Les 2 Alpes () is a
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...
in the
French ''
department'' of
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...]
. The village sits at and lifts run to . It has the largest skiable
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
in Europe and is France's second oldest ski resort behind
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
. It has the longest, normally open full on-piste vertical available in the world. It is a drive southeast of
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
.
Resort
The "two Alps" in the name do not refer to the two facing mountain-sides that comprise the resort, but rather to two adjacent areas of the original mountain pasture on the north-south plateau on which the resort was built. These pasture areas (or 'alps') are part of the two villages of
Mont-de-Lans
Mont-de-Lans () is a former commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Les Deux Alpes. and
Vénosc that lie in the deep valleys, respectively, to the north and south.
Access to the resort is by road RD 1091, in
Livet-et-Gavet
Livet-et-Gavet () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
Population
Geography
Livet-et-Gavet is located in Oisans on the Romanche river, halfway between Grenoble and the winter sports resorts of The Alpe d'Huez and ...
- no road connects the resort to
Vénosc down the steep slope to the south, but a gondola connects the two, and there is a footpath passable in summer.
Winter
Les Deux Alpes offers approximately of posted runs and of vertical drop. In terms of
piste
A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports.
This European term is French s the resort has been termed "upside-down", as the lower slopes down to the resort are steeper and more challenging than the higher ski areas, including the wide and forgiving glacier runs. Less advanced skiers either take a
gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
down to the resort or follow a lengthy, gentle but narrow, track on the path of the access road. In winter 2015/2016 a new run made an intermediate route to the resort available, an effort involving the movement of over 550,000 cubic meters of earth. A wide area at the very bottom by the town is given over to nursery slopes. In total there are 100 marked runs spread across the resort however, in addition, it is said to have as much off piste as groomed piste.
Les Deux Alpes also boasts one of the most extensive and revered snowparks in Europe, with a
halfpipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, Inline skating, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially t ...
, multiple kickers, two
boardercross
Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...
courses and many
grinding
Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade.
Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to:
Grinding action
* Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting
* Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing
* Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...
rails. The snowpark is re-modelled with new features added each season.
Lifts
The lift system has a combined up hill capacity of 66,000 people per hour. In total there are 59 lifts serving the resort. At peak times lift queues can be very long, and it can take over an hour to travel from the village to the top of the glacier, which is sometimes closed due to blizzards, high winds,
avalanche risks, or a combination of both.
The resort of
La Grave
La Grave (; oc, La Grava) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.
It is a small ski resort in the French Alps, dominated by La Meije (3982 m). It was the birthplace of Nicolas de Nicolay; adventurer and Geograp ...
can be accessed from the very top lift at the Dome de la Lauze by either walking or at certain times by ski-tow behind a
Snowcat. It is only recommended for advanced skiers under supervision of a qualified guide.
As part of the planned 350M Euro investment in Alpe d'Huez over the next 5 years, a new lift connecting the two resorts is targeted for completion on 2021, creating one of the biggest linked ski areas in the world.
Ticketing
A part of the Grande Galaxie area of un-linked ski resorts including Alpe d'Huez, La Grave, Puy Saint Vincent and Vaujany which offer limited sharing of ski-passes. A six-day ski pass includes two days in Alpe d'Huez and one in Serre Chevalier.
Ski passes in the resort can now be used hands free.
Glacier
The glacier enables year-round skiing (although the lifts are only open from mid-June to the end of August in Summer and December to end of April in Winter with some dates in October too). A
funicular railway
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
tunnelled under the ice transports skiers and, in summer, tourists to , from where panoramic views can be seen of the surroundings, including
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...
, some distant,
L'Alpe d'Huez
L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
It is part of ...
and the
Plateau de Vercors above
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
.
Summer
In summer, Les 2 Alpes becomes a popular venue for
downhill
Downhill may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse
* ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
and
freeride mountain biking, with access to the glacier via the Jandri Express gondola lift, with a yearly event named "Mountain Of Hell". This opens up a vertical mile of trails down to the resort and an even bigger drop to the Barrage du Chambon. Les 2 Alpes has featured in several Tour De France stages most notably a
Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He re ...
stage victory in 1998, from which he went on to win the tour that year. Some mountain bikers take the 15 km unpaved road, which leads from Les Deux Alpes all the way up to the ski resort, thereby being the highest mountain road in the Alps. The altitude difference of 1550 m, several very steep passages, as well as the coarse gravel on the road make this a very demanding trip.
Les 2 Alpes also has the largest skiable glacier in Europe. Summer skiing in Les 2 Alpes takes place between and on the Girose and Mont de Lans glaciers above the resort. The summer ski area is open between June and September.
References
External links
* - les2alpes.com - '
2alpes.com- '
Cycling up to Les deux Alpes: data, profile, map, photos and description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deux Alpes
Ski stations in France
Tourist attractions in Isère