SkiingSki terrain
There is skiing for most in Flaine, as the resort enjoys a particular reputation as being all rounded.
The most notable runs in Flaine include Styx (Black); le Diamant Noir (black); Serpentine (blue/red); Fred (red); Tourmaline (blue) and Mephisto (red). The liaisons ski runs which take you out of Flaine, take you to Samöens, Morillon and Les Carroz via the run Dolomie (blue) and to the smaller ski resort Sixt via the long blue, Les Cascades, which has a spectacular view of the Ger Valley.
In Les Carroz, Morrilion, and Samőens classic runs include Marvel; a fabulously long green that goes through the forest, Sairon; a long blue with many jumps and banks on the side of the piste, Lou Darbes; a medium length blue run that is downhill all the way — an excellent run for 'bombing' down, and Aigle Noir, a steep, difficult black run.
The predominantly north-facing runs are very reliable: package companies offering "snow guarantees" often import punters from other French resorts when their pistes have lost the amount of sufficient snow that can be skied on. Flaine was the first resort to feature artificial snow making in Europe from 1973.
Interestingly, in each different grade of run (green, blue, red, & black) there is a theme in the Flaine bowl. For example most of the blue runs are named after metals/jewels (e.g. serpentine, turquoise, dolomie, cristal, tourmaline, emeraude), nearly all the reds are diabollically named (e.g. faust, mephisto, belzebuth, lucifer) and most black runs after stars (e.g. diamant noir, agate, styx). Most green runs are named after trees (e.g. meleze, pin, epicea). This only occurs in the Flaine valley though; the other resorts' runs are named separately. However the same named to feature in the different resorts. For example "combe" which means valley in English is a popular name because of the nature many runs leading into the valleys. The same with arete.
Lift system
There are 2 free lifts (Pre and Telebenne) which link the up and lower parts of Flaine. Flaine is in the process of implementing an upgrade program to its lifts and trails called Flaine Perspectives 2006–2010.[3] For 2006, new gondola cabins were installed on Aup De Veran, whilst the base station was renovated for 2007. For 2008, the Les Greats lift was installed to allow better access to the new INTRAWEST village (Flaine Montsoleil). In addition the Tete Des Verns 6-person detachable chair was installed from the main base area. For 2009, Flaine aim to renovate the Telebenne, installation of a 4-person chair to replace the Bois button, to be called Aujon and the installation of a 4-person chair to link the western part of the INTRAWEST village.
| Name | Type | Make | Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grands Vans | 8 person detachable chair | Doppelmayer | 2000 |
| Aup De Veran | 4 person gondola | renovated 2006/07 | |
| Bois | Surface lift | Poma | To be removed summer 2009 |
| Aujon | 4 person chair | ? | Due winter 2009 |
| Tete Des Verns | 6 person detachable chair | Doppelmayer | 2008 |
| La Foret | 4 person chair | ? | Due winter 2009 |
| Les Gerats | 4 person chair | Poma | 2008 |
| Veret | Surface lift | Poma | |
| Vernant | 6 person detachable chair | Poma |
