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 #1 La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 01:16 |
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Thinking of going to La Plagne this winter. Has anyone been?if so what's it like?
Cheers |
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| #2 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 10:11 |
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| In reply to post #1
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Hi Danners,
I went a couple of seasons ago.
La Plagne is a collection of several little satellites.
You've got Plagne Centre which is where most of the shops, bars and restaurants are, and where most of the lifts go from. This is all purpose built concrete structures and there's not a huge amount there, but enough to keep you on the raz with your mates for a week.
Then you've got several satellites - I stayed in Plagne 1800 which is basically a load of chalets and apartments, 1 ski shop, 1 supermarket, 1 ticket office, 2 bars and a bus stop. I think most of the other satellites are similar.
IIRC you could ski back to plagne 1800 but you need to get the bus to Plagne Centre to get up on the mountain - there may have been 1 or two drags for some nusrsery slopes at the bottom of Plagne 1800 but can't remember for sure.
The ski bus was pretty regular and runs fairly late.
The ski area is pretty good. Loads of terrain to suit all abilities and lots of easily accessible powder after a good dump. You can also get over to Les Arcs pretty easily and quickly, so there's quite an impressive area. I went mid to late March and it struck me as pretty quiet at that tme of year - no huge queues or crowded buses or pistes!
If you are after apline charm and bangin' night life then La Plagne probably aint the place for you, but, whilst a bit quiet, it was a pretty good place to spend an enjoyable week boarding with my mates. Prices were fairly reasonable too. |
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| #3 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 10:51 |
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One of the most underrated areas in France I think, I went expecting nothing but came away with a really high opinion of the place. For me it has everything, huge amount of open powder bowls, loads and loads of trees which you can get in to, decent network of pistes etc.
Lifts are generally much older than you will find in 3V and the other mega-resorts but that can only be because they don't get the same number of visitors to pay for newer ones. For me this is a huge plus - I'd much rather a crappy 2 or 3 man chair access a big powder field than a detachable 6 man or gondola.
If you do go then save your money and ignore the Les Arcs half of the piste map; unless you've got something special you want to do over that side you're wasting your time. Weird that so many people go crazy for Les Arcs and ignore La Plagne where as I find Les Arcs is really quite boring with little to no variation! |
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| #4 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 10:59 |
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thanks for the replies. Found a really good chalet there for 12 of us at a very reasonable price in Plagne 1800. Sounds like a good place but do you really have to get the bus to the slopes every day?the info on the chalet says that it is located only 150m from the slopes so bit confused now. |
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| #5 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 13:13 |
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I've just checked a piste map and I think Plagne 1800 is where we stayed - it's a really good base but very lacking in bars. There is a 4 man from the bottom of the village from where you can either take another lift up to head over towards the 'main' area of LP or you can drop down the other way to the smaller, lower villages and some amazing steep gladed powder fields (which you can lap ALL day  ). There's a catch-all cat-track around there somewhere too which opens up a huge area off off piste which faces Northish so you can get fresh power in there days after a dump where all the others places have gone to mush.
So long as you don't want massive nightlife I'd say go for it. |
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| #6 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 13:43 |
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we're a group of 12 students so might have to venture to the other villages for the night life or chalet parties!!!!details to come if anyone is out there at the time! |
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| #7 Re: La Plagne Posted 22/08/2010 @ 20:16 |
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There is a pizza place which doubles up as a bar in 1800, I don't know if the guys who run it own it or were just working there but we kinda took over the place when we were there. They did us good deals on getting drunk and then organised a guy to drive us up to one of the other villages - no idea which as we were all too far gone by then. At the end of the night the same guy then gave us a lift back to 1800 - there are photos to prove this although nobody remembers 
If you do go then head to this place and order a few rounds of shots, the guys in there will see you right. |
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| #8 Re: La Plagne Posted 24/08/2010 @ 18:11 |
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have to find that place!!!anyone know whether the snowpark will be open that early in the season?we were in les arcs around the same time last year and they were still building it. |
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| #9 Re: La Plagne Posted 24/08/2010 @ 18:53 |
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| In reply to post #8
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La Plagne means 'The Flat' in French so be prepared to walk a lot or smash the speed out to get around. The locals I know in Les Arc generally avoid riding in La Plagne although their are some highly rated, steep, off piste areas over that way but they are only worth it when conditions are good.
Parks will depend on snowfall - lots mean that they are likely to open earlier, less means later! Simple! 
In my experience of that area you are usually sure to have a park by early Feb, but December and Jan is usually a no unless they have had a severe dump of snow. |
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| #10 Re: La Plagne Posted 24/08/2010 @ 21:06 |
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| In reply to post #8
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Yeah don't go to La Plagne expecting much in the way of parks. We were there at the start of March and the park was laughable. I mean, if you really must, then there were a few jumps and a few rails but access to them was pretty terrible with respect to doing laps and they didn't look all that. They had a pipe & superpipe but the superpipe was closed unfortunately, the little pipe was just that.
Funny people from Les Arcs complaining La Plagne is flat, Les Arcs has got plenty of unavoidable flat bits itself. I only remember one flat area in LaP and that had a rope tow to one side. I can understand people saying it's not the best resort when the snow isn't great though, but show me a resort that is  |
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| #11 Re: La Plagne Posted 24/08/2010 @ 22:22 |
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We're quite a mixed group of abilities but personally i love riding powder and backcountry so would la plagne cater for this? |
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| #12 Re: La Plagne Posted 24/08/2010 @ 22:36 |
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| In reply to post #11
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If the snow is good then yes, but lmited otherwise and early in the season you will be lucky to get any - really rocky in areas. But if it is a good early start this year you will probably be ok. Like some of the others have said though, could be the same sort of thing anywhere. But, looking at it positively, you will be snowboarding and having a gansta time with your buddies so f*ck it if I don't think it's any good - smash the place up!!  |
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| #13 Re: La Plagne Posted 27/08/2010 @ 11:53 |
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is Plagne 1800 any good?as in getting to the slopes and nightlife wise?theres 12 of us and we're students so we can definately make our own fun but somewhere to go out would be good.any ideas? |
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| #14 Re: La Plagne Posted 27/08/2010 @ 11:57 |
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| In reply to post #13
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Only ridden in the area as always stayed at Les Arc so I'm not the best for advice on the nightlife - try tripadvisor for night spots or google it. I'm sure someone around the forum will have a few nightspots to reccomend for you. Like you said though, 12 students will be enough party anyway!  I remember those days....  |
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| #15 Re: La Plagne Posted 28/08/2010 @ 19:59 |
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Can anyone remember how cheap or expensive the supermarket was in La Plagne 1800 for beers and wine and stuff?or is there somewhere cheaper we can go? Stayed in Les Arcs last year and got the funicular down to go to Lidl which was great, anything like that here? |
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