Every ski resort has runs you end up wishing you never took and the same applies in La Plagne. The point of downhill skiing and snowboarding is in the name – that it’s downhill and you use gravity as propulsion. Unfortunately, La Plagne has a lot of flat spots on many runs – places where skiers will end up poling and ski-skating while snowboarders will invariably have to unclip or penguin walk if you haven’t built up enough speed. Below is our guide to Pistes to avoid in La Plagne.

What are the worst runs in La Plagne?

While we actually like some of the runs noted below when taken as a whole, in many cases, if you don’t gun the steeper sections, you will end up walking. However, with some others in this list, it won’t matter how much speed you build – a walk will be necessary in places.

Note – green pistes don’t make this list as they’re intentionally flatter to help beginner skiers and snowboarders learn. Rather, we’ve marked the pistes below in two categories:

Avoid: Meaning these runs will see you walking no matter what you do. They may be graded blue but, in places, they’re actually uphill. Presumably, the resort didn’t grade them green as they would be impossible for beginners to traverse but they lack any kind of gradient.

Speed: With these runs, there are some steeper sections preceding the flats that will at least allow you to generate enough momentum to get over the shallow parts. It’s worth noting, however – if you’re not comfortable straight-lining the steeps, you will end up walking, poling or unclipping.

Avoid: Route des Bauches, Montchavin sector

What looks like a pleasant meander down the valley below the Roche de Mio sector to the Vanoise Express and the Montchavin pistes, the Route des Bauches is actually little more than a cross-country track with frequent flats and uphill sections. This is in no way a blue piste and is an absolute pain for snowboarders while skiers too will get burned out poling their way around. Rather than following this run, if you find yourself in this area, take the Bauches chair and Crozats chair instead to follow the better, steeper pistes above.

Avoid: Pravendue, Montalbert sector

Much like the Routes des Bauches above, the Pravendue blue piste (accessed off the lower section of Edmond Blanchoz (formerly Cornegidouille)) looks like a pleasant trip through the woods. However, this run features frequent flats and, at one point, a sustained 50m uphill stretch. If you want to get to the Plagne Montalbert pistes, take the Adrets chair instead.

Avoid: Ravine, Champagny sector

Chances are you won’t have any choice but to take the Ravine piste in the Champagny sector to get from the Plagne Centre side over to the runs nearer Champagny village. While this is just a very short flat run, you’ll have little chance of making it over without poling on unclipping as there isn’t a sufficient run-in to build enough speed. Thankfully, the pistes that access here make the quick walk towards the Borseliers chair worthwhile.

Speed: Arolles, Bellecôte sector

The top section of Arolles sweeps skier right off the Colosses chair before dropping over a steeper section. If you don’t build enough speed here, you’ll be faced with two uphill walks as the piste nears the Leitchoums blue. The bottom section gets gradually steeper but much of this area features extremely flat – and very optimistically graded – blue runs.

Speed: Blanchets, Bellecôte sector

The top of the Blanchets blue starts steep enough as you drop to the right off the Blanchets chair however, once the piste tuns back towards the direction of Belle Plagne and Bellecôte, there are two gradient sections you’ll need to pretty much straight line in order to get over the long flat near the park and race piste. Blanchets is actually a relatively enjoyable blue – but if you lack confidence skiing or snowboarding quickly, be prepared to walk.

Speed: Tunnel, Roche de Mio sector

There’s an almost irresistible temptation to ride a run marked as ‘tunnel’ on a piste map but the bottom section of the Tunnel blue piste is pancake flat as it nears the very shallow pathway through the mountain. If you absolutely tank the steeper sections before, you might make it through the tunnel without walking but most skiers and snowboarders find they get stuck about midway. Also, it doesn’t help that there is almost always a congregation of riders at the mouth of the tunnel which often find you having to kill your speed.

Speed: Replat, Montchavin sector

The Replat piste forms an essential link across to the Replat rope tow and the Montchavin sector / Les Arcs so you’ll almost undoubtedly end up on this run at some point. However, if you’re looking to reach the Replat and want to avoid walking, you’ll need to straight-line from about midway to get over the long flat that precedes the link.

Speed: Levasset Haut, Champagny sector

The Levasset is one of the most fun and wide blue pistes in La Plagne but on any given day, you’ll always see forlorn skiers and snowboarders walking the flatter sections here. After the steeper section at the start, as a general rule, you need to go as straight as possible on the remaining pitches to have any hope of getting over the long flats towards the bottom and the Plateau de Carella rope tow.

Speed: Levasset Mid, Champagny sector

The Levasset mid section crosses from the Plagne Bellecôte / Roche de Mio sector into the Champagny area. The pitch of this run would be enough to get over the flat section however this area sees the convergence of three runs – Tome, Quillis and Levasset – so the lift staff pay due diligence and frequently erect barriers to slow skiers and snowboarders to avoid accidents. Consequently, chances are good that you’ll end up walking as near the restaurant and Carella chair of the start of the excellent Levasset Bas piste.

Speed: Geisha, Champagny sector

The Geisha is another piste that crosses from the Plagne Bellecôte / Roche de Mio sector into Champagny. While this run rates among one of the best blue runs in La Plagne, there is a flat section marked below the label on the map above that turns skiers’ left then right (opposite on the map). If you don’t hold your speed coming into this section, be prepared to walk. Another option is to drop off the main run and ride the short off-piste section to join the bottom of the Bozelet.

Speed: Mont de la Guerre, Champagny sector

It might seem a little odd featuring a red piste on a list of runs that could involve a walk but to reach the main Mont de la Guerre piste involves a long snaking traverse along the ridge high above Champagny-en-Vanoise that will see you poling or unclipping if you don’t build sufficient speed. MdlG is one of La Plagne’s best red runs – but you need to gun the top section as it leaves the Bozelet to have any chance of making it over.

Speed: Gavotte, Aime 2000/Biolley sector

Another advanced red piste that somehow makes the list of runs with long flats, the Gavotte run in the Biolley / Aime 2000 sector starts with a traverse followed by a short pitch that you’ll need to straight-line to get over the flat that follows.

Speed: Halles, Aime 2000/Biolley sector

The Halles piste is an intentional flatter option that avoids a pitch in the middle section of Edmond Blanchoz (formerly Cornegidouille). However, if you don’t build speed on the way out (to the right on the piste map), you’ll end up walking along the flat section when the piste turns back towards the base of the Envers and Adrets chairs.

Pistes to avoid in La Plagne – the takeout

No matter which resort you look at, you’ll always find flatter pistes dotted around any area – runs that somewhat beggar belief in terms of their grading. From a lift company’s perspective, this is almost inevitable as few runs stay at a consistent gradient from top to bottom so there will always be a measure of grading by averages. That said, the first two ‘blues’ marked in this list somewhat stretch that rationale.

That said, in general, the piste gradings in La Plagne are mostly pretty accurate. This article is just to give you a heads-up on some of the more unexpected flats and hopefully help you avoid the hassle of a hike.

La Plagne month-by-month guides

To learn more about the busiest areas or the busiest times in La Plagne, take a look at the comprehensive guides below which detail month-by-month breakdowns of typical snow, queues, weather and conditions at different points in the season.

Is La Plagne good in December?
Is La Plagne good in January?
Is La Plagne good in February?
Is La Plagne good in March?
Is La Plagne good in April?

For a breakdown of the difficulty of lifts and pistes, these articles might also help – La Plagne for beginners, La Plagne for intermediates and La Plagne for experts.

 

La Plagne accommodation deals

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La Plagne piste map