Where to Ski And Snowboard - Smart six-packs for Samoens and Les Carroz

Smart six-packs for Samoens and Les Carroz

28th May 2009, by Chris Gill

Work has started to install new lifts above the Grand Massif resorts of Samoens and Les Carroz, bringing two fast chairlifts to the area and developing access from both resorts towards Flaine.

Above Samoens, a six-pack is replacing the Chariande I and Croix double chairs and a draglift that have provided the very slow link from the mid-station village at 1600m up to Tête des Saix - where lifts also converge from the Carroz and Morillon sectors. The new lift is expected to cut the ride time from the bottom to the top of Samoens slopes, by a third - so from 700m to 2120m will be about 20 minutes.

Another nippy six-pack is due to replace the Mollets quad, which starts at the parking area at Les Molliets and accesses the slopes above Les Carroz and Morillon. This should make it a more attractive starting point for day visitors too, or those driving around from Flaine if the weather closes the links. The new chair will increase capacity by 66%.

The new lifts are a significant step forward in upgrading the area, which has lacked the fast lift tally of other major French resorts. Plans that triggered reports elsewhere of more lifts in Flaine next season are on hold though, pending permissions and real estate agreements.