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Le Solaise Skiing Area
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Val d’isere is one of the top ski resorts in the world providing over 150 kilometres of pistes and this, together with vast areas of accessible "off piste", makes it ideal for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities. Skiers seem to outnumber the snowboarders a little but there is a comfortable balance of both sports – each taking advantage of the different areas Val d’Isere has to offer (Le Fornet, Le Solaise and Bellevarde).
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| Le Solaise Ski Area |
This is the resorts central skiing area and it is probably the most popular and therefore the busiest. Overall, it is the best area for beginner and intermediate skiers but it can be divided into 3 smaller sections.
1. The “Glaciers’ bowl and “L” and “Mattis” - the upper part of this area offers easy skiing on sunny slopes.
2. Madeleine, Arcelle and Manchet - comprised of intermediate level slopes and often busy with groups under instruction.
3. Tete de Solaise/Plan - this is generally the run down to the village but it is recommended for intermediate to good skiers so beginners or tired skiers would be wise to take the Solaise cable car or chairlift down to the village.
The Solaise is easily accessible from the town center by the Solaise cable car or the Solaise Express high speed 4-man chair and most of the ski schools meet at the bottom of this area. It is possible to cross over from Le Fornet on the Leissières chairlift. |
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last updated 12-Dec-2007 |
| Leisurely Runs in Le Solaise |
From Val d’Isere centre, take the Solaise Express chairlift up to the Solaise skiing area. It is a good idea for skiers of all levels to spend at least a morning warming up. Many people only ski once a year and accidents are common on the first couple of days when the muscles are unprepared!
Leisurely Skiers can cover the Madeleine area and ski the runs in and around the Glacier Express which are nice and easy blues and greens. There are then options for lunch in La Datcha, Tete de Solaise or de l'Ouillette. In the afternoon, try L and Mattis which go down to the Laisinant Express. This is an easier place to end the day as the runs back down to Solaise are fairly steep and very busy.
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last updated 3-Dec-2007 |
| Intermediate Runs in Le Solaise |
From Val d’Isere centre, take the Solaise Express chairlift up to the Solaise skiing area. It is a good idea for skiers of all levels to spend at least a morning warming up. Many people only ski once a year and accidents are common on the first couple of days when the muscles are unprepared!
Intermediate Skiers can also cover the Madeleine area and ski the runs in and around the Glacier Express where there are nice and easy blues and greens. There are then options for lunch in La Datcha, Tete de Solaise or de l'Ouillette. After lunch, intermediates can ski Cugnai and Arcelle as well the lower runs to Laisinant. If you are tired, avoid the runs down to Solaise.
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last updated 3-Dec-2007 |
| Advanced Runs in Le Solaise |
From Val d’Isere centre, take the Solaise Express chairlift up to the Solaise skiing area.
Warm up those muscles with an easy cruise round a few blue runs in the Madeleine area in the morning. Cugnai is also nice in the morning but it is worth waiting until the afternoon to ski Arcelle. After lunch, also try to cover Pistes A, M and S which go down to the Solaise area as this will be their quietest time. You can then go back up and ski the lower runs down to Laisinant. This is an easier place to end the day as the runs back down to Solaise can get very busy.
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last updated 3-Dec-2007 |
| Off Piste in Le Solaise |
The Lavancher Couloir
From the top of the Solaise Express, turn left perpendicular to the chairlift. The slope gets gradually steeper and opens out into a wide wall. The Lavancher couloir is below and to the left of this flat section. It is more than 5m all the way down but is quite steep and continues towards Val d’Isere through the trees.
The Super L
From the start of Piste L, follow the Iseran route which leads to the start of the Mattis. Throughout the whole length you can always turn left off-piste to the bottom of the Laisinant valley. The closer you get to the start of the Mattis, the greater the drop.
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last updated 3-Dec-2007 |
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