Where to Ski And Snowboard - New blue to change skiing in Les Deux-Alpes

New blue to change skiing in Les Deux-Alpes

8th June 2015, by Abi Butcher

Jandri 1 will run from the glacier to the resort, finally offering skiers an easy run home

A new blue piste opening this winter will revolutionise skiing in Les Deux-Alpes.

The French ski resort has this morning announced that work has started on a new blue run called Jandri 1, which will open on 5 December and change entirely the dangerous “home run” situation.

The piste will run from the glacier at the top of the Les Deux-Alpes ski area, all the way down to the bottom of the resort. Although a new red was opened last season, before now the only options have been “icy blacks or hideously over-crowded greens”, to quote from our latest book. So for intermediate skiers getting home has been an unpleasant experience — but one that this new blue is set to change.

A spokesman said this morning the resort has waited 20 years for this situation to change, but it’s no mean feat. This new blue run is the first building work to be undertaken on this scale in a French ski resort; an extraordinary, never-seen-before project in terms of square metres of earth to move, clear and reshape (550,000m³), as well as 12,000 trees to replant, a mountain to rebuild without causing any damage, a carefully planned environmental policy, hydraulic restructuring — and a total budget of €10 million.

“This is very welcome news – we’ve been complaining for 20 years about Les Deux-Alpes’s lower slopes,” said Editor Gill.

“The infamous green track from the upper slopes to the village is a simply a nightmare for novices, and the direct red and black runs are often dangerously icy. I look forward to finding out whether shifting 550,000 m3 of rock and soil has done the trick.”

Work began on the run in May, with the construction planned for the central section and planting 6,000 trees taking place this month. Work will conclude in October and the Jandri 1 is planned to open 5 December. We look forward to trying it!