After around two years of development work, the opening of the new La Plagne glacier gondola finally took place on 29th December 2023 giving access to the revamped high-altitude area.

A revised idea of glacier protection

To protect the retreating glacier area, La Plagne’s operating company SAP took the bold decision to strip the existing chairs on the glacier. In days gone by, this sector used to offer summer skiing but the sad reality has meant that, in real terms, La Plagne’s ‘glacier’ is glacial terrain in name only. This can be seen through the summer months when there are now only patches of ice on the summits. Similarly, the same is happening in Tignes which used to offer 365 days skiing per year but has now had to curtail its summer operations severely.

The new La Plagne glacier gondola

The new La Plagne glacier gondola takes pretty much the same route down to the mid-station before veering left as you look up the mountain. This now gives much easier access to the famed La Plagne off-piste routes on the North Face and other high mountain terrain. Similarly to the previous gondola, pedestrians can also access this terrain via the Roche de Mio gondola and then the new glacier lift which takes visitors to the 3000m mark with spectacular views over the Isère valley, Les Arcs and Mont Blanc – well worth a visit if you’re having a more sedate holiday. Note – this is part of an overall upgrade strategy which will also see the redevelopment of the decrepit Roche de Mio gondola as well as a huge upgrade of facilities and apartments in Plagne Bellecôte in the coming years.

Reduced pistes on the glacier

The new route of the glacier gondola means the runs that used to exist on the right are now no longer accessible – well, not by lift anyway. The main pistes that were previously accessible by the Traversée chair are still there – and the Chalet de Bellecôte chair has now been replaced.

Photos of the new glacier gondola

See below for a selection of photos of the new, vastly improved glacier gondola (provided by the excellent PERSo-LAPLAGNE website)

Revised piste map of the glacier

See below for the new glacier piste map, minus the previous glacier and Traversée lifts