List of ski lifts 🚠 in the 232 French resorts

La Plagne is the French resort with the most detachable and fixed grip chairlifts for a total number of 32 chairlifts.

The ski resort with the most gondolas (also called eggs) is Meribel with 14 gondolas. The advantage of gondolas is that they give less sensation of vertigo, because you are inside a gondola, without access to the outside. Other people think that they are slower than chairlifts, because you have to take off your shoes to use them.

The highest funicular in France is located in Les 2 Alpes, and is called the Funiculaire Dôme Express. It goes up to 3 384m, and allows to reach the glacier, where it is possible to ski.

A detachable chairlift can be detached from its connecting cable, and can slow down, in order to recover its passengers at a lower speed, for more comfort, without slowing down the speed of the other chairlifts in movement. The fixed grip chairlift keeps the same speed when it arrives or leaves, and can be more unbearable for its passengers, because it will hit the skiers’ buttocks faster.

Val Thorens in the ski area of Les Vallées has 3 funiculars, and is thus the record holder in France for its number of funiculars. It is also the highest ski resort in altitude, at 2300m.

If a chairlift stops for a long time, you should not move. Make sure that the people sitting with you on the chairlift feel comfortable and reassure them if necessary. Generally, chairlifts only stop for about 10 seconds after a fall at the start or the finish.

First of all, put your skis parallel to each other, and be prepared to keep your legs straight. Put your poles in one hand. At the signal (sound or light), grab the pole and put it at the level of the crotch. Stand tall, and do not try to sit on the puck.
If you fall (it can happen), don’t hold on to the pole, and try to get to safety quickly on the side of the road.

First of all, the evacuation of a chairlift is very rare. If the main motor breaks down, there is often a back-up motor that can come into action. If you have to evacuate it anyway, wait in your seat. The person at the station will be able to evacuate you either by harness or by helicopter. In any case, a person will come to help you, and give you the steps to follow, in order to go down safely.

This is the ski area of La Plagne / Les Arcs, called Paradiski, which has 95 lifts, including 10 gondolas, and 2 cable cars.

First of all, it is recommended to ride a chairlift with someone who has experience. He or she will be able to answer your questions and, above all, reassure you. At the start, go quickly to the indicated area where the chairlift will pick you up. Beforehand, take your poles in one hand and your backpack in the other. Once you are seated on the chairlift, and once you have made sure that everyone is settled, you can take down the bodyguard. On arrival, you can remove the bodyguard a few meters before landing. Remember to get out of the landing zone quickly, possibly with the help of your poles.

It is simply a ski lift, where there are both chairlifts and gondolas, equipped on the same line, and alternating.

No, if you stay on your seat, with the bodyguard down, it is not possible to slide (if you are more than 1m25 tall). If the chairlift stops momentarily, you must not move, and never open the bodyguard.

The first advice is to never look at the void under your feet, but always at the horizon, in the distance. It is also necessary to do breathing exercises, in order to calm your heartbeat, and not to let a panic attack rise. Last but not least, you can ask to be accompanied, so that you are not alone. Talking and thinking about other things also helps you to be less focused on the void below your feet.

A child who is less than 1m25 tall must be accompanied by an adult to be allowed on a chairlift.

The backpack and the poles must be put on the front of the passenger, not on the back. Moreover, it is important to check that the poles will not interfere with the closing or opening of the bodyguard.

A ski lift is not dangerous. Nevertheless, you have to respect some precautions. First of all, it is possible to fall when starting, especially if it is your first time. Nothing serious. When you fall, let go of the lift, and try to get to safety, by leaving the line of the lift. Before you arrive, make sure that none of your accessories can get tangled in the lift, to ensure a smooth exit. Finally, remember to let go of the pole when you see the signal indicating it.

It is the Perce-Neige funicular, which connects Tignes to its glacier of the grande motte. It is underground and is 3.5 klm long.

In terms of passenger capacity, it is the Vanoise Express cable car, linking Les Arcs and La Plagne in the Alps. It can carry 200 people simultaneously, through two multi-storey cabins.