How snow sure is La Plagne?
When you’re booking a ski or snowboard holiday, one of the first considerations you should look for is its height and snow record (more often than not, both go hand in hand). Sure, great scenery and lively aprés ski also help with a skiing or snowboarding trip but, end of the day, it’s the white stuff that’s going to seal deal for a good winter trip.
A La Plagne ski holiday offers 225km of pisted terrain and around 130 runs – a stat that basically doubles when you also throw in the Vanoise Express that makes up Paradiski – the world’s third-largest ski area in the world totalling 425km of pistes. Still, the question remains . . . .
Is snow guaranteed in La Plagne?
As you might expect, the answer to this question can vary at different times of the year combined with the particular La Plagne resort you choose to stay in. With terrain ranging from the lower valley villages at 1250m up to the high altitude resorts, temperatures and, crucially, snow quality can be markedly different in different parts of the ski area.
I’ve always maintained there’s a fairly reliable rule when it comes to ski areas and snow reliability that can be applied in pretty much all but the very coldest parts of the world, particularly in the late season. If you want to be relatively sure of good snow, you need to be aiming for a resort with a significant amount of terrain above 2000m. Check our snow report videos from previous seasons to see La Plagne snow conditions at different points in the season.
The 2000m rule when it comes to snow reliability
While La Plagne’s terrain runs down the lower villages at 1250m, 80% of the area and its pistes are above 2000m. This makes the resort one of the most snow-sure in the Alps. Couple this with La Plagne’s extensive artificial snow cannon and you can be pretty much assured you’ll get good cover and a wide range of pistes open in all but the very worst of seasons.
Yes, late and early season can see patchy cover at times (particularly at lower levels and on the south-facing runs) but, in these cases, you just need to head up higher. Again, the snow report videos will show you just how much the snow can vary from the higher to lower runs.
The image above shows the 2000m mark rule in action around Plagne Aime 2000 where the snow was receding much quicker lower down in the late season (as you might expect).
How the time of year affects snow quality and reliability
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the colder months of winter normally bring better snow however, with the effects of global warming now setting in and taking hold, there have been some anomalies developing over the last few years. These have been Europe-wide and are most noticeable in the summer months on the retreating glaciers – although they have also started to affect the early and late season.
Indeed, while La Plagne claims to have a glacier (and once had summer skiing), the warmer temps of the last 40 years have all but decimated the Bellecôte and Chiaupe glaciers – to the point the La Plagne glacier now is little more than a couple of patches of high altitude ice.
This article explains the best time to visit La Plagne for the best snow conditions but, as a general rule, the resort is most snow-sure from mid-January through February into early March.
The image above shows La Plagne’s Rossa run in the Champagny sector (mostly south-facing) in a particularly bad snow year. This photo was taken in late April, towards the tail end of the season. By contrast, the runs on the front of the mountain (primarily north-facing) were in far better condition, particularly higher up.
More info about La Plagne on the LaPlagne360 site
We’ll be posting more information on the La Plagne 360 site plus the La Plagne 360 blog where you can find out further information on snowboarding in La Plagne. Remember too that we’ve got extensive La Plagne activity guides, La Plagne information guides and La Plagne ski and snowboard edits – plus images from our La Plagne gallery to help work out how to make the best of your next La Plagne ski / snowboard holiday and help you choose the best accommodation in La Plagne.
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