Resort And Weather News

The new Chariande Express chairlift in Samoens

The Grand Massif resort of Samoens, which is due to open in early December, will hope to attract more skiers this season with its new fast link to the Tête des Saix at 2120m.

The Chariande Express will take mountain users from the Saix Plateau at 1600m to the Tête des Saix at 2120m in 9 minutes, increasing capacity to 3000 people per hour.

The lift replaces two old chairlifts and a drag lift and will mean the overall journey time from village level to the top of the ski area is over a quarter of an hour less.

From the Tête des Saix, skiers and snowboarders can access over 265 km of terrain in the Grand Massif ski area which also includes Flaine, Morillon, Les Carroz and Sixt.

Over in Alberta, Canada, Marmot Basin at Jasper opened its doors on 11 November and welcomed over 2,300 skiers and snowboarders for its earliest opening day on record.

43 runs and six lifts were in operation including the resort’s hotly anticipated Canadian Rockies Express high speed quad chair. The new lift, which at 2300m in length the lift is the longest in the Canadian Rockies, travels at over 5 metres per second.

The quad takes users from the base area at 1704m up to the Caribou Ridge at 2293m in under 8 minutes, less than half the time it took previously using a T-bar and two chairlifts.

For the latest conditions at Marmot Basin and in Samoens visit our snow reports.