Val Cenis
Encyclopedia
Val Cenis is a ski resort situated in the Haute-Maurienne region of the French Alps
, close to the Italian
border. It is composed of two villages; Lanslebourg
and Lanslevillard
. The villages sit at 1400m and 1500m, respectively, and lifts climb to a maximum altitude of 2800m. The resort is fairly unheard of in France, and attracts a mainly British and US contingent each winter. It is a lot quieter than larger ski resorts in the French Alps and does not normally suffer from long lift queues.
One of the major attractions of Val Cenis is the existence of blue pistes from top to bottom, which allows beginners to enjoy the heights of the mountain which they may not be able to reach at other resorts. Amongst its pistes Val Cenis boasts the longest green run in Europe; the 10km l'Escargot, which doubles as a road in summer, winds down from 2100m to 1400m.
The lower section of the slopes are through trees, which means they are not exposed to wind and sun and tend to have better snow cover, although the scope for off-piste skiing is limited. Above the trees, from 2100m upwards, there is an abundance of off-piste skiing to be found. Impressive backcountry skiing can be found past the slopes at the Lanslevillard end of the resort, with gulleys such as Bullseye and Avalanche Gulley. From the top of the TSF4 de la Met lift to 2800m there are panoramic views of the Lac du Mont Cenis almost 800m below, as well as several pistes running down to the lake's shore.
There is now even more skiing available from Val Cenis as the resort has been lift linked to neighbouring Termignon offering 125km of pistes.
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
, close to the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
border. It is composed of two villages; Lanslebourg
Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis
Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-External links:*...
and Lanslevillard
Lanslevillard
Lanslevillard is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-References:*...
. The villages sit at 1400m and 1500m, respectively, and lifts climb to a maximum altitude of 2800m. The resort is fairly unheard of in France, and attracts a mainly British and US contingent each winter. It is a lot quieter than larger ski resorts in the French Alps and does not normally suffer from long lift queues.
Skiing
Val Cenis is open to skiers and snowboarders from December to April each year. It has terrain to cater for all abilities, although is perhaps more suited to intermediates than anyone else. There are 9 green runs, 10 blue runs, 18 red runs, and 6 black runs, as well as 2 gondolas, 10 chairlifts, and 8 drag lifts.One of the major attractions of Val Cenis is the existence of blue pistes from top to bottom, which allows beginners to enjoy the heights of the mountain which they may not be able to reach at other resorts. Amongst its pistes Val Cenis boasts the longest green run in Europe; the 10km l'Escargot, which doubles as a road in summer, winds down from 2100m to 1400m.
The lower section of the slopes are through trees, which means they are not exposed to wind and sun and tend to have better snow cover, although the scope for off-piste skiing is limited. Above the trees, from 2100m upwards, there is an abundance of off-piste skiing to be found. Impressive backcountry skiing can be found past the slopes at the Lanslevillard end of the resort, with gulleys such as Bullseye and Avalanche Gulley. From the top of the TSF4 de la Met lift to 2800m there are panoramic views of the Lac du Mont Cenis almost 800m below, as well as several pistes running down to the lake's shore.
There is now even more skiing available from Val Cenis as the resort has been lift linked to neighbouring Termignon offering 125km of pistes.