When it comes to skiing the French Alps are world-class. You’ll find everything from internationally famous resorts with hundreds of kilometres of groomed pistes to traditional Alpine villages where skiing is part of everyday life. These mountains are also home to the mighty Mont Blanc, western Europe’s highest mountain with endless possibilities for ski mountaineering, steep skiing and full-day epic off-piste descents. Plus, a whole shebang of other activities.
In France, people talk about the Northern French Alps and the Southern French Alps. The Northern Alps stretch from Chamonix and the Portes du Soleil down to the Tarentaise and The 3 Valleys. The Southern Alps include ski resorts just south of Grenoble all the way to Mediterranean coast.
Skiers of every stripe flock to the French Alps each winter, from families and couples who enjoy the wide open pistes of the Three Valleys to serious all-mountain skiers who pit their wits against the steep terrain of Chamonix and La Grave.
Resorts such as Tignes, Chamonix, Val d’Isère, Courchevel and Morzine are now home to some of the largest seasonaire communities in the Alps. The ski resorts of Les 3 Vallées, with 180 lifts, 600 km of skiing on 330 marked pistes, make up the world’s largest connected ski area and it’s here you’ll find some of the best snow-sure, high altitude terrain in the French Alps.
You don’t have to be a pro to enjoy the best of the French Alps. Most resorts aim to cater for every level, with great beginner runs and wide open pistes to learn and practice your first turns, fast and fun red runs for intermediates, and more challenging blacks for advanced skiers. Plus easy access to some amazing off-piste skiing wherever you go.
The French Alps are often criticised by freestyle skiers for not having enough good quality snow parks (although Avoriaz, Serre Chevalier, Les Arcs and Tignes are trying hard to catch up with the US and Canada), but when you ski the natural terrain, it’s easy to see why snow parks aren’t always top of the agenda.
There is a myth about an uncommon flower, Carrying the true essence of Winter, So powerful it had to be protected from mankind, Once this lotus blossoms it releases thousands of frozen crystals, Guided by their desire to unlock the beauty of winter, In 2019 on a location high in the French mountains a new tale in the history of Tomorrowland will be written:
“The hymn of the frozen lotus”.
Oh dang- If this declaration by the good people at Tomorrowland is anything to go by then we are in for a delight for the sences. Taking all the magic and wonder of Tomorrowland, adding snow and a sense of ethereal mystique, you have exactly what Tomorrowland is representing. With world renowned artists, performances that transcend the confines of normality and all the wanderlust vibes of the original Tomorrowland, this will be unmissable.