The Ski Holiday Blog

Tag Archives: La Plagne

Brand New Super-Tarentaise Gondola Plans Released

By David Froom | Published: April 1, 2011
A new lift development costing almost 200 million Euros and linking the major ski areas of the Tarentaise was unveiled yesterday to widespread excitement among the ski industry. The new gondola, named the “Super-Tarentaise” will start in Le Praz (Courchevel 1300) and cross the Bozel Valley to La Plagne, before rising above the Bellecote Glacier, over to Les Arcs and finally liaising with Tignes via the spectacular Aiguille Rouge peak. The journey time between Courchevel and Tignes will be just under an hour, thanks to the revolutionary new technology being used in the construction, which will give the gondola a top speed of 50kph between stations.
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Fresh Snow Across the Alps

By David Froom | Published: February 16, 2011

It’s been a while. According to an old pal who still lives in Chamonix and posted on facebook this morning, it’s been 36 days. Some resorts might even claim a longer drought, but what we do know is that the worst is over and that there is fresh snowfall in most major resorts right now. The whole ski industry has been nervously checking weather forecasts, looking to the sky and I’ve seen a few videos of snow dances being performed in various resorts since the New Year. Happily, I’m glad to be able to say the Guardian’s article yesterday, predicting the possible end to the entire season in mid-February is nothing short of a scaremongering fabrication. Even if it didn’t snow again between now and Easter, all major resorts have excellent infrastructures in place to ensure that the vast majority of their pistes remain open all season long thanks to their numerous snow cannons and creative use of piste bashers. Read More »

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Skiing off the Beaten Track

By David Froom | Published: February 15, 2011
So you think you know everything there is to know about skiing in Europe? Done the Three Valleys? Of course you have. Val d’Isere and Tignes? Without a doubt. Les Arcs, La Plagne, La Rosiere? We cover all of these resorts time and time again in our blog posts and for the majority of the holidays we sell. Some of the more niche destinations are also becoming well travelled roads amongst the UK ski package holiday market. Chamonix, Morzine, Zermatt and Verbier have all become popular destinations in recent years and whilst a blog with this title would have featured them a few years back, these days we send so many people to such destinations that they simply no longer qualify as anything other than mainstream. Not that there’s anything wrong with the mainstream resorts, mind you. They all have superb modern lift systems, large ski areas, established ski schools and the altitude to ensure good conditions all through the season.

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Meet the Interactive Resorts team!

By David Froom | Published: September 10, 2010

Interactive Resorts is now established as the UK’s biggest ski specialist travel agent. Unlike some other agencies, we deal only in Ski and Snowboard holidays which means our specialist knowledge of ski resorts is unrivalled in the industry. Not only that, but we’re completely independent, which means that when you deal with us for your Skiing or Snowboarding holiday, you’ll receive completely impartial, objective advice and help with choosing your holiday. In order to provide such a service, we dedicate a lot of time to picking only the very best people to work in our sales team. Everyone in our sales department has done at least one season in resort, with some having done upwards of 5 seasons abroad. This is the first in a series of “meet the team” articles which will profile some of our staff members old and new and give you the chance to find out about the people who make your holidays happen.

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The surprisingly interesting history of La Plagne

By Matt Simpson | Published: August 2, 2010
La Plagne is one of several “mega-resorts” in the northern Tarentaise area of France. La Plagne is made up of 10 different villages with each offering a completely different ambiance. This means La Plagne generally has something for everyone, from unmatched ski access and amenities of Plagne Centre, to the quiet and secluded traditional alpine village environment of Les Coches. Having spent 2 seasons in La Plagne and 5 years defending its honour here at the Interactive Resorts sales office, I thought it the right time to open your eyes to the interesting history behind its development. 

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Eurostar to the Alps on sale this morning

By David Froom | Published: July 13, 2010
Although a majority of our clients tend to book a package with flights and transfers included, a growing number now make their own travel arrangements to the Alps and the direct Eurostar services to the Tarentaise are always very popular indeed. This year there will be the usual two direct services, one leaving London St Pancras on Friday evenings, arriving in the Alps early on Saturday morning, and one leaving on Saturday mornings which arrives on Saturday afternoon. Sadly the Snow Train via Paris, with its famous disco carriage, will not be running this year.

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Morzine – A Brief History

By Chris Callaghan | Published: July 12, 2010
The polar opposite of 1970s tower-block resorts like Tignes and La Plagne, the beautiful, charming ski resort of Morzine began life as far back as 1090. The area was one of only two crossing-points over the river Dranse and as such was of great geographical importance.
 

Around the start of the 12th century, Cistercian monks began arriving in the area of St Jean d’Aulps on pilgrimage from other areas in France, most notably Dijon. The term Cistercian comes from the Latin ‘Cistercium,’ which was the name given to the Dijon village of Cîteaux from whence the monks mostly came. By 1181 they had fully established themselves in St Jean d’Aulps and in the surrounding territories, and Morzine became a “monastic grange” from the abbey of the same name. Read More »

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Val Thorens 2010 – 4 days and counting

By David Froom | Published: April 13, 2010

Here we are, another season has come and almost gone and this Saturday the Interactive Resorts crew are heading back to the mountains for one last week of skiing, sunshine, fun and games before summer. The last three years of the official company trip have all been to Val d’Isere but this year promises to be a complete change as we’re heading to Europe’s highest resort of Val Thorens!

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New chairlift in La Plagne

By David Froom | Published: November 3, 2009

Plagne 1800 has a new chairlift out of the village: the new Melezes chairlift which runs from the ESF meeting point to Plagne Centre. This then connects to another new chairlift – the Bergerie, arriving at 2184m just above Plagne Villages, which gives access to Plagne Centre and Plagne Bellecote, making Plagne 1800 a much more convenient option for beginners.

La Plagne 1800 - aerial shot with new chairlifts. Photo from www.laplagne.co.uk

La Plagne 1800 - aerial shot with new chairlifts. Photo from www.laplagne.co.uk

For more info checkout our La Plagne resort details or see our collection of La Plagne Chalets.

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Some good news for the British skier…

By Matt Simpson | Published: June 30, 2009

Finally, some good news for the British skier! As of Wednesday the 1st of July, restaurants and cafés in France will enjoy a massive cut in VAT which will, in turn, be passed onto their customers. The French Government is hoping that this will help the pound-wielding holiday maker cope with the strength of the Euro and make France a more attractive destination. Read More »

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