Our History

From agro-pastoralism to ski area

The home of the Alpine pasture, over the 20th Century, the mountains have gradually turned into a leisure and residential space. New developments are evidence of a new way of thinking and demonstrate society’s remarkable capacity for change over the years.

In 1968, the major works began. The resort of Arc 1600 was the first to appear.
1974: Arc 1800
1979: Arc 2000
2003: Arc 1950

The Aiguille Rouge cable car

Serving the Aiguille Rouge (3226m), the summit of les Arcs’ ski area, this cable car with its unsupported span is a real feat of technology created by the Swiss builder Habegger.
- length: 1068m
- vertical ascent: 533m
- capacity: 1100 passengers / hour

The funicular

After 3 years work, the funicular saw the light of day! In February, it carried its first passengers.
Exclusive in France, this aerial funicular could reach the les Arcs ski area from the SNCF station in Bourg Saint Maurice, terminus for the TGV, Eurostar and Thalys in just 7 minutes.

The Vanoise Express

This cable car connects the les Arcs / Peisey Vallandry ski area and la Plagne in 4 minutes at a speed of 12.5m/s, with a power equal to that of a TGV locomotive.

The cable car of superlatives opened:
-the fastest
- the biggest
-the most powerful
-the longest unsupported span
-the most innovative...

Robert Blanc

Creator of the resort of les Arcs

So he did not have to leave the birthplace he loved so much, Robert Blanc, with his brothers, spent the winter working in the skiing business (guide, piste patrol, rescuer, instructor, trainer...), while he dreamed of the day when the Hauteville-Gondon municipal Alpine pasture could give birth to a mountain resort of international dimensions.

Antoine Bimet

Mayor of Hauteville-Gondon

Through his will and tenacity, the visionary mayor, Antoine Bimet, was able to stick to the ambitious project of creating a resort on his village’s Alpine pasture. An agreement was signed on 3 October 1961 with the future developer Roger Godino to launch this vast programme.

Régis Rolland

THE surfing legend

Hero of the legendary «Apocalypse Snow» films, it is thanks to him that snow surfing arrived in Europe. Régis is a pioneer and one of the legends of snowboarding. He introduced the sport to les Arcs and the finest ski areas in the world. In 1981, Alain Gaymard, publicity and events manager, invited the Winterstick team of American snowboarders to the opening of the new village named Arc 2000. Accompanied by some local guides and a young local lad of 22, Régis Rolland, the Winterstick team attacked the untouched slopes of the Aiguille rouge with their strange planks. Régis caught the bug! That same year, Alain Gaymard offered Régis the opportunity to appear in the les Arcs promotional film, «Ski Espaces» which was one of the first to feature a snowboarder.

Mickaël Prufer

The fastest man!

He won the flying kilometre event at the Albertville Olympics at 229.299 kph on the Arc 2000 piste.

Enak Gavaggio

The figurehead of ski cross

« The dark lord », a figurehead and an atypical native of les Arcs, was the pioneer of ski cross and freeride in France.
He started the 1st GMX (Gavaggio Monster Cross) in 2010 in les Arcs, the event devoted to Ski Cross and THE yardstick for Kids during the season!
Enak Gavaggio took 5th place in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010!
A multiple medal winner at the Winter X Games and the ski cross World Championships, he also attracts a lot of attention as a base jumper and freefall parachutist. As a fan of tennis, golf and surfing, he’s an accomplished athlete.

Opening of Arc 1600

The Pioneer

The composition of les Arcs was inspired by Le Corbusier’s reflections on the modern city and the architectural philosophy inspired by Charlotte Perriand, who was to devote 20 years of her life (1967 to 1987) to this work. She gathered around her a collection of architects and town planners who shared the same convictions of the modern movement: Gaston Regairaz, Guy Rey-Millet, Robert Rebutato, Bernard Taillefer, Alain Taves, Pierre Faucheux …
The latter went on to design the Coupole the glued laminated timber framework of which was used as the basis for the design of les Arcs’ logo.

Several rules were imposed on the designers:
- respect for the site and the natural environment
- preservation of the existing Alpine pasture chalets
- the choice of a car-free resort
- the layout of the footpaths which structured the organisation of the town planning
- blending the architecture into the landscape and the slope
- the use of local materials
- nothing to block the sun from the accommodation, balconies and terraces …

Arc 1600, a real architectural laboratory, was to serve as the basis for the design of les Arcs’ other resorts.

Ouverture d'Arc 2000

The high altitude fortress

Its construction was the subject of a contest between three teams of architects. The project was entrusted to Bernard Taillefer whose task was to provide a complex with bed space for 5000, basing the layout of the resort around the hillock of le Varet. Accordingly, he conceived a resort like a «fortress that must be able to carry on life when closed against storms and to open itself to the joys of the sun...».
The slender form of the roofs reminiscent of «ski jumps» form a compact unit while creating a link between the architecture and the panoramic view of Mont Blanc.

20th Century

Heritage Label

The ministry of Culture and Communication took initiatives in 1999 on behalf of 20th Century architectural heritage: protection, raising awareness, restoration. The label that was set up tries to take account of the variety and intelligence of the major creations of the past century. As an example of a modernity which has blended with the mountains and nature, Les Arcs has been awarded the label for the town planning and architecture of Arc 1600 and Arc 1800 and the stations of the Aiguille Rouge cable car in Arc 2000.

Les Arcs Academy Music Festival

Founded by Roger Godino and Yves Petit de Voize in 1973, the les Arcs Academy Festival is part of a desire to develop summer activities. Since it began, it has occupied a unique place in French music.
Following the example of some major American Academies such as Banff and Marlboro, the idea involved:
- offering brilliant young musicians a place where they could meet freely and make music together
- developing instrumental and chamber music lessons for the pupils: the Academy
- sharing numerous free concerts with the les Arcs audience:
It hosts 180 students, 50 artists, 30 free concerts, lectures, composers in residence each year such as Bernard Cavanna, Nicolas Bacri, Vincent Paulet, Eric Tanguy...

Albertville Olympic Games

Arc 2000 hosted the speed skiing events on the legendary Flying Kilometre piste. The first two Olympic champions in these events were the Frenchman Michaël Prüfer (229.299 kph), setting a new world record, and the Finn Tarja Mularin (219.245 kph).

Quikcup & Quiksilver Slope Style Pro

Arising from the partnership between Quiksilver and les Arcs, the Quikcup (1999 to 2001) then the Quiksilver Slope Style Pro Les Arcs (2002 to 2004) were THE unique international Freestyle competitions, 100% snowboard.
They brought together the world’s best freestylers, men, women and children for a unique 3-day competition entirely devoted to slopestyle: a magical and world renowned snowpark made up of several obstacles: hip, tables, half pipe jib and so on.

Alpine skiing World Cup

Men’s giant slalom and slalom
It was courtesy of the resort’s know-how and the will and motivation of the whole organising committee that les Arcs hosted a first stage of the World Cup 6 and 7 January 2001.
On the Cachette piste in Arc 1600, it was the Swiss Michael von Grünigen (in: 43.67) who won the giant slalom ahead of the Austrian Benjamin Raich (in 2:45.29). The winner received an unusual prize: Lambada, a splendid tarine cow!

The Speed Flying Pro Les Arcs

Organised by local rider, professional and pioneer François Bon, sponsored by Columbia (from 2007 to 2009), this is the major essential Speedflying event, a revolutionary sport that mixes snow riding and flying.
Every year between 2006 and 2010, it brought together the world’s 20 best 20 best pilots in this spectacular sport. This event has enabled technical events that are now the benchmark on the world circuit to be set up.

The Gavaggio Monster Cross, or GMX for the initiated

Thought up and organised by Enak Gavaggio, a real icon of skicross and a prominent Les Arcs character (7 medals at the X Games, 5th at the Vancouver Olympics), the GMX has been revealing the young talent of French skicross for 5 years (2009-2014). In this way, they benefit from the experience and advice of the champion during the course of 4 days of competition where pleasure is the dominant theme!
The competition, reserved for children licensed or not, features two stages of the French Skicross Championships: Benjamins (12-13) and Minimes (13-15), in a unique ambiance just like Enak, the « Dark Lord » of skicross!

B&E Inventational

Thought up by two international stars and shapers of freestyle thinking, Henrik HARLAUT (aka E-Dollo) and Phil CASABON (aka B-Dog), the B&E Inventational marks the arrival of a new era in freestyle in just one day!
The course, specially designed for the occasion, features an enormous module, that is both fun and creative, blending pipe, bowls, quarters, rails, transfers…an arena more than suitable for the 19 freestyle legends who accepted Henrik & Phil’s invitation to display their talents.

Les Arcs’ first logo

was created and its symbol was the Coupole, which is a reference to one of the first buildings to be constructed in Arc 1600 in 1969.

The Coupole’s roof structure of glued laminated timber is made up of 5 identical half-moons with systems of intersecting arches forming a mosaic of triangles.

Pierre Faucheux, the building’s architect, used this structure as a graphic basis for the design of les Arcs’ symbol: 3 peaks for the 3 resorts planned at the time (Arc 1600, Arc 1800 and Arc 2000). A general shape bringing to mind a ski tip to evoke snow riding sports.

Since it was created, this symbol has been directly associated with the resort of les Arcs.

Modified for the first time in the 2000’s, les Arcs’ logo sought to be daring and modern, reflecting the authentic, sporting, dynamic and family values which the resort aimed to convey. Here the logo represented the resort’s positioning through its script and its colours:

* warm, welcoming and convivial colours which evoke the resort’s family positioning,
* a flowing script in tune with relaxation through its handwritten style: symbols of modernism, dynamism and the resort’s hospitality.

In order to modernise les Arcs’ image and to be a better match with its values, the four colour version of the logo was dropped.

A l'occasion dès 50 ans, le logo se rapproche de sa couleur d'origine et se décline désormais en bleu foncé, nuance à la fois sobre et élégante.