La Plagne Gets Ready For WInter

It’s September, summer is coming to a close as we turn towards autumn and the ski season is just around the corner. 

La Plagne recorded 2.7 million skier days during winter 2025/26, which the resort says makes it the number one ski destination in France and the world by skier days sold. Brits are still the number one overseas guest visitors and this winter the season runs from 12 December 2026 – 24 April 2027.

La Plagne continually strives to read the lines of the future and promote, and practice, sustainable methods, meaning future generations can gain value from the magnificent peaks too. In reality, La Plagne has always been a pioneer for testing new concepts.

This winter, La Plagne will be one of just three ski resorts chosen by Compagnie des Alpes to test PRINOTH's new 100% electric piste basher, a year before it goes on sale worldwide. There are changes for skiers too: 80% of the warning banners are being removed from the pistes, enforcement of France's smoking ban is being stepped up and a new overnight train will bring skiers from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. Plus, the bobsleigh track built for the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics is getting ready to do it all again in 2030 with marked improvements for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes. La Plagne's 2026/27 training calendar has filled at an unprecedented rate, with teams from around ten countries, including GB, Germany, the USA, South Korea and Australia, training.

Here's what is new.

NEW: A piste basher without a diesel engine…

After the lifts close, 32 piste bashers head out across La Plagne to prepare the mountain for the following morning. This winter there will be another one, only this one is electric. La Plagne is one of three Compagnie des Alpes resorts selected to put PRINOTH's new 100% electric snow groomer into service ahead of its worldwide launch in winter 2027/28.Until now, one of the problems with electric grooming has been producing a machine powerful enough to do the same heavy work as a conventional piste basher. PRINOTH says its new machine can. La Plagne's drivers start training on it in early December and will use it throughout the winter alongside the resort's 32 existing HVO ((Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) powered groomers. Their feedback will be used to make the final adjustments before commercial production begins. PRINOTH estimates maintenance costs will be 20% lower and operating costs 50% lower. The machine produces no fine-particle emissions and is virtually silent.

NEW: La Plagne is removing 80% of its warning barriers…

It sounds counterintuitive, but La Plagne is taking down 80% of the warning banners on its ski slopes this winter. The reason is simple. Skiers weren't looking at them. Following trials last winter, the numerous banners warning of piste crossings, ice and other hazards are being replaced with fewer triangular signs, similar to road signs. These will be positioned in the middle or at the side of pistes where skiers are more likely to notice them. There is some logic to getting our attention. A skier travels at an average of 50km/h on a blue run and 10% of accidents in French ski resorts are collisions. Surprisingly, there are more collisions on sunny days with perfect visibility. When everything looks good, people take more risks. Overall, accidents on La Plagne's slopes fell by 2% last winter.

NEW: More enforcement of France’s smoking ban…

Lighting up on the chairlift is now officially a thing of the past. Since a French decree introduced on 27 June 2025, ski areas are included in the country's Smoke Free Generation policy. Ski runs, lifts and lift queues are no-smoking areas. Last winter concentrated on information and awareness. This winter law enforcement patrols will be stepped up, both at the bottom of the slopes and on the ski runs. Cigarette butts are one of the most frequently found pieces of rubbish during La Plagne's spring mountain clean-ups. A single butt can take ten years to decompose and pollute up to 500 litres of water.

Rising from the Ashes…

MMV Plagne Aime 2000 reopens in December following a fire in April 2025, the hotel/residence reopens after major renovation work, returning another 480 beds to the resort. MMV is also working towards sourcing 80% of its restaurant produce from organic, certified or local suppliers within five years.

The 1992 Olympic bobsleigh track upgrade…

La Plagne's bobsleigh track was built for the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992. Thirty-eight years later, it will host them again. From 1–17 February 2030, the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events of the Olympic Winter Games will take place here. Work on the track starts in 2027, with a maximum renovation budget of €43 million. Two of its 19 bends will be reshaped so that ice which is currently up to 70cm thick can be reduced to between 5cm and 10cm, cutting the amount of ice and refrigeration required. A micro-hydro turbine is planned, along with changes to insulation and the refrigeration system to reduce water and electricity consumption. The original changing rooms, reception area and timing tower have, remarkably, remained pretty much as they were in 1992. International teams aren't waiting until 2030. The public can use the track too and around 14,000 tourist descents take place every winter. See the GB team train!

The woolly hat turns 60…

La Plagne's famous red bobble-hat logo celebrates its 60th birthday this winter. In 1966, La Plagne took part in Interneige, the winter version of a French TV game show similar to the British “It's A Knockout”. Television was still black and white, so La Plagne needed a simple logo that viewers could instantly recognise. Graphic designer Mathieu Diesse produced the Red Hat. La Plagne won the competition and kept its new lucky charm. Sixty years later, the Red Hat is getting a makeover. It will change hats, acquire different expressions and become animated as part of La Plagne's new visual identity. The resort is also reviving Interneige, with plans to invite other resorts involved in the 2030 Olympics to take part in events this winter.

Potential for the future: A €106 million gondola from the train station to the ski slopes…

This one isn't coming this winter, but a project that could change how people reach La Plagne has moved another step forward. Plans are being developed for a six-kilometre gondola from Aime-la-Plagne railway station directly to Plagne Centre. The proposed lift would start beside the railway station at 700m and finish at Plagne Centre at 1,970m, with an intermediate station at the Olympic bobsleigh track. By road, the journey is 18km. The estimated cost is €106 million and, rather than being built solely for the 2030 Olympics, the plan is for the lift to remain afterwards as public transport for residents and holidaymakers. If the project goes ahead, construction is scheduled for 2028–29, followed by technical testing in autumn 2029.

Nowadays, La Plagne comprises 11 sites, all with different personalities. Seven of these sit between 1,800-2,050 metres and were built from scratch between the 1960s and 1990s. Four of these are more traditional villages at an altitude of 1,250 metres, that existed before the ski area was created. Think wood-and-stone chalets, small residences, and farms surrounded by trees and clearings. Along with 225 km of pistes (60% of which are easy greens and cruisy blues) guests can also try the Olympic bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track, plus ice climbing tower. In addition, alight a horse-drawn sleigh, board a sled pulled by huskies, jump off the mountain in a tandem paraglide, sink into a hot tub at the spa, or give Nordic skiing a go. On a bigger scale, La Plagne is part of the renowned Paradiski area, home to 425 km of skiing with Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry.

A six-day lift pass for Paradiski costs €412/ £353 per adult or €330 / £283 per child (age 5-12 inclusive)

Getting to La Plagne could not be easier: it is within a 150-minute drive from three main airports, Geneva, Grenoble, and Lyon. Either hire a car from the airport, book one of the transfer companies or take the bus. Alternatively, La Plagne is one of the ski resorts you can reach easily on the train. Eurostar Snow train offers rail service from London St Pancras International to the Aime-la-Plagne (with a change at Lille). Trains will depart London St Pancras International on Saturdays and return to London on Sundays. Otherwise, snow enthusiasts can always jump in their car and drive to La Plagne using LeShuttle or one of the ferry companies to cross the English Channel. There are plenty of car parks once in resort too.

For more information on La Plagne, please visit https://en.la-plagne.com or call 04 79 09 02 01.