Espace Diamant - Les Saisies/Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe/Praz sur Arly/Flumet/Crest-Voland

Espace Diamant ski resort consists of the resorts of Crest-Voland, Cohennoz, Praz sur Arly, Les Saisies (including Hauteluce Village and Bisanne 1500), Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe and Flumet, which were linked in a project completed in 2005. It stretches across the departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie. All the villages are connected by pistes and lifts. Les Saisies also hosted the cross-country skiing events at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, while Crest-Voland-Cohennoz was formerly known as Espace Crystal.

Espace Diamant offers an enormous variety of pistes. There are gentle, very wide pistes on Mont Bisanne, fast intermediate slopes on Mont Lachat and Mont Requet, and steep slopes on Mont Vorès. The pistes stretch for kilometres from the lifts through winter forests (Liaison Crest Voland / Les Saisies), fast runs between rocky outcrops (Vores), and meadow slopes reminiscent of the Black Forest (Paravy). The landscape and slope profiles change constantly. The main focus is on easy and intermediate slopes, especially in Les Saisies. Unfortunately, a direct route from the highest point (Plan de Fours, 2069 m) to the base station at Flumet Les Seigneurs (1000 m) is not possible.

Good to know

Total: 192 km

472 snow cannons produce artificial snow

Valley runs lead to all eleven resorts, with lift connections back into Espace Diamant. There is also a valley route to Hauteluce Les Prés, from where a shuttle bus (Navette) takes guests to the base station of the Chozal chairlift in the village of Hauteluce.

Longest runs

The longest run here is Choucas - Liaisons Crest Voland, 7 km long, with a vertical drop of 704 m. It starts at the summit of Mont Bisanne. Shortly before the base station of the Palette lift, the route turns into the forest towards Crest Voland. The final section follows meadow slopes down to the station.

Ban Rouge. Length: 5.6 km. Vertical drop: 971 m. This run, with the greatest vertical drop in Espace Diamant, first crosses the ridge between Ban Rouge and Crêt du Midi, then descends to Praz sur Arly via the Olvet, Bernards and Bérouds slopes.

Most difficult runs

Ebranchets. Length: 0.9 km. Vertical drop: 300 m. This black run, which is not always groomed, descends through the forest to the valley on the northern side of Mont Rond. Thanks to the detachable six-seater chairlift, you will not need long to get back to the top.

La Sapinière. Length: 0.7 km. Vertical drop: 200 m. This forest run served by the Brichou lift is known for its charms and hidden dangers.

Ski routes around the resort

• Yellow - sightseeing tour (panoramic Itinéraire): You will discover the most beautiful panoramic viewpoints, marked on the route map, in just a few hours on this tour. The tour runs only once a day
• Orange - "Parcours Sensations": a route for experienced skiers that takes in as many red and black runs as possible around Praz sur Arly.
• Green - "Intinéraire ludique" (fun route): Particularly suitable for children, it includes easy slopes and fun courses.

Snowparks

Resort snowpark: next to a boardercross course. According to the resort's official website.

Features

Waouland: Fun runs in different parts of the ski resort. Opualand: Special children's slopes in Praz sur Arly and Crest-Voland.

Night skiing

Night skiing is available at the ski resort

More than half of the lifts are modern and comfortable. All the lifts are chairlifts and mostly fixed-grip, except for the connections between Mont Requet and Flumet Les Seigneurs and Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe 1150 m. Espace Diamant is the world's largest ski resort without gondola lifts or weather-protected chairlifts. Nevertheless, almost no other resort offers so many kilometres of pistes at such low prices.