Skiing in Les Deux Alpes

Skiing at 2 Alps, which we also like to write Two Alps, it is skiing on the foothills of theOisans, near the Massif des Ecrins, one of the highest and most preserved mountain ranges in the French Alps. In fact, it is in Les Deux Alpes, in France, that you can reach the highest point on a marked ski slope integrated into a continuous ski area, on the Mont de Lans glacier in Approximately 3525 meters. Higher up, at 3540 metres, the Girose ski lift in La Grave breaks all records, but the area is not really accessible to everyone.

La ski resort of Les Deux Alpes has an international reputation for very good skiing but also for a fantastic range of après-ski activities in the village bars and restaurants. This is why this Isère resort is particularly suited to a young public looking for fun on and off the slopes.

Let’s explore the areas where you can ski in Les Deux Alpes.

The Deux Alpes ski resort: why do we talk about “two” Alps?

In the language of the mountains, the alp is the grazing area for cows or sheep in summer. We can also say the mountain pasture. Geographically, two communes shared this very sunny plateau. To the north, the commune of Mont de Lans (1200 metres above sea level), on the side of Lake Chambon on the road that leads from Grenoble to Briançon via the Col du Lautaret along the Romanche which flows at the bottom of the valley. To the south, the commune of Venosc (1000 metres above sea level), in the Vénéon valley, this powerful torrent which rushes from the heart of the Ecrins and crosses the Oisans to Bourg d'Oisans before joining the Romanche and descending towards Grenoble.

So there was theAlpe de Venosc, that is to say the mountain pasture above Venosc, and theAlpe de Mont de Lans on the same plateau at an altitude of about 1600 meters. The ideal place to leave the cows in summer. Then came the time of winter sports and the large slopes surrounding the plateau became great opportunities to develop the tourist offer in the same way as the Alpe d'Huez, another very famous "alpe".

Little by little, the buildings covered the entire plateau and the resort, unified into a single entity from which the ski lifts radiated, was called the "two Alps", therefore the 2 alps.

The resort is accessible by car from Mont de Lans (the North) and by cable car from Venosc (the South). The old village centre which was created on the mountain pasture is rather at the end which dominates Venosc, in full view of the majestic silhouette of the Muzelle. An emblematic summit visible in almost all photos of the resort.

Les Alpes 2 is a ski resort that stretches around a main road. Along this road you will find all the shops, restaurants and necessary services. Hotels and residences are located on this same road but also in parallel streets on the snow front or in the maze of the old quarter at the end of the route. The disadvantage of this organization of the resort is that there are a lot of cars. Too many, even. The architecture of the resort is very urban and not very successful for everything that was built in the 70s and 80s, you really feel like you are in a city. The advantage is that there is the possibility of taking very long walks to stretch your legs after a day of skiing or to digest after a good meal. It will not be in the middle of nature, but it is possible. And in the evening, when the traffic stops, it is rather pleasant. There are also hiking trails, especially in the Vallée Blanche area, which allow you to gain height and see the roofs of the Two AlpsIt's big, it's long (nearly 3 km), it's very urbanized, but the atmosphere of a fun, sporty, dynamic and sunny ski resort means that ultimately you feel very good there.

Each major district has its own ski lift to start exploring the ski area. Very often you have to walk a few hundred meters, or take the shuttle, but it's not too inconvenient. The central part of the resort at the foot of the Diable, Jandri and Belle Etoile lifts is probably the one that simplifies travel between your accommodation and the ski area the most. If you are on the heights above the old village center, towards the Super Venosc chairlift, you will need a small connection to start skiing on most of the area. But in all cases an efficient shuttle service will allow you to quickly arrive at your starting point on the slopes.

The seven sectors of the Deux Alpes ski area.

To Two Alps, there are seven main ski areas, each with its own particularities.

Vallée Blanche
Diable
Ridges
Tour
La Fee
Glacier
The bottom of the resort (2 Alpes 1650 and 2 Alpes 1850)

In Les 2 Alpes, we ski over 220 kilometers of slopes, laid out on 89 slopes served by 38 ski lifts. This is a very large massif for a ski resort that is not connected to any other resort in a shared ski area.

If we had to draw a map, we would draw the plateau of Les 2 Alpes on a North-South line (with the South, on the Venosc side). To the East of this line, therefore to the right on our drawing, we would find the largest part of the ski area, with six of the seven sectors mentioned and the altitudes of the highest slopes. To the left (to the west), only one, the first on the list, Vallée Blanche.

Please note: if you are coming from Venosc for a day of skiing, you will have to wait for a shuttle to reach the ski slopes, at the Diable gondola. On foot, it is very long – 650 meters, 10 minutes, but it is still possible…

From Mont de Lans, at the exit of the village, there is also a chairlift (but be careful of the snow cover for the return on the red slope) which allows you to reach the ski area at the level of Petite Aiguille.

Skiing at the bottom of the resort of Les 2 Alpes

Let's start with Vallée Blanche. A sector to warm up, to enjoy the landscapes of the resort, but above all a transfer sector. Holidaymakers who live near the old village of Alpe de Venosc can indeed take the Super Venosc chairlift and then go back down the Vallée Blanche and Côte slopes to the end of the sector, along the entire resort of Les Deux Alpes, to land at the Petite Aiguille chairlift which allows you to gradually go back up the slopes.

So let's continue the discovery of this sector precisely by starting from the starting point Petite Aiguille at the entrance to the resort by road. We therefore discover the Crests sectorThe succession of the Petite Aiguille and Village 1800 chairlifts allows you to reach an altitude of 2100 and the Crêtes chairlift which joins the summit of the Diable chairlift, at 2400 meters, covering all the ski slopes at the bottom of the resortn. There are slopes for all levels, but the bottom of the slopes is often in poor condition, both because of the high number of skiers and the generous sunshine. We will keep these slopes for a definitive return. Even if you are a beginner you can ski at altitude under the Crêtes chairlift, well above 2000 meters with excellent quality snow.

Of course, we arrive in the same sector with all the lifts on this side of the resort: Diable, Belle Etoile and Jandri (but here we come down from much higher).

The slopes at the top of the Deux Alpes ski area

To gain altitude and continue to discover the ski area, all you need to do is go from the arrival of the chairlift Ridges to ski on the slope from which you can no longer see the resort. We then move away towards the altitude. By beautiful blue slopes, we descend into the Bellecombe valley , from which you can go back down or continue to climb by the Bellecombe chairlift. This allows you to arrive in the Sautet area. A maze of intersecting slopes: you will find the skiers who have skied on the Toura, as well as those who are coming down from the Glacier. There are beautiful boulevards of very blue slopes and a few red slopes to pick up speed. You ski in a completely white universe with very beautiful views of the surrounding massifs. The summits of the Toura and Tête Moule allow you to enjoy the landscapes on the peaks of Ecrins which enclose the southern part of the Vénéon valley, on the border with the Valgaudemar. Very impressive.

We have already reached an altitude of 2600 to 2800 meters but to go up further we have two choices. Either go and get Jandri, the super gondola at the intermediate station, in the valley below La Toura, or discover the Fée sector, just opposite, overlooking the Romanche valley, ski on the blue and red slopes of the Butte de La Fée and then go back up by the Pierre Grosse chairlift.

In both cases you end up at the Glacier level, at an altitude of 3200 meters.

As is often the case on the Glaciers, you will find rather blue and easy slopes, sometimes even almost flat ones like those you take to reach the Lauze slope which will take you to the top of the resort at an altitude of over 3500 metres.

Quite frankly, we go up to the Glacier sector more for the experience of altitude and for the extraordinary panorama of all the massifs of the French Alps (Mont Blanc, Vanoise and Ecrins, etc.), than for the ski slopes, which are very easy.

On the other hand, the slopes that go back down from the Glacier towards Toura (Jandri 4, Glacier 1, 2 and 3) or towards La fée (Pierre Grosse 1 and 2, from the base of La Toura) are magnificent walks. Finally, the slope under the Signal chairlift offers you solitude. It is one of the furthest from the rest of the area. You feel like you are flying above the mountains.

There is also a long and steep black run, Pierre Grosse 3, which you take from the red Glacier 3. Paradoxically, the other black runs are at the bottom of the area, under the Diable chairlift and under the Belle Etoile chairlift.

For the return, the simplest, and to do at least once, is the direct return from the Glacier (Puy Salié) at 3400 meters to the station at 1600 meters. 1800 meters of vertical drop, that's very rare in a ski resort. Here, in Les Deux Alpes, any skier capable of going down a blue run can do it. The route: Puy Salié 1, Glacier 1, Jandri 3, Jandri 2, Jandri. Your thighs burn if you do all the runs, but what a joy when you love skiing.

Here is the map of the slopes so you don't miss anything in this description: click here !

Skiing on the glacier at Les 2 Alpes — The ski slopes of the glacier sector in Les 2 Alpes

See the top of the Les 2 Alpes resort when you're not skiing.

Finally, you can take the Jandri cable car, even if you are a pedestrian. It will take you in less than twenty minutes from the center of the resort to an altitude of 3200 meters. Then a funicular, can take you to the Glacier, to the belvedere of Puy Salié at 3421 meters. It is not the highest viewpoint in France for a pedestrian, but the 360 degree view is simply breathtaking.

Skiing in Les Deux Alpes is great skiing. There are no pine or larch forests here, no wooden chalets with smoking chimneys, nestled around an old stone church, no stream or frozen lake to walk in, but for skiing and fun it is simply "the place to be".

Skiing from the end of November to the beginning of May on all the slopes and from May to the beginning of July on the Glacier slopes. It is the only French resort that can offer it.

The resort itself is attractive without being pretty, it is lively without being chaotic, but when you spend your days at 3000 meters above sea level in the solitude of the heights, you also appreciate the neon lights and the evening entertainment in the village!

Enjoy your skiing holiday in Les Deux Alpes.

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