10 La Plagne piste map tips

At first glance, the La Plagne piste map can take a little getting your head around. Rather than one mountain rising above one village, La Plagne spreads across a collection of high-altitude resort villages like Plagne Centre, Aime 2000, Plagne Bellecôte and Plagne 1800 and lower villages, with pistes heading off in almost every direction.

And then there’s the small matter of the Vanoise Express, linking you to Les Arcs and opening up the full 425km of Paradiski. The good news? Once you understand how the mountain fits together, La Plagne is remarkably easy to explore. Here are a few things the piste map doesn’t necessarily tell you.

La Plagne ski area at a glance

• Part of the 425km Paradiski area
• Highest skiing above 3,000m at Live 3000
• Linked to Les Arcs by the Vanoise Express
• High-altitude hubs include Plagne Centre, Aime 2000, Plagne Bellecôte and Plagne 1800
• Lower villages include Montchavin, Les Coches, Montalbert and Champagny-en-Vanoise
• Plenty of wide blues and reds, with more challenging terrain when you want it

Before trying to make sense of the whole piste map, find your starting point. The Graciosa sits at 2,003m in Plagne Centre, with the blue Mont St Sauveur piste running directly past the building and the Bécoin chairlift opposite. It means you can click into your skis and immediately start exploring rather than spending the first part of every morning getting to a lift. From here, you’re particularly well placed for the slopes above Plagne Centre, but it’s also easy to start moving across the wider La Plagne area.

La Plagne is bigger than it initially appears. Instead of criss-crossing the map trying to cover as much ground as possible, it’s worth exploring a different sector each day. Head towards Champagny one morning, explore the slopes towards Montalbert another, or make your way across to Montchavin and Les Coches. You’ll spend far more time skiing and much less time studying signposts.

The piste map tells you the gradient of a run, but not what the snow will feel like at different times of day. La Plagne has slopes facing in several directions, so conditions can vary considerably across the mountain. A firm piste first thing can become beautifully soft once it catches the sun, while colder, higher slopes can hold their snow better later in the day. Rather than skiing the same area from first lift to last, moving with the conditions can make a big difference.

One of La Plagne's great strengths is the amount of confidence-building terrain across the ski area. The obvious temptation when you're finding your ski legs is to stay close to the nursery slopes, but once you're linking turns confidently there are plenty of wide blues that allow you to start exploring properly. Boulevard near Plagne Centre is a lovely place to build confidence, while the blues around Plagne Bellecôte give progressing skiers plenty more room to practise.

Live 3000 is the high-altitude end of the La Plagne ski area, with spectacular mountain scenery and access to some of the resort's most exciting terrain. It's worth choosing your moment, though. On a clear day, heading high can be one of the highlights of the week. When visibility closes in, the exposed upper mountain can feel very different and the tree-lined lower sectors are often a better bet. Check the weather and lift status before setting off rather than simply following the piste map.

Look at the map and Champagny can feel as though it's tucked around the back of the mountain. That's precisely part of its appeal. The slopes above Champagny-en-Vanoise have a different feel to the main La Plagne bowl, with wonderful views towards the Vanoise National Park and some lovely cruising terrain. It's well worth giving this side of the mountain a day rather than treating it simply as somewhere you pass through.

When the clouds come down, skiing above the treeline can quickly become hard work. That's when the lower sectors towards Montchavin, Les Coches and Montalbert come into their own. Trees provide definition when the light is flat, and weaving through the forest can make a snowy day one of the most enjoyable of the week. It's worth remembering those names when you're looking at the forecast over breakfast.

The Vanoise Express makes crossing between La Plagne and Les Arcs wonderfully straightforward, but don't underestimate the size of Paradiski. If you want to ski Les Arcs, make a proper day of it. Set off reasonably early, keep an eye on the time and make sure you know which lifts you need for the journey home. There is a lot of skiing between The Graciosa and the far side of Les Arcs.

If you're staying with VIP SKI in La Plagne, complimentary ski guiding is available on the first two mornings of your holiday in partnership with Oxyski. It's not a lesson, but a chance for confident skiers to get their bearings with someone who knows the mountain. You'll discover useful routes, learn how the different sectors link together and hopefully find a few pistes you'll want to return to later in the week. Sometimes the easiest way to understand a piste map is to stop looking at it and follow someone who already knows the way.

One of the pleasures of staying at the Graciosa is being able to finish your day on skis. Allow enough time to work your way back towards Plagne Centre rather than finding yourself on the wrong side of the mountain as lifts begin to close. Once you're back, Mont St Sauveur brings you directly home. Then it's boots off, afternoon tea and perhaps the hot tub. Much better than ending the day on a bus.

The La Plagne piste map shows you lifts, pistes and connections. What it can't show you is how different each part of the mountain feels. Give yourself time to explore. Ski high when the weather is good, head for the trees when it isn't, venture over to Champagny, make a day of Les Arcs and don't worry about covering every coloured line on the map. By the end of the week, what looked complicated on Sunday evening will feel surprisingly familiar.