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February in Deux Alpes: What's on and weather
Good snow, family-friendly events and how to avoid the crowds
It's the school holidays, the resort is full of families and it's getting a little warmer.
February is the most popular time of the year to book a ski holiday. It’s right in the middle of the winter, the snow is often at its best, the temperatures are slowly rising and the days are getting longer.
Of course, the other reason that many people pick February is the half-term holidays. Families with school-age children have a choice between Christmas, February or Easter holidays, and the middle of winter is an obvious time to go. If you don’t have children, you may want to avoid the busiest two weeks in the middle of February.
Les Deux Alpes lays on plenty of entertainment, with regular events and parties.
Read on for a look at what we like to do in resort throughout February.
Worth knowing
February is a great time to take the whole family on a magical ski holiday. With a little organisation, you can avoid most of the crowds and enjoy great skiing on good snow. With February being peak time for families, make sure you get your accommodation booked early to avoid disappointment.
What are the weather and snow conditions like?
In February, the snow is reliable and usually very good. The weather is still wintry, with regular snowfalls and cold sunny days, on average we have about 10 days snowfall. However, the days are longer than in December or January, and temperatures average a low of -6°C and a high of 1°C.
What's on in Les Deux Alpes in February?
Magic Avenue
Avenue de la Muzelle, the main street in Les Deux Alpes, transforms into a magical festive arena where you can take a stroll, sip a vin chaud and lose yourself in the festive spirit. With a programme of parades, street cabaret, torchlit descents, sparkling decorations and festive entertainments, the centre of resort is pedestrianised. This series of family-friendly parades and entertainments takes place over the school holidays on a Tuesday during February.
Valentine's Day
For this 14 February, take your pick of the best places in town, who have a wide range of menu choices. If you are after some entertainment whilst you eat, many places will put on live music, or you could head out for some after dinner entertainment to one of the bars.
School holiday skiing
February is a popular month for families so the slopes are noticeably busier as soon as the four-week French holidays begin. Here are our insider's top tips for the school holidays:
- It will be almost impossible to book private lessons over this period, group lessons are the best option. Make sure to get your ski and snowboard lessons booked well in advance to avoid disappointment.
- If you're not in ski school, be an early bird. Arrive at the lifts before they open so that you get up and away before the ski school classes set out around 09:15.
- Ski over lunchtime. The slopes are calmer between 12:00 and 14:00 while the French take a leisurely lunch break.
- Pre-book your lunch and avoid the queues. Some restaurants offer a Click & Collect service. It's the best way to avoid the queues and make the most of your time in the mountains.
- Seek out the peripheral areas - The Jandri Express and Diable chairlift can have big queues at times. Instead, use the White Eggs, Belle Etoile or Village lifts to access Les Crêtes where a new eight-man chairlift should reduce the queuing time. From here, the Bellecombes and Super Diable chairlifts give access to the central part of the ski area. To access the spectacular high-altitude runs on the glacier, ski past the queue for the Jandri Express 2 and follow the Pierre Grosse 1 blue piste towards the La Fée sector. From here, the brand-new Pierre Grosse gondola offers an alternate fast route to the top of the mountain. Finally - the smaller, lower Vallée Blanche sector is often overlooked. However, it holds some very pleasant blue runs, a challenging black, good off-piste with the right snow conditions and some unique views of the Romanche valley and the Bourg d’Oisans plain. It also tends to be a lot quieter than the main ski area.
- Get off-piste. Competent off-piste skiers can book a local mountain guide and explore the vast off-piste areas in the valley or even go touring to find complete solitude in the backcountry.
Things to do
Night skiing
If you want to ski on after the lifts close without having to go up to the glacier you can try night skiing on the Lutins piste, right next to the main square. The floodlights come on and the Lutins lift stays open until late. When you’ve had your fill of skiing after dark, the Bivouac bar at the foot of the slope does a great mulled wine or hot chocolate.
First Tracks
One way to avoid the crowds is to head up with the pisteurs before the slopes are open and be the first to come down the freshly groomed pistes.
For a complete look at what there is to do in and around Les Deux Alpes in February take a look at the link below.
Bars and clubs
If, like most people, you like to follow several hours of exercise with several hours of drinking, you can hit up any of a number of local après-ski sessions.
For late-night entertainment, the clubs hold special nights on most days of the week.