Celebrating its 80th anniversary, Alpe d’Huez is not only famous for its iconic 21 hairpin bends that feature in the Tour de France, but its ski runs that connect Alpe d’Huez with Auris en Oisans, Oz en Oisans, Vaujany and Villard Reculas, offering more than 2,200 metres of elevation, 84 lifts and 250 kilometres of pistes.
Opening on 3 December 2016 (until 23 April 2017) and brand-new for the winter season, Alpe d’Huez grand domaine Ski has updated the Signal area in Alpe d’Huez (with two new chair lifts, a fresh green run and more snow cannons) and introduced an exciting pay-as-you-go lift pass. The ski area now offers a new ski-in, ski-out hostel in Oz-en-Oisans, a dedicated luge piste in Auris-en-Oisans and, the characterful village of Villard Reculas is celebrating its 70th birthday too.
Read on to find out more…
Alpe d’Huez
NEW: Swanky Signal area
SATA, Alpe d’Huez’s ski lift management company, has invested 12 million euros in developing the Signal area of the resort, the last part of Alpe d’Huez to be modernised. Ready for the 2016/17 winter season, there will be a new Telemix hybrid express chair lift which will replace the existing Signal chair lift. The new lift will carry 3,300 passenger per hour in 39 eight-person chairs and eight 10-person cabins.
In association with the new Signal hybrid ski lift, skiers will now find a new green run equipped with 22 snow cannons. Starting from the peak of the Signal, at an altitude of 2,108 metres, the piste will cross the summits of the Sarasins and arrive in the beginners area at the ‘Grenouilles’. Beginner skiers can have fun on the mini jumps, slaloms and obstacles en route.
Further to these developments, the Signal Bis piste will be equipped with seven new snow cannons to ensure the coverage is plentiful throughout the season. And the Grande Sure chair lift will be replaced by a fixed clamp, four-seat chair lift comprising 91 chairs, doubling the capacity from the Vieil Alpe area to 1,650 passengers per hour.
NEW: Pay as you ski lift pass from SATA
For skiers who are new to Alpe d’Huez grand domaine Ski, or those who enjoy spontaneous skiing adventures, SATA has introduced the Alpe d’Huez Express, a new pay as you ski lift pass, that allows visitors to ski first and pay later.
Skiers simply have to buy a card for €20 pp, register it to their credit or debit card, and then start exploring the resort. Alpedhuez-express.fr then charges skiers’ bank cards for the number of days skied.
Those using the Alpe d’Huez Express ski card will automatically make the most of promotional offers available throughout the season. And reduced rates apply for skiers and snowboarders spending more than three days on the mountain:
Adults (aged 13-64): €46 down from €51 pp per day
Children (aged 5-12) and Seniors (aged 65-71): €38 down from €42 pp per day
Students (aged 13-25): €42.5 down from €47 pp per day
Plus, on day seven and day 11 everyone with the Express ski card is charged €25.50 pp
Families who ski for more than six days pay a special family rate where everyone pays the child price.
When skiers buy their passes online before Tuesday at midnight, they can buy their Saturday lift pass from just €30.90.
For more information, visit: sataski.com (subscription is valid until 16 April 2017)