More Pics of New Praz Gondola and Top Station in Courchevel 1850

Work continues apace on the new Alpinium Building, underground car park and the new bigger, faster, more comfortable Praz Gondola up to Courchevel 1850.

The top gondola station is now in place and the top station for the Tovets chair from 1550 has been moved down the hill a bit to accommodate it (it will still be a run down to the track to Plantrey but could require some pushing when conditions are heavy / sticky we reckon to get right across to the Plantrey chair.

More pictures of the work going on below – the lake is still drained and the first cables have now been put in place on the pylons.

Meanwhile Hôtel Le Chabichou is having its rooms refurbed…

…and the view from the Hôtel La Pomme de Pin terrace (where the above shot was taken) is a bit grim at the moment due to the reshaping and remodelling of the Stade competition area.

I’m sure it will all be ok by December………

But who would be a pylon monkey? See below:

Gros Murger Drag Lift in La Tania – Top Pylon Failure

Lots of work still to do on the Alpinium Building, Lake and Gondola in Le Praz for opening in December plus there’s the lift & piste down to Aquamotion and the huge earthworks on the Courchevel Stade going on too. Courchevel 1850 and Le Praz really has been a big building site this Summer…

With all this work going on as a priority to get it finished in time it looks like the replacement Creux Noirs lift, dismantling of the old chair and the new green run promised in La Tania (plus the changes to the snow front, beginners area etc) aren’t going to happen in time for this Winter.

We could be wrong, but there’s no sign of any work going on with these projects yet although once things start they’re surprisingly quick and huge amounts of hardware and human resource are used.

To add to the work required this Summer we’ve noticed that the top pylon on the Gros Murger drag lift out of La Tania has partially collapsed with the area around the concrete base becoming waterlogged – it’s unclear if cables snapped or partial dismantling took place. Currently the main cable is anchored in to the ground and tension remains all the way down.

The area is taped off like a crime scene but it looks like replacement cable and some parts have been delivered so work must be happening soon. Although not used by many, this lift is a short cut to the Bouc Blanc chair (or more likely a run down to Le Praz on a powder day as the chair is never open by the time the first people arrive) and essential if there is any issue with the La Tania Gondola.

Ski Job Recruitment Day at The Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead

Our friends at Cool Ski Jobs are once again running a Ski Recruitment Day at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead on Saturday 7th September .

There’s a morning or afternoon session and all attendees will have the chance to hit the real snow slope at a great discounted rate before or after the events.

Each session will consist of industry experts from different aspects of the ski industry who will be running workshops on everything from chalet hosting to ski instructing.

This is a great opportunity to meet with individual ski companies who will be actively recruiting on the day plus you will also be able to chat and find out more about life in the mountains and “doing a season”.

There’ll also be live music in the evening hosted by Après Ski Bands who supply much of the live music in The Alps during the Winter season.

More information on the event here

Click here for (free) tickets and select the morning or afternoon event

The Snow Centre is the closest indoor real snow facility to London with a huge 160m main slope as well as the largest indoor ski lesson slope in the UK. Both ski and snowboarding slopes are over 30m wide and maintained with a perfect snow surface.

There’s also the Schuss Bar on the slope with free tea & coffeee during your session and The Lodge Bar & Kitchen overlooking the slope with traditional and alpine dishes served.

Hemel Hempstead is only 26 mins from Euston and The Snow Centre is located just a few minutes off the M25 & M1.

The World Cup Summer Ski Jumping this Friday & Saturday 9/10 Aug 2019

One of the highlights of Summer is the annual World Cup Summer Ski Jumping in Le Praz where the brave competitors land on plastic instead of snow! Of course there’s a beer tent and live music too…

Friday Programme:
Ladies competition on the main HS132 Ski Jump
09.00-10.00: Official training – 1st jump
10.00-11.00: Official training – 2nd jump
12.00-14.00: Free training – Men
16.30: Trial jump
18.00: Competition
19.00: Final
20.00: Prize giving ceremony
22.00: DJ set by DJ Fred

Saturday Programme:
Mens competition on the main HS132 Ski Jump
09.00-10.00: Official training – 1st jump
10.00-11.00: Official training – 2nd jump
11.00: Qualifiers
16.50: Trial jump
18.00: Competition
19.00: Final
20.00: Prize giving ceremony
20.30: Concert by the band Rock Cab
22.15: Fireworks
22.25: Concert by the band Dirty Doctors

Across the 2 days there is entertainment for children, a Club des Sports shop plus food & refreshments.

Also at 4pm each day is an Air Show by the French Air Force Aerobatics Team and Adrenalin Flights.

Dont forget live music this Thursday & Friday at Pub Le Ski Lodge in La Tania too! More in the What’s On?

More Summer Pics – Méribel & further afield with more work and developments going on…

Summer Pics around La Tania including latest work & developments

More photos from this Summer in and around La Tania…

Hoka Xtrail Podium & More Pics of Work around Courchevel

More pics of development work in and around Courchevel (our last post is here) plus the podium pic for the Hoka One One Xtrail on Sunday.

Hoka One One Xtrail Courchevel 2019 start this morning

The start of the Hoka 34km trail in Le Praz this morning . The 54km race started at 4am – good luck everybody!

Tovets Top Station gets moved and the work on Jockeys begins

The top station of Tovets up from Courchevel 1550 gets moved a little down the hill to make way for the new Le Praz top gondola station.

Meanwhile the planning signs have gone up for the work on the Jockeys piste for the 2023 World Cup.

No way some of those steep sections followed by flat spots could support a World Cup downhill race hitting them flat out – let’s hope they don’t ruin it for us “recreational skiers”…

S3V Update on new infrastructure in Courchevel

An update on the work on the new Alpinium Building in Le Praz, the snow front around La Croisette where the new Le Praz gondola arrives, the new piste and lift at L’Ecrin Blanc & Aquamotion plus Les Indiens Tribe return to the Indiens Piste in 1650!

The official update is available in English here

The new, fast 10 seater gondola direct to the centre of 1850, underground 500 place car park, lift pass & tourist office, reception area and ski lockers all to open this December.

The Grand Combes 4-seater chairlift and blue run is still on schedule for opening in December this year. We believe this lift will link in to runs down to 1550 (Grangettes and Tovets) for access to Courchevel 1850.

Great to see this area will still be accessible for the excellent off piste it offers – the 350m drag lift must be quicker than the long, slow chairlift it replaces and 18 less pylons too! The pistes here will remain ungroomed following fresh snowfalls as part of the Freeride LAB powder skiing zone.

Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS, owner of the Portetta hotel in 1650, now sponsor of the very successful Sky cycling team, financer of the British boat in the next America’s Cup race, owns Swiss football club Lausanne-Sport and is also said to be close to buying OGC Nice football club has donated some €17m towards this project.

Finally its been confirmed that the Indien Tribe will return to the Indiens piste/canyon for Winter 2020 providing hospitality, kids games, archery etc. Welcome back!

More updates soon from across the 3 Valleys and all will be gathered together for the What’s New in September/October 2019.