GLACIER 3200 BEGINNERS' SLOPES

3200 m (10,496 ft)
Absolute beginners will start out on the principal beginners' zones down in the lower-altitude sectors, but progressive novices may be brought up to the glacier as soon as they have got to grips with the basics.

An amazing experience for first-time visitors to the high Alps, providing a real buzz of sharing the glacial summits with experienced snowsports enthusiasts and mountaineers, and on clear days offering a spectacular vantage point to take in the vistas over the major Alpine summits, extending into Italy and Switzerland.
This sector is easily accessed directly from Les Deux Alpes by using the 2-stage Jandri Express cable cars (lift numbers 55 & 56).

The main glacier area is served by the Dôme Express funicular (54) and by a number of T-bar ski tows;  the former is an underground tube train, a fantastic piece of engineering burrowed into the bedrock beneath the domed summit, and accessible by skiers & non-skiers alike. The area is a popular year-round excursion for many visitors, drawn by the nearby Grotte de Glace (Ice Cave) and the viewpoint orientation table, and is also where the extensive summer snowpark is located during July & August.

The beginners' zone at this altitude is centred on the Soreiller snowfield, on the skier's lefthand side of the Jandri 5 piste, and covers the flattest upper margin of the well-groomed glacial ski area. Parallel to this are the Puy Salié 1 & 2 T-bar tows (lift numbers 47 & 48), flanked by the Puy-Salié 2 piste; handy for progression out on to the main pistes once the beginners' zone has been conquered.
All of these slopes flow down to a huge restaurant & services complex at the Glacier 3200 sector interchange level.

The lower, steeper, northern slopes of the glacier are also accessible by novices, via the Roche-Mantel piste, although this should be regarded as a blue-grade route and isn't suitable for absolute beginners.

Competent novices can also ski all the way back to Les Deux Alpes from this sector, via linked green- & blue-grade pistes, but the easiest way down is to descend using the Jandri Express cable cars.