Val d’Isère makes summer skiing history

30th April 2018, by Abi Butcher

For the first time ever, Val d'Isère will open some winter pistes for summer skiing in June

The French ski resort of Val d’Isère closes its lifts tomorrow, Tuesday 1 May, but has announced it will reopen some of them in June for summer skiing for the first time in its history.

Some nine metres of snow fell in Val d’Isère over the course of this winter, with more than a metre still in the village and 245cm on the higher slopes. While skiing on the Pissaillas Glacier and Grande Motte normally resumes in June, this is the first time in Val d’Isère’s 82-year history that some of its winter pistes will open in the summer.

When they reopen on 3 June, the lifts will operate from 7 am to 12 pm offering — snow conditions permitting — access to the top of the OK World Cup downhill and the less demanding Verte. Skiers will reach the area by the Funival funicular from La Daille and the slopes will be served by the six-person Marmottes chair just above the Folie Douce; exactly the same as in winter. 

Resort officials hope these runs and lifts will stay open for two weeks until the warmer weather prevails, at which point the Pissaillas Glacier, above Le Fornet, will come into play. Apart from making use of the extraordinary snowpack, this gives the snow-clearing teams extra time to clear the road up to the glacier and the Col de l’Iseran, the highest paved road in Europe and summer gateway to Italy. 

Lift passes in June will cost from €28 per person, per day. For more information, visit valdisere.com/en

To read Where to Ski and Snowboard‘s independent review of Val d’Isère, click here.