What to look forward to on the Ski Area for Winter 2022…

As this strangest of Winters draws to a close it’s time to turn our attention to Winter 2022. With many holiday bookings rolling over from this Winter plus the pent up demand of skiers & snowboarders across the globe for once you really do have to book up early to get the holiday you want.

Christmas, New Year and Half Term options are already limited and many other dates are booking up fast. Check Accommodation, Special Offers and Private Apartment Availability here. Our Transfers, Flights, Driving and other Travel Pages are being updated as things start to become clearer for next Winter.

New Pistes & Lifts This Year – will be new for most people in 2022!

In our annual What’s New Guide that comes out around the end of September we detail all the changes across the 3 Valleys from new lifts, pistes, buildings, bars to road improvements and new cash machines, even new flower beds! For now here’s a preview of the ski area developments we’ve to look forward to…

The What’s New for 2021 included near La Tania the new L’Eclipse World Cup 2023 downhill piste (using the top section of the Bouc Blanc and widening Jockeys considerably), new shaping of pistes and a tunnel for recreational skier to use plus the relocation of the beginners area near the top La Tania gondola station. Loads of new snow cannons plus a huge new reservoir at the top of Cold de la Loze to feed them was built too.

Over in Courchevel 1850 the Stade area was reshaped and a huge new Club des Sports and race HQ was built.

Above Mottaret, the new Bouquetin chairlift replaced the old Plattières bubbles (which were sold off in 3 minutes in April) with a bottom to top time of only 2 minutes 20 seconds giving direct access to Les Menuires / St Martin.

New tunnels to allow skiers access around the Méribel World Cup Pistes (for the Women’s events) were completed too.

Val Thorens opened a new snow cannon reservoir near Les Deux Lacs chair – this chair lift itself is due to be replaced and upgraded to a new 10 seater gondola.

Winter 2022 – Really New Stuff…

La Tania sees a complete overhaul of the beginners Troika area with 2 new travelator (magic carpet) lifts replacing the current drag lift, a re-profiling & re-shaping of the slope, more new snow cannons and a full separation of the Folyeres Pistes and the beginners area making it an excellent spot for first time skiers.

Work begins this Summer but the Swimming Pool will be retained and work completed higher up the piste during July and August. Note that the lifts will be free and open to all with a reserved ESF training to skiers right (red arrows on the diagram below).

Over in Les Menuires, La Masse will have a brand new top to bottom gondola opening in December 2022. The current configuration is of two gondolas with a ski in between them, so it will be much quicker to get to the top and have a photo with the Ibex (or ski the off piste route down to the the Plan de L’eau chair). It is expected that the Masse 2 Gondola and the two old chair lifts will be removed although timescales are not clear.

Meanwhile in Orelle in the 4th Valley the replacement gondola from the base station and the new gondola up to the Cime Caron summit are also set to open this December. This will give an alternative exit out of the 4th Valley as an alternative to the Rosael Chairlift which can be a bottleneck after lunch on sunny days.

Finally we were sent this link to a consultation project on public transport links across La Vanoise linking up all the resorts via much more regular bus links and gondola transportation systems. Note the “Tovets Gondola” link from Bozel to 1850 via St Bon & 1550 plus a bus service link from La Tania to Méribel too – remember when we had that!

While the Bozel lift story has gone on for well over 20 years it does seem to be picking up some momentum again although in reality the pandemic must surely have an impact on the financing of this project for at least a couple of more years.

No further news on the possible link from Grandes Combes / Aqua Motion to 1650, the upgrade of the La Tania Gondola and/or Lanches chair, the promised replacement of Creux Noirs chair, a new lift around Plan de L’eau towards La Masse, timescales for the new Rhodos Gondola in Méribel or details on the new La Tania green run through the Forest to the skiers left of Folyères.

As always there’s a huge amount of maintenance, drainage improvements, anti-erosion work, new snow cannons, signage, fencing, safety measures and protection of the environment that goes on every Summer – no doubt we’ll have some pics on our Mountain Biking and Hiking adventures this Summer – Don’t forget about Summer in La Tania where the Summer lifts are open 7 days a week for the first time!

But more importantly if you are planning on skiing or snowboarding next Winter – Book Now!