The Grand Massif ski area in France, which incorporates the skiing round five resorts, the largest of which is Flaine, is one of the few ski areas in Europe announcing a terrain expansion this coming winter.
A new chairlift, claimed to be the longest six-seater in Europe yet built, will provide access in to The Coulouvrier bowl, an area of 42 hectares located between Morillon and Samoëns.
The bowl is due to get four new runs – two blues and two reds – although only the two new easy runs are scheduld to be completed for the coming winter, with the two intermediate trails scheduled to open for 2018-19.
It is as yet unclear whether the Grand Massif will add these new runs to its 265km claimed terrain length total or stick to the existing number as the 3 Valleys have their 600km despite decades of announcing new runs.
The new Coulouvrier chairlift will climb from 1200m up to 2120m in nine minutes and has a carrying capacity of 3000 people per hour. The area will also benefit from a network of 70 snow cannons.