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Les
Arcs
If
you are sitting in some part of North America reading this article, the
chances are, unless you are very well informed indeed, you will be
unfamiliar with the French resort of Les Arcs and the tremendous skiing
possibilities it has to offer.
Les
Arcs is a purpose built resort of Les Arcs and the tremendous
skiing possibilities it has to offer. Les Arcs is a purpose built
resort located about 150km from Geneva. It is made up of three
separate villages, each of which is predictably named after its altitude
- 1,600, 1,800 and 2,000m respectively.
The actual skiing goes
from 1,600m to 3,200m.When
we say that Les Arcs is purpose-built we mean that the place was started
from scratch, not much more than a cow pasture to be exact. From
there apartments were built, hotels designed and a great ski area was
developed. It was designed both for convenience and for a style,
which blended in with the environment.
They
certainly have succeeded with the convenience. Here, you can step
out of almost any apartment in any of the three different village levels
and behold you are on the ski slopes. Coming home you can collapse
right at your front door after a hard day on the slope. Ski
evolutes are the technique most taught at Les Arcs.
This
system allows skiers to start on very small skis and then progress to a
maximum length of about 160 cm. Les Arcs has everything. Mono skiing, ski surfing, hang gliding, ski flying and if that's not
enough you can go helicopter skiing. In most cases the lift pass
and apartment make one package at Les Arcs.
This
makes the separate lift pass price difficult to access. In less
then 15 years of its existence, Les Arcs has really made progress. There is even a bit of summer skiing on the glacier of Aiguilles Rouge
and an added bonus is the great view of Mont Blanc and Les Grandes
Joresses.
As
in many purpose-built resorts apre-ski entertainment can be limited, but
we know of at least one lively hotel and couple of good pubs. Les
Arcs is located about 150km from Geneva above the village of Bourg
St.Maurice. Coming either from Geneva or Paris the Best town
to head for is Albertville and then Bourg St.Maurice. The nearest
international airport is Geneva.
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