What's new in La Plagne winter 2018/19

Perhaps the biggest news this year is the replacement of the 30-year-old Inversens lift, a long chair that climbs 510m over 2km serving a red run of the same name below Roche de Mio. The new high-speed, six-seater chair follows more or less the same path as the old lift (built in 1987) but will cut the journey time from 15 minutes to just six and increase capacity from 1700 skiers per hour to 3600.

Inversens gives access to a large, snow-sure bowl with a myriad of possible descents but is an area many riders avoided due to the excessively slow lift back up. The new chair will provide a speedy route back from an otherwise wholly under-used sector of the resort. The new development comes hot on the heels of last year’s upgrade of the Crozats lift and the construction of the Envers chair in 2016. The replacement of Inversens further adds to La Plagne’s roster of high-speed uplift and solidifies the resort’s commitment to upgrading its facilities and reducing lift lines. Inversens is due to run on the opening day of the new season and forms an integral part of an on-going expansion plan for the Montchavin/Glacier areas of the resort. 

La Plagne again paves the way in terms of new ski tech this year with the introduction of its innovative Plagne Access service – a secure digital payment platform for buying goods around the resort with just your lift pass. By linking credit card details with your pass, Plagne Access allows users to purchase goods and services from partner retailers in the resort without using a credit card. Users simply scan their linked lift pass to buy items with transactions logged, in real time, in the app. 

Plagne Access also sends users personalized offers and exclusive deals based on your usage habits and stats. Users can set spending limits through the app, including those of family members linked to the same account. In the event of a lost pass, the service (and pass/passes) can be deactivated immediately through the app. Developed with PayinTech (with payments managed by Ingenico) the contactless, cashless system is expected to be ready for the start of this season. La Plagne is the first ski area in the world to roll-out cashless payments. Look out for updates in the Yuge app.

The previously rather dour frontage of Plagne Centre receives a facelift this year with the completion of an €8 million redevelopment project aimed at improving the general façade and first impressions of the resort. The new Place Albert Perrière houses a covered bus terminus and village square as well as a new bar with panoramic views over Mont-Blanc, a four-lane bowling alley, a natural ice skating rink and a Mountain Mining exhibition room, detailing La Plagne’s history as an old mining town. Development works are expected to be complete for the start of the new season and will provide a welcome upgrade to facilities in Plagne Centre. In particular, the bus terminus is well overdue and replaces the old unlit, unheated shack that previously served as the main transport hub out of Plagne Centre to the various satellites.

The ride out of Champagny-en-Vanoise to the main area will be considerably more comfortable this year with the addition of newly upgraded gondola cabins. The new cabins are fully seated, replacing the old stand-up models first fitted with the original construction back in 1986. The Champagny gondola whisks riders from Champagny village (1200m) up to the top station at La Rossa (nearly 2000m) in around seven minutes. Speed was never an issue with this lift but the old cabins really were showing their age both in terms of design and comfort. The new cabins are similar to those of the Montalbert lift featuring a spacious interior, comfortable seating and tinted glass. The cabins were fitted to the line earlier this month and will be ready for use at the start of the forthcoming season.

Over the last few seasons, SAP has invested heavily in digital information boards placed strategically at key junctions across the resort, providing live resort information. An additional five new boards are planned this year displaying recommended itineraries, skier flow, information on inter-area links and interactive piste maps. The boards are an invaluable asset for route planning and are yet another example of La Plagne’s customer-centric approach and efforts at providing smooth passage across the domain.

Since it was released in 2011, Paradiski’s proprietary Yuge app has proved immensely popular with over 440,000 downloads. This year, a new in-app video editor has been added which will allow users to create a unique, personalized movie of their holiday. The process apparently takes less than three minutes with users able to share their creation directly to their preferred social channel. Yuge is already head and shoulders above most resort apps offering live conditions updates, itineraries, location-based restaurant/run suggestions and, best of all, live lift updates and expected queue times. The app also includes a tracker to record your days on the hill as well as a wealth of other resort information. The new video editor just adds to an already impressive service.

La Plagne’s Escape Rooms are the brainchild of one of the resort’s former freestyle ski champions – Ben Valentin – and are a first for not just the resort but the entire Tarentaise valley. For the uninitiated, the Escape Room concept is fairly simple. Working in teams of two to six people, participants are locked in a room and have to solve a series of puzzles and clues to ‘escape’ in the shortest time possible. The puzzles tend to be similar to the mental games seen in the Crystal Maze. La Plagne’s Escape Rooms feature two games: the 'Hunting the Chuppa Yeti' suitable for families and younger children and 'The Mont Saint Jacques Bunker' with more difficult challenges and a more mature theme aimed at adults. La Plagne’s Escape Rooms are located in Plagne Bellecôte and are the perfect distraction for evening entertainment or bad weather days.

Founded by David Robertson and Mark Gillis in 2004, Action Outdoors will celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2019. Originally inspired by UCPA, a French non-profit organisation providing affordable, all-inclusive adventure sports holidays, they actually became UCPA's official UK partner in 2017. Action Outdoors offers great value ski holidays for everyone, with packages that include everything, from accommodation to lift passes, meals, gear hire and lessons, making it the cheapest way to come skiing to La Plagne.

You don't need to bring your heavy ski clothes to La Plagne this winter. Free up space in your bags to bring back some locally made cheese and saucisson by renting your clothing in resort. Oxygene Ski School are offering a brand new ski clothes rental service this season in La Plagne. Their silver and gold ranges boast the latest technologies and design so that you don't have to splash the cash for just one week per year. They also have children's clothes, perfect if your kids keep outgrowing last winter's salopettes.

The Cool Bus are upping their eco-friendly game by purchasing another Tesla Model X to replace one of their diesel-powered Volkswagen Caravelle. Their plan to make airport transfers in the Alps cleaner was put into motion last year when they bought two fully-electric, state-of-the-art, seven-seater Teslas. So far, these have helped reduce their carbon footprint by 30 tonnes and this third electric car will mean that 15% of their distance covered will be carbon-free.

Huski began to deliver high-quality, ready-made meals to chalets and apartments last year and they've already become the go-to service for many visitors when organising their self-catered La Plagne holidays. Much more affordable than a private chef but equally as easy and delicious, Huski's ready meals will now be delivered all over the French Alps. They've also enlarged their range on offer to include fresh Savoyard-inspired meals made daily at their HQ in Bourg St Maurice, plus new brands, expanding their vegan and free-from options, as well as their choices for kids and babies. The ordering process could not be easier, just choose whatever you want for your ski week online and they'll deliver to your accommodation, ready to be heated up in the oven or the microwave.