Resort Review: L2A, France—”Two Alps, Two Seasons”
Les Deux Alpes, France: Seniors 72+ Ski Free.
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 and Vénosc that lie in the deep valleys, respectively, to the north and south.
Credit: L2A Promotion
Editor’s Note: This Resort Review was written by Val E., a reader who has an interesting background in the ski industry. Val used to work as a ski slalom course supervisor, snowboard technician, ski/snowboard clothing consultant, ski engineer, ski/snowboard writer and photographer in the U.S. and in Europe. He traveled to 25 countries, found snow in 11 of them, and he still searching. Val currently lives in Washington DC Metropolitan Area.
Les Deux Alpes (“le døz-alp”, aka L2A) is a big ski resort located 44 miles east of Grenoble. The name means “two alps”. It is the second oldest French ski resort which has the largest skiable glacier in Europe where people can ski from November to April and from June to August. Les 2 Alpes is one of the few places to offer summer skiing in the Alps. The Les 2 Alpes summer ski season is quite short, so check conditions and lift availability here.
Terrain
The resort has 102 runs, five of which are free. To get to the top of the hill you need to take one gondola, then another, et voila—you are at… the bottom of the glacier. You can go to the highest point (12,000 ft) by a t-bar or an underground railway—the
Here are some summer skiers doing the upper L2A. BTW, seniors 72+ ski free.
Credit: L2A Promotion
latter is convenient if you want to relax between the runs. Some people call L2A “reverse mountain” because the slopes on the top are relatively easy, while the ones in the middle and at the bottom are steeper. With a total 7500 ft vertical drop and 10-km in length, it has one of the longest ski runs in the world. A lack of snow is rare, but the army of 214 snow cannons is ready for action. A six-day pass may cost you 220€ in winter and 197€ in summer. Skiers from 65 to 71 years old can get 10 percent off; anybody older than 72 can ski for free!
Getting There
If you want fewer stops on your flight to Europe, fly to Geneva, Switzerland, then drive south 140 miles. Some people prefer to travel through French cities: Paris (400 mi), Lyon (100 mi) or Grenoble (75 mi). To minimize driving from Paris you can take a high speed train to Grenoble— three hours, and then take a bus—one hour. Traveling through Italy is another option—the drive from Milan is 210 miles.
Lodging
L2A village is relatively compact and walk-friendly. You can rent an apartment or chalet or stay at a hotel from budget to four-star. Those who want to save money and are ready to commute by a chairlift may prefer to stay at one of two villages: Venosc or Mont-de-Lans. Larger hotels provide transportation to the slopes, but otherwise you can take a free bus circulating around the village. Lodging is located below 5500 ft, so sleeping should not be a problem, while skiing above 10,000 ft may require some adaptation. Because of that, staying there for at least five-seven days could be a good idea.
Food and Culture
French people are passionate about food, and you will notice that in L2A. Six restaurants rated by Michelin in 2016 are proof of that. There are plenty of places to eat and drink on the slopes and in the village. Responsible skiers may try hot red wine right on the slopes. To avoid lines at the restaurants and enjoy less crowded slopes, don’t plan your lunch between 12 pm and 1:30 pm. As in many European places do not expect free water at the restaurants, free soda refills, or many free public restrooms, especially on the hill. The English language should be enough to communicate, though the locals would be pleased to hear simple phrases like “Bon Jour” and “Merci”.
TIP: Check the Ice Cave on the glacier, buy wine and cheese in the grocery stores, and visit Grenoble—a charming historic city.
Bottom Line
If you have free time, some money, and a desire to enjoy skiing and French culture, go to L2A in winter, spring or even summer.
Here’s a short animated video showing the “nouvelle piste” blue route down from the top. It’s 10-km long!
L2A is the highest resort in the Alps. The summer ski season attracts camps, racers, and snow-starved skiers.
Credit: L2A Promotion
ON3P Ski Review From A Reader
A Reader Has Discovered A Perfect Ski For Seniors. Here’s His Story.
Portland-based ON3P are hand made. And you can customize.
Credit: ON3P
Editor’s Note: We received this ski review from Seniorsskiing.com subscriber Tom Levak, an enthusiastic skier who skis in the Portland, OR, area and also hits Mt. Hood every summer. As far as we know, Tom is not associated with ON3P; this is an example of how our readers can contribute to our editorial content. This is not an ad or sponsored content. Just an attempt to expose our readers to other readers’ favorites. We love the idea of a “reader-reviewer”. If you have something to review, let us know at info@seniorsskiing.com, and we’ll get back to you.
First, my qualifications: I’m a 77-year old Level III+ male skier and Level II snowboarder. Before I moved to ON3P Kartels, most recently, I was on Volant Chubbs, then Salomon Pocket Rockets, then Atomic Bentchetlers. I was on the snow 50-plus days last season and, in the summer, I go up to the Mt. Hood’s Timberline Palmer lift every two weeks or so.
Now then, here’s my opinion about the ON3Ps: it’s the best ski on the market for anyone, but, in particular, senior skiers.
In 2006, Scott Andrus, the ON3P founder, who started skiing at age three in Vail/Beavercreek, was a college sophomore, majoring in biology. That was when he decided that he could build a ski that was better than any on the market, even though he knew nothing about building skis. So, in 2008, he graduated and set up a 220 square foot factory in his garage and got several of his ski friends to help him put it together. He had no money, so he and most of those who helped him spent hundreds of hours sleeping on couches in the garage. Don’t laugh, but it took him ten months just to figure out how to build a ski press. Ultimately, by the end on his first year, he had built 53 different skis, all with their own characteristics and graphics, and by the 2008-09 ski season, he had talked amateur and professional friends to test them all on Mt. Hood. They loved most of them (some of them not so much).
By 2009, he was marketing several skis, and of course he had some problems, such as when Scott USA sued him for naming one of his skis “The Great Scott.” He just changed the name to “Cease and Desist.”
Over the years, Scott’s Portland factory has grown into a super facility, located in a manufacturing strip mall. A couple of months ago, Scott took me for a tour, which was pretty darn impressive, and a hell of a lot of fun (Do you like bidets? One of the bathrooms has one). Each room of his operation is a separate part of the process. And every ski is hand-built by employee friends who love their work—there’s no contracting out.
All of their skis are fiberglass/carbon with FCS certified bamboo cores. Of course, they manufacture all types of skis, but the shop’s all-weather favorite is mine too: The Kartel. ($799.00 with free shipping on domestic orders.) They also custom manufacture to your personal specifications. Because Mt. Hood has every kind of weather and snow, I’ve skied the Kartel on everything, and I can say, unreservedly, that it does everything: It holds tight on the hard stuff, floats in the powder, and turns like a dream. With its twin tips and center balance, I was even able to easily ride them switch (backwards).
I could load up a bunch of photos with this review, but there’s really no point, you can just go to shop.on3pskis.com and take an on-line factory tour. Or you can take a demo tour on the slopes. Check for demo dates for 2016-17 season here. Facebook is ON3P Skis. The factory itself is open 8a.m. to 5p.m., Monday through Friday. If you’d like to take a personal tour, Scott would appreciate it if you would call ahead at 503-206-5909. When you arrive, he’ll be the first person you see, sitting at his desk, working on the design of his next ski.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Aug. 26)
Seven Word Food Maxim, Looking Back At Portillo’s FIS Moment, Water Park Fun In VT, Hits From The OR Show, NZ Ice Follies.
Fifty years ago, Portillo hosted the first FIS World Championship below the equator. It changed a lot of minds.
It’s been a busy post-vacation week here at SeniorsSkiing.com. We came back to lots of emails offering really good prices for season passes if you buy now. Once again, Sugarbush is offering its very excellent mid-week season pass for 65-plus for $119 before Sept. 14th and $209 after. Ragged Mountain NH is offering a season pass for all ages at $299 until Sept. 15th and then bouncing up to $349 before Oct 31th. Alta’s season pass for 65 plus is $649. Powder Mt is $540 for 62-74 and then $20 for 75-plus. Thanks, Powder Mountain. Do some searching now for some real deals. If you have any recommendations, please use the Comments Box at the bottom of this page to let us and our readers know.
Outdoor Retailers Summer Market is a huge trade show in SLC.
Credit: Harriet Wallis
This week, we hear from our West Coast correspondent Rose Marie Cleese, who bravely tells us about the downs and ups of the fitness journey she started last summer. She has some good news and not so good news. But she is inspired anew. Thanks for sharing, Rose Marie.
We also discovered that this year is the 50th anniversary of the first and only FIS World Championships held south of the equator. Portillo hosted all the world’s great skiers back in 1966 and this short video document shows some of the biggest names of the day recalling their experience ski racing in the Andes at 9,000-feet.
Correspondent Janet Franz brings us an idea for summer fun with grandkids, reporting on the awesomely diverse water parks (plural) at Smuggler’s Notch, VT. Still time for a weekend get away with the little ones.
The venerable and stalwart Harriet Wallis has visited the Outdoor Retailers Summer Market for us and brings news of some interesting and useful items for seniors. Welcome back, Harriet.
Finally, while it is warm where you are, it is freezing in New Zealand. We have a video clip of the brave lift operators dealing with ice rime at Whakapapa Ski Field, NZed’s largest winter resort. Strange weather everywhere, it seems.
Once again, thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. If you haven’t yet registered for the Promotive/Experticity discount that we have arranged for our subscribers, please email us at info@seniorsskiing.com. Just verify you are a subscriber and we will send you information on registering with Promotive/Experticity. There are about 40 top gear and clothing brands available to our subscribers with big discounts.
And remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away! Tell your friends about us, please.
New Zealand’s Whakapapa has lots of ice.
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