This purpose-built ski resort in La Plagne is the world’s most exciting ride for kids
ON paper, it makes no sense. Paying good money to be ferried up a hill, in the snow, so you can swoosh back down immediately after. And then you do it again. All day.
But sometimes the crazy things are the most fun, so it is no surprise we send more skiers to the French Alps each winter than any other country.
La Plagne is no exception. Brits make up the majority of overseas visitors to this purpose-built ski resort – and with good reason.
Not only is it linked to neighbouring Les Arcs, creating the giant Paradiski area, it also has slopes for every level of skier or boarder and has villages all the way up the mountain.
That means you can stay lower down and work on your goggle tan, or way up high in the best snow. You can even get there by train.
Eurostar’s direct service to Bourg-St-Maurice links directly to the ski area via a convenient funicular railway.
So I kept telling myself this was a good idea, even though I was nervous as hell. Nervous because we booked a late deal in the hope of getting a bargain.
So late in fact that the ski school had sold out of kids’ lessons, which meant our twins Miles and Ava would be skiing with us all day, every day.
Normally ski school’s the best bit about family ski holidays: Someone else gets to do the childcare.
Now our ten-year-old's were about to be let loose in one of Europe’s biggest ski areas and I’d be the one chasing after them. I needn’t have worried.
The resort is divided into bowls: Plagne Soleil, Plagne Bellecote, Plagne Centre, etc.
Once you are in a certain area, all the runs lead back to the same place, so getting lost isn’t such a problem.
And usually there is enough going on in each that you can ski there all morning.
Check out the Funslope over in Plagne Bellecote.
It’s a soft introduction to getting some air beneath your skis, with ramps, jumps and banked turns.
With that ticked off, the kids can hit the freestyle zone above Belle Plagne, with its half pipe, big air jumps, rails and a boarder cross course.
And that’s before we get to Colorado Park, a gloriously silly way to cap off a day’s skiing.
For £5, you can swap your skis for a plastic sledge and a shot at the “luge”, a mile-long sledge run.
You go quite slow at first then very fast indeed.
So fast, in fact, that it is almost impossible to stop without wetting yourself laughing or crashing into the side of the run, whichever comes first.
Thankfully, I managed to preserve my trousers by crashing often.
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Taking to the slopes with two ten-year-olds may have been manic, but boy was it worth it.
Skiing is just a more extreme form of parenting, where everybody needs more food, more clothing, more care . . . more of everything in fact, all of which adds up to more fun.
It might cost a bit more too, so it makes sense to book now to bag an early bargain. But going on my experience, don’t be scared to leave it late either.
Go: La Plagne
GETTING/STAYING THERE: A week self-catering at Crystal Ski’s 4* Residence Le Centraure apartments is from £418pp in January, including flights from Gatwick to Chambery and transfers.
See or call 020 8610 3123.
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