Les 2 Alpes Reports Busy October Glacier Opening

After several snowfalls in October, Les 2 Alpes was able to open its glacier for a fortnight of skiing during the French half term – from Saturday 23 October to Sunday 7 November 2021.

“It was busy, we had around 20,000 visitors over two weeks. It shows that many people want to ski – and this is confirmed by our high level of reservations for this winter,” said Eric Bouchet, the director of Les 2 Alpes Tourist Office.

Some previous openings for this fortnight in recent years have been hit by a lack of adequate snow cover or, last year, France announcing ski areas had to close a few days after it opened.

The lifts are only closing for a few weeks as Les 2 Alpes will reopen on 27 November for the winter season (until 1st May). Thanks to its altitude, the resort guarantees good natural snow from the beginning to the end of the season.

Since 1 December 2020, the lifts in Les 2 Alpes have been managed by SATA Group.

“2021-22 is our first real winter. We want to make Les 2 Alpes a top-class resort. SATA Group is investing €128 million in Les 2 Alpes over the next 5 years to redesign the ski area and invest in more modern lifts,” said Fabrice Boutet, the CEO of SATA Group, who added, “This winter a new cable car called Super Venosc will open in the Vallee Blanche area. The Pierre Grosse cable car, in La Fée area, which was installed in January 2020, will reopen and a blue run will be created from the top (also called Pierre Grosse). In 2022 work will start to build a new gondola to replace the Jandri Express. It should be ready in 2024. It will take skiers from the resort to the glacier, with a stop at 2,100m and at 2,600m. The new gondola will be able to take up to 4,000 passengers per hour (the Jandri Express can currently take up to 1,200 passengers).”

Images taken this autumn by Pyrène Duffau