ESCAPADE 2026: Richard on a solo attempt 26 years in the making…

07 March 2026

I have been coming to La Tania for twenty six years and in recent years I have been fortunate enough to spend much of the Winter (and Summer) here.

For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued with the idea of the Escapade, and today the stars aligned for me and I thought I’d give it a try.

I gave myself the best possible chance of completing the route by setting out on a Saturday,  which is noticeably less crowded than other days of the week due to it still being the most common change-over day.  This definitely paid off as I only had one lift queue (Pointe de La Masse) of about five minutes, being able to walk straight on to every other lift with no delay at all.  I was also fortunate that there were no closures and the only other delay was a breakdown when I was in Pas du Lac 1 which lasted about ten minutes.

I was blessed with great weather and the sort of azure sky that reminded me that we’re only a couple of hundred km from The Mediterranean Sea.  It was a little blustery at the top of Les Trois Vallées at Pointe de Bouchet, but perhaps that is to be expected at more than 3km above sea level !

I followed the suggested route with a couple of minor variations:  I chose to drop in to VT via Monte de La Chabre and Traversee de Montaulever rather than via Pluviometre.  This was because M de la C is one of my favourite runs and I also find it less busy (not that that would have mattered today, I suspect).

I also skipped across to Rhodos at the bottom of Cime – again a personal favourite.

Finally, I transposed the order of Ariondaz and Chapelets – not intentionally, I just didn’t read the memo – but I think this was a lucky mistake as it meant that I skied down Bel Air, which I much prefer to Chapelets, and could also use Roc Mugnier to get to Aguilar de Fruit.

I got to the last lift, Foret, at 16:12 and so had 38 minutes to spare.  I got back to my starting point at 16:27, so a total of 7 hours and 27 minutes.  Like the other two recent soloists, I skied every run from top to bottom without stopping at a steady pace, and other than two trips to the WC didn’t take a break.

I had a grand day out and would encourage any other competent recreational skier to have a go.

Richard chaletlatania.co.uk

ESCAPADE 2026 – What’s this all 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 – doing it in a day was a bit tricky though!

It all started out as a late night “is it possible?” discussion – the history and our original route from 2006 are here

Originally punch cards had to be stamped at each check point until electronic passes arrived and then the use of a lift was recorded – now we use Apps such as Ski Tracks or Relive to prove our route.

Note that the Escapade is no longer officially promoted by Les 3 Vallees from Winter 2017 but we still record successful tracks for anyone who is interested in being in the sought after La Tania Escapade Hall of Fame

Send a pic of yourselves on the day with your successful tracker data & screenshot plus a story of your day to toffa@latania.co.uk and you’ll get your place in the HoF.

The original Escapade took 30 lifts, around 13000m vertical with 70km length and by 2016 reached 34 lifts, 17000m vertical (twice the height of Everest) and around 80km skiing (140km total distance). With the newer, longer, faster lifts we’re now at 32 lifts (depending on the route) ESCAPADE 2026 Route

Changes through the years
2006 – First year and cards with hole punches stationed at lifties huts are used.
2008 – Electronic lift analysis is now used – no use hiking out the 4th Valley now!
2010 – The piste map did not include the top of the 4th Valley and the Col lift in Val Thorens.
2011 – The X-Wing Discovery was launched but only had 10 check points and doesn’t count!
2012 – Peclet included and Biollay / Vizelle used for Saulire access.
2015 – Foret used instead of La Tania gondola.
2016 – Mont Vallon is included for the first time plus the Montaulever drag lift.
2017 – Chapelets replaced by Petite Boss drag and La Tania’s Bouc Blanc chair replaces Tovets.
2018 – The new Roc de Tougne chair replaces the drag lift of the same name.
2019 – Legends replaces Roc de Fer and the Montaulever drag in Les Menuires has been removed.
2020 – Cime Caron now back in use.
2022 – New Pointe de la Masse and Orelle-Caron Gondolas (for example) could be used.
2023 – Using the new lifts, we ski all the resorts, all the perimeters and classic peaks – ESCAPADE 2023
2024 – No changes to 2023 route!
2025 – No changes to 2024 route!
2026 – Grandes Combs and Tortollet are added – ESCAPADE 2026