are totally dependent, the ski sledge offers the chance to experience all of the sensations of skiing with the security of an instructor guiding the sledge.

All of the ski lessons with Antenne can be individual, group or with family and are priced at 60€ per hour including equipment rental.

During the process of writing this article, I also bumped into the team from Access Adventures, who were checking out La Plagne to ensure its suitability for people with disabilities. They are a non-profit organization run in the UK, offering sporting activities for people with physical disabilities.

The team at Access Adventures stayed at the UCPA in Plagne Centre, it offers fully catered disabled access, ideally situated on the foot the pistes with ski and ski out access. The UCPA is directly attached to the main Galleries in Plagne Centre, so it is great for easy access to shop, pubs, restaurants and local services.

The UCPA also work in association with Oxygène Ski School, who also offer ski lessons for people with physical disabilities, they can come and collect you from the UCPA or wherever you are staying and drop you back at the end of your lesson. They also have wheel chairs placed in some of the mountain restaurants so you can enjoy lunch on the mountain.

ESF in Belle Plagne have had a Handiski department since 1983 and they have been developing their expertise ever since. With specially trained instructors, adaptive equipment and easy lift access they offer a range of lessons to suit your needs.

The La Plagne lift pass company also offers 50% reduction on ski passes for people with special needs and the carer accompanying them.

Read more about disabled skiing in La Plagne