Live nowStubai Zoo Park & Test DaysThe organiser lists Stubai Zoo Park & Test Days for 6–8 November 2026 at Stubai Glacier and in Neustift, Austria. Equipment testing at Eisgrat is scheduled only for Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November.
UpcomingLevi World CupThe FIS calendar schedules the women’s and men’s slalom races for 14–15 November in Lapland.
UpcomingGurgl World CupWomen’s and men’s slalom races are scheduled on the Kirchenkar World Cup piste on 21–22 November.PLACE FR-006 / Southern Alps / Parpaillon
Risoul 1850 is the Risoul-side base of La Forêt Blanche in the southern French Alps, linked on snow to the separate Vars area when the connection operates.
133MAPS / UNDERSTAND THE AREA
Explore mapped pistes and lifts, compare the official plans and choose the right starting base. Check current opening separately.
Colours show the published skiing status or confirmed operating calendar, not whether every lift is running. Check the operator before travel.
Confirmed dates change colours automatically in the place’s local time. Tentative dates, conflicting reports and expired checks remain black.
Independent ODbL geometry covers the named managed Risoul corridors around the 1850 base, Homme de Pierre, Peyrefolle, Plate/Razis and Clos Chardon. Separate Vars lifts and pistes, doubtful or unnamed descents, ski=no ways, backcountry/freeride terrain, private school carriers and the zipline are excluded. The map does not cover the full shared La Forêt Blanche inventory. Community segments are not a piste count. Only literal source colours or exact locally sourced names can establish piste colours; all other difficulties stay grey. The snapshot clock is the canonical OSM API HTTP response Date, not an Overpass replication timestamp. Historical: the operator landing links a winter PDF labelled 2025/26. Unconfirmed: the artwork’s current edition, exact comparison with this geometry and preview or reproduction rights are not established. Only the permitted HTML landing link is supplied; operator artwork is omitted. This is planning context, not navigation, avalanche advice, access permission or a current opening/complete-return report.
HOW THE AREA CONNECTS
Access: The tariff page separates the free Initiation product from the wider paid beginner pass; both require the correct transport ticket.
Match your lesson meeting point and included lifts; free access is not the full linked area.
Access: The named R3 and R6 chairlifts serve different upland corridors from the base-side network.
Published hours and local piste closures differ; a park or photo feature does not establish a safe open descent.
Access: R5 Plate, R7 Razis and R9 Clos Chardon are separately named in the operator bulletin.
Check all links before continuing toward Vars; our map omits that separate network.
Match your accommodation and lesson base to the Risoul-side entry. The Initiation area has a separate ticket scope; the approximate village pin is not an entrance or parking reservation.
Check the named Risoul lifts and the actual daily connection before leaving your local sector. The 185 km claim belongs to shared La Forêt Blanche; our map excludes the separate Vars network.
Unconfirmed: the final skier boarding, downloading conditions and last complete return from Vars to Risoul are not established. Confirm every required lift and piste with staff before leaving your base; the final lift closing time is not a safe time to start a cross-sector return.
01 / FIELD OVERVIEW
Choose the Risoul starting base, check each sector and return connection, and distinguish the reduced December preopening from the later full-area plan. The independent map deliberately excludes the wider Vars network.
Risoul-side guide with a separately checked Vars connection
Conditional December preopening, exact published lift hours and explicit return limits
Independent ODbL map and a licensed historical Risoul photograph
The tourism office and lift operator identify Risoul as one side of La Forêt Blanche, linked to Vars. Their 185 km figure describes the combined area; it is not a Risoul-only inventory or the length/count of our community map. The approximate village pin marks a planning base rather than a precise boarding point.
Risoul has forest-side and upper-mountain managed downhill terrain. Local piste signs use French green, blue, red and black grades. The tourism office names Grande Bleue and describes beginner facilities, red pistes and harder descents; this guide does not convert those grades into a universal standard or claim every line is open.
Conflicting sources: general visitor and beginner descriptions still promote Opoualand, but its dedicated operator page explicitly marks it closed for winter 2026/27. Do not plan on that feature being available.
Historical: the operator landing links a winter PDF labelled 2025/26. Unconfirmed: the artwork’s current edition, exact comparison with this geometry and preview or reproduction rights are not established. Only the permitted HTML landing link is supplied; operator artwork is omitted.
Historical: Hungarian skier’s photograph shows a Risoul chairlift, snowmaking and larch-lined pistes on 15 January 2012. It does not establish current lifts, snow or public access. Original JPEG retained; responsive display crops only, under CC BY 3.0.
The current operator bulletin names R1 Télépulsé, R2 Clos du Vallon, R3 Homme de Pierre, R6 Peyrefolle and R8 Pré du Bois in the Césier-side group. Plate-side entries include R5 Plate, R7 Razis, R9 Clos Chardon, R12 Mélézet, R13 Orée du Bois and R16 Bergerie. These names identify separate facilities, not a promise that they run together.
Unconfirmed: the 2026/27 plan is a reduced-area preopening on 5–11 December 2026, subject to snow, followed by a full-area plan from 12 December to 11 April 2027. These future dates do not confirm today’s skiing, every lift, the Vars connection or a complete return.
The bulletin lists R1 at 09:00–17:00, R2 and R8 at 09:00–16:45, R3 at 09:00–16:40, R5 and R6 at 09:10–16:30, and R7 at 09:20–16:30. R4 and R12 are 09:00–17:00; R9, R15 and R16 are 09:20–16:15; R13 is 08:45–16:40, R14 08:45–15:00, and R17/R18 09:10–16:50. Treat these as published conditional winter listings, separate from current operation and final boarding.
Unconfirmed: the final skier boarding, downloading conditions and last complete return from Vars to Risoul are not established. Confirm every required lift and piste with staff before leaving your base; the final lift closing time is not a safe time to start a cross-sector return.
The operator’s arrival page approaches Risoul via Guillestre and identifies Mont-Dauphin–Guillestre as the nearest railway station. It advertises bus/shuttle links to the resort. Check your actual dated rail and bus service, luggage, booking requirements and both directions; generic journey times do not guarantee a connection.
At Risoul 1850 the operator lists a paid covered car park, paid day parking by the tourism office and free Pélinche parking. It also lists charging near the tourism-office parking. Verify current road conditions, winter equipment, parking access and actual space/charger availability rather than relying on the village pin.
Historical: the tourism office’s downloadable intra-resort shuttle timetable is still labelled 2025/26. Unconfirmed: the final 2026/27 timetable, last valley/resort buses and individual accessible transfers are not established. Check the actual outward and return journey before booking.
Unconfirmed: individual adapted equipment, assistance, accessible boarding and a complete accessible return are not established. Arrange your exact requirements with the operator and chosen school before travelling.
The 2026/27 tariff page requires Risoul La Forêt Blanche passes to be activated from Risoul. A pass for the linked area does not create an open connection or allow an assumed first start from Vars. Check dates, duration, included facilities, personal eligibility and purchase/refund conditions before paying.
The one-day product lists EUR 58 for adults aged 13–69 and EUR 49 for children aged 5–12 and seniors aged 70+. The three-hour adult price is EUR 51, with EUR 43 in the listed reduced groups. The reusable non-refundable card costs EUR 2 extra. Under-fives receive a free transport title at a staffed sales point with age proof; a free fare still requires the correct ticket.
Conflicting sources: the general tariff page describes students as 18–24, while the one-day product lists 18–25. Confirm your eligibility and required proof at purchase; do not assume the wider age range applies.
The separate free Initiation product includes R1 Télépulsé, Exercice and Accueil Bas and requires a title from the lift-company desk. The wider paid beginner product lists additional named lifts and costs EUR 20 for children 5–12 or EUR 25 for adults/seniors/students. Neither should be presented as unrestricted whole-area access. Confirm the exact selection at purchase.
The tariff page offers optional ski insurance separately and lists disability/companion concessions subject to specific French card wording and proof. Check eligibility, scope, exclusions and required assistance directly; a discounted ticket does not establish accessible boarding.
The operator prohibits access outside opening hours and warns that night winch-grooming cables can cause fatal accidents. Use only terrain open for your activity, follow signs and patrol instructions, control speed for visibility and traffic, and keep clear of narrow or blind stopping points. A mapped piste is not permission to enter.
Follow staff instructions on chairlifts and surface lifts, including correct restraint use and clearing the unloading area. The operator treats off-piste travel as the skier’s own risk and advises avalanche information and appropriate equipment; this map excludes backcountry/freeride lines and supplies no avalanche or navigation assurance.
The contact page lists +33 4 92 46 29 57 as its rescue number. Ask staff about the active patrol and reporting arrangement for the day, give the exact marked location in an incident and do not treat website contact hours as a continuous emergency-service guarantee. Check insurance and possible rescue/transport costs.
Unconfirmed: the final skier boarding, downloading conditions and last complete return from Vars to Risoul are not established. Confirm every required lift and piste with staff before leaving your base; the final lift closing time is not a safe time to start a cross-sector return.
Unconfirmed: individual adapted equipment, assistance, accessible boarding and a complete accessible return are not established. Arrange your exact requirements with the operator and chosen school before travelling.
The operator offers school and rental booking categories, while the tourism office maintains separate listings for ski and snowboard providers. Choose the exact provider, lesson meeting point, equipment category and collection/return time; neither an online listing nor this guide reserves a lesson or confirms fitting.
The tourism office can be reached on +33 4 92 46 02 60. Its winter office hours are listed separately from inter-season hours; they are not lift or patrol hours. Use the operator’s contact page for lift/ticket questions and the tourism-office homepage navigation for local services.
Unconfirmed: individual adapted equipment, assistance, accessible boarding and a complete accessible return are not established. Arrange your exact requirements with the operator and chosen school before travelling.
Tourism-office terms restrict third-party links to its homepage in a new window and prohibit unauthorised deep links/framing. Accordingly this guide links that homepage and the separately permitted operator pages. The exact inspected tourism-page provenance is retained in the research evidence; no tourism or operator artwork is copied.
Selected source-checked references only. Use the complete official plan for the network; this list is not the resort’s total piste count or live opening report.
04 / AT THE BASE
05 / PROFILE BASIS & SOURCES
This profile is based on current information published or supplied by the place or its operator and the dated sources linked below.
Initial ten-scope primary-source review covers seasonal scope, actual named bulletin hours, tickets, local classification, access, closures, contacts and explicit service/return limits.
The hero image is an authentic photograph by Hungarian skier, reused under the CC BY 3.0 license.
Historical: Hungarian skier’s photograph shows a Risoul chairlift, snowmaking and larch-lined pistes on 15 January 2012. It does not establish current lifts, snow or public access. Original JPEG retained; responsive display crops only, under CC BY 3.0.