Les 2 Alpes Ski Resort France

Les Deux Alpes ski resort is a southern French Alps behemoth providing skiing across expansive terrain opposite the equally massive Alpe d'Huez. Statistically the resort stacks up against all the world's biggest with over 2,200m of skiable vertical, 200km of piste trails & longest run of 16km. And all for less than half the lift pass price of a similar sized resort in Nth America! Les 2 Alpes has the additional advantage of summer glacier skiing & easy (albeit seasonal) access to legendary La Grave from the top end!

Pros & Cons for Les Deux Alpes Ski Resort

Pros

• High elevation ski area with a reliable snow cover including a glacier up to 3,568m altitude.
• Gargantuan skiable vertical of over 2,200m.
• Ski lifts extend from multiple points within the village.
• 200km of on-piste ski trails.
• Extensive novice learn-to-ski terrain & lifts.
• Recently heavily modernised (& rationalised!) lift system extending from both sides of the village.
• Super long on-piste trails for beginner skiers & snowboarders.
• Loads of easily accessible off-piste terrain on east, west & north aspects including tree skiing.
• Extremely quiet in the off-piste terrain at most times of the season, so lots of first tracks & freshies after lunch.
• Wonderful on-mountain dining (one of the best combinations of affordability & quality we have come across in the French Alps).
• Super après ski, bars & nightlife throughout the village.
• Abundance of affordable ski-in ski-out accommodation.
• Off-mountain accommodation links well with the mountain via Venosc.
• Particularly good value lift pass price.

Cons

• Surprisingly little for intermediate skiers & snowboarders.
• Lift queues during peak periods can be long at the main village lifts (they dissipate beyond the village!).
• The village is a hodgepodge of seemingly random buildings reducing the overall visual amenity of the resort.

Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)

• Extensive skiing & terrain parks available on the glacier in Summer.
• The resort village is a tangle of hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, shops, ski rentals that can be hard to navigate initially.
• Few high-end (5-star et al) accommodations in the area.
• Public transport to the mountain is 'patchy' at best.

Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain

A slightly strange terrain combination of beginner piste trails & advanced on & off-piste, Les 2 Alpes is a pleasing venue for any powder hound on a mission when the snow falls. Due to the sheer size of the place, intermediates will find more than enough to keep themselves occupied, but Les Deux Alpes is not the middle of the road paradise that exemplifies so many ski areas. And that makes for an interesting point of difference.

Check out the ski trail map for Les 2 Alpes below.

Les 2 Alpes Ski Trail Map

The ‘frontside’ westerly aspect terrain above the village is exceptional. Referred to as the 'Station Sector', from the new Diable chondola (combi chairlift/gondola)  across to the Village chair 2km away, the lower novice lifts & slopes rise quickly to a wonderful selection of advanced groomers plus wide, nicely pitched, off-piste trees, spurs & avalanche fences. The 750m of vertical of the Station face is skiable in all weather & gives one an immediate impression of a ski hill to be reckoned with. Good news for intermediates is that the black piste trails are generally is such good condition that all abilities can pick their way down. The highway like 'Jandri' run allows beginners to ski almost the entire vertical from the top of the glacier all the way back to the village. At a distance of nearly 16km, it will almost be an entire day out for some skiers and snowboarders. A massive redevelopment, realignment & rationalisation of the ski lifts & pistes across the entire face provided the installation of two new high-volume, chondola lifts (Diable & Belle Etoile) plus the deletion and moving of several lower beginner lifts leaving a cleaner, more rationalised ski area to learn in, and navigate through.

On the opposite side of the village, the easterly aspect 'Vallèe Blanche Sector' provides a quiet alternative to the frontside, plus it gets the early morning sun, making it a wonderful location for beginner skiers & boarders. Vallee Blanche has recently been completely changed and now has far greater appeal to novices with the deletion of winter walking paths and inclusion of green ski trails leading to both lift bases from the summit. The main lifts are a brand new chondola & gondola serving a series of mellow piste trails plus some steeper off-piste options on about 450m of skiable vertical. The new gondola, Super Venosc, provides superb access to the Vallee Blanche slopes from the Venosc side of the village. The area has its own cheaper lift pass too.

The major difference from a Powderhounds viewpoint between Les 2 Alpes & its neighbour Alpe d'Huez is the ease of access into tasty off-piste terrain. At Alpe d'Huez, the complexity can be baffling (confuzzled was a term bandied around). In Les Deux Alpes, aside from a few notable exceptions, the freeride is plain to see & discover, with relatively little danger to one's life. For the holiday maker, that is a prize indeed. And whilst one would expect in a resort this size that the powder would be plundered early by the masses, that is not the case. We skied fresh powder days after the last snowfall in the Fee/Pierre Grosse sector in January. And had no problems reaping first tracks during a blizzard across the entire mountain in the February peak season.

It should hardly be surprising given the resort's highest lifted point of 3,568m, but unknown to many, are the several long off-piste valley descent possibilities on the northern side of Deux Alpes. The descents are essentially on the same northerly-aspect terrain as nearby La Grave. The difficult L’Ecorchoir & the easier Malaprisure can provide over 2,000m of skiable vertical in good conditions. Both require ground transport back to the village. Enjoy them, then head across to La Grave for some real challenges! High alpine connections via the Lauze tow between 2 Alpes & La Grave don’t appear to open until around March, so anyone venturing that way earlier will be under their own steam.

The glacier at Les 2 Alpes is skiable in winter and for a short season in summer from late June to early August. Recent summers saw the glacier close to skiing early due to extreme heat and melting. And all that despite its elevation above 3,400m! Ski here in summer sooner rather than later.

Lift Passes

Lift pass prices are great value for all that is on offer. There are two types of main ski passes. One is for the entire ski area, and the other is called the ‘Ski Bas des Pistes-Station’, or Snow Front-Resort pass. Effectively it covers the Valle Blanche side of the village, plus the lifts from Venosc & Mont de Lans. Its flat rate price for 5-71yr olds is more than 50% less than a full area adult day pass. Ski lifts included in the Snow Front pass are Mont-de-Lans, Petite Aiguille, La Côte, Vallée Blanche hybrid lift, Super Venosc gondola and Venosc access gondola.

Where is Les 2 Alpes France?

Les Deux Alpes is in the Isère department of the Auvergne Rhone Alps region, southeast France. The closest major city & transport hub is Grenoble, 67km by road to the west. Closest international airports are Lyon St Exupery (LYS) & Geneva (GVA).

The Powderhounds usually recommend taking the train & bus from the airports to any ski resort, but due to the awkward nature of public transport to 2 Alpes, for reasons of value & efficiency, we recommend looking at a private transfer (particularly if in a group of 3 or more people). A private transfer from Geneva or Lyon is also the most efficient mode of travel if one doesn’t have a car but does come at a cost. Search & book here for all airport transfers.

Anyone wanting to POW (Protect Our Winters) can take the quick (around 2hr) train trip from the airports to Grenoble & then continue the journey via bus or private transfers. Search & book here for train tickets to Grenoble.

Driving up to the main village at 2 Alpes is an easier proposition than neighbouring Alpe d’Huez. However, the road from Grenoble, in addition to being choked with traffic on weekends, can also be surprisingly busy during the morning & evening work commute on weekdays. Further along, through the narrow Romanche River valley (before Le Bourg d’Oisans), is particularly vulnerable to weekend traffic jams. Coming from the east via Serre Chevalier requires an ascent of the Col du Lautaret before La Grave. The 2,058m elevation pass is prone to road closures during poor weather. Day trippers are best to stay low and head to Venosc then take the gondola up to 2 Alpes village - it is included in the lift pass.

Les Deux Alpes Accommodation

Les 2 Alpes ski resort comprises one main village & two smaller ones; all ranging in size & altitude. Each of the three villages have lift access to the ski resort, with many 2 Alpes village ski accommodation providers offering ski-in ski-out convenience. The main resort village is a none too aesthetically pleasing sprawl across a high pass between 1,650 & 1,800m elevation. It provides the lion's share of accommodation, with a typically French predominance of apartments, but also several hotels. There are surprisingly few 5-star accommodations in the ski resort. If that is important to you, try Alpe d’Huez instead.

Search & book here for all Les Deux Alpes ski accommodation.

North of the 2 Alpes village is the small Mont de Lans, the lowest skiable point in the resort at 1300m elevation. The village is in a more traditional French alpine setting, a world away from the relatively crass development up at 2 Alpes. Some lodgings are ski-in or very close to it.

Search & book here for all Mont de Lans ski accommodation.

On the opposite side of 2 Alpes, to the south, the village of Vénosc is the third best option for staying in the area. A classic French hill town, the stone buildings are stacked beautifully together above the gondola base station. At around 950m, Venosc presents the simplest option for day trippers with their own car, avoiding the tortuous drive up to the pass.

Search & book here for all Venosc accommodation.

If all else fails & you are after well priced accommodation in a central location, the main valley town of Le Bourg d'Oisans provides several options plus a range of local services not available in Venosc or Mont de Lans. Le Bourg d'Oisans is convenient for skiing Alpe d'Huez & Oz-Vaujany, as well as Les 2 Alpes. Due to the confusing & often unreliable local buses, staying here is best for those with their own transport to drive to the gondola at Venosc.

For info & recommendations on the best places to stay, see our Where to Stay at Les 2 Alpes page.

Ski Rentals, Lessons, Guiding & Services

Ski & snowboard rentals are available through our local partners. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Les Deux Alpes Ski & Snowboard Rental page.

Anyone looking to head into the extensive off-piste & are unsure about your abilities; off-piste ski lessons & guiding can make all the difference. For more information & booking, see our Les 2 Alpes Ski Lessons & Guiding page.

Nearby Ski Resorts

Nearby ski resorts include the incredible Alpe d'Huez, iconic freeride mecca La Grave & larch forest tree skiing treasure Serre Chevalier.

There are plans to connect Les 2 Alpes to Alpe d'Huez (the Auris d'Oisans side) via a modern gondola in 2023. Looking at the distance firsthand, it seems a fantasy, but who knows? Mega resorts morphing into super-sized mega resorts seems to be 'du jour' across the globe.

Review

The Powderhounds skied Les Deux Alpes several times in 2020. We loved its easy access freeride terrain, great snow, lack of skiers & snowboarders riding the off-piste & massive range of fun bars. Major lift redevelopments on both sides of the village since our last visit will improve the overall ski experience for visitors to this fascinating ski area. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read its inciteful prose!

See how Les 2 Alpes compares to the rest of the French ski resorts on the France ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.

Follow Powderhounds Europe on Instagram to see where we are currently skiing. Follow our main Powderhounds page on Facebook to stay in touch with up-to-date info, tours, and discussions.