Congratulations Oliver, Martin & Zoe on completing the Escapade in a Day

La Tania regulars Oliver, Martin & Zoe completed the Escapade on 16th January. It was Oliver’s second time having completed the original route a few years ago.

“We got one of the first lifts on the La Tania bubble at 9:03 and got the final Foret lift at 15:44 – giving us a time of 6:41. As previous posters have said you don’t need to ski ridiculously fast but you can’t hang around for a leisurely lunch or copious toilet breaks.

We took the itinerary run down the back of La Masse which avoids the need to get the Reberty and Bruyeres lifts. The crusty snow wasn’t the most enjoyable and we could have done it much quicker in better conditions but we think it was still quicker than going down La Masse the conventional way plus the two extra lifts in Les Menuires.

It was a lovely blue sky day but with better snow on the La Masse run and a couple of less busy lifts we reckon we could have shaved off some more time. Maybe next time!”

LA TANIA 09:03:00
BOUC BLANC 09:12:00
SOURCES 09:23:00
SAULIRE 09:28:00
DENT DE BURGIN 09:45:00
GOLF 09:57:00
LEGENDS 10:11:00
OLYMPIC 10:22:00
ST MARTIN 1 10:43:00
ST MARTIN 2 10:48:00
ROC DE TOUGNE 10:56:00
MASSE 1 11:14:00
MASSE 2 11:22:00
PLAN DE L’EAU 11:52:00
CIME CARON 12:03:00
PEYRON 12:26:00
BOUCHET 12:35:00
ROSAEL 12:53:00
MORAINE 13:15:00
COL 13:21:00
PECLET 13:37:00
PIONNIERS 13:58:00
3 VALLEES 14:02:00
BECCA 14:15:00
MONT VALLON 14:27:00
PAS DE LAC 1 & 2 14:51:00
ROC DE MUGNIER 15:17:00
PETITES BOSSES 15:24:00
AIGUILLE DU FRUIT 15:28:00
FORET 15:44:00

What’s all this about?

The 3 Valleys Escapade was the lift company promotion of visiting (originally in 2006) 14 points across the Three Valleys and gaining a certificate & badge over the period of your holiday – then we had the idea of doing it in a day…

It’s probably the toughest day skiing ever for a recreational skier but lots of people have got involved over the years so we feature them in our Escapade in a Day Hall of Fame

This is no longer being promoted by The 3 Valleys but we’ll still stick you in the Hall of Fame if you complete it – send a Ski Tracks or similar trace in plus a pic of your group.

What started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion became a challenge the following week – the history and our original route are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived – they could then be checked by the lift company. The original Escapade was 30 lifts, 13000m vertical and 70km and 2016 peaked with 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 100km total distance. It became a little less for 2017 and 2018 saw the use of the Roc de Tougne fast new chair instead of the drag and we lost the Montaulever drag altogether. In 2019 we gained the new faster Legends chair out of Méribel and then an improvement in speed on the Mont Vallon lift too. 

Getting easier, but it’s still a big, big day out with all the talking (and lunch) kept to the lifts…

Updated 2020 PDF route with the 19 “Escapade Lifts” in bold

You do this entirely at your own risk, act responsibly, take full ownership for your own actions and all of those with you, respect other people (& the mountain), ski & ride within your limits, always obey the skiers & snowboarders code, observe all signs, pay attention to all notices, advice & instructions from Pisteurs, only ski off piste if fully equipped & knowledgeable, it’s not a race (you won’t be insured), think about the safety of others as well as yourself but above all, take care, don’t wreck things for others & don’t even think of blaming anyone else if it all goes horribly wrong…..