Trav's short answer
Les 3 Vallées is carrying out a substantial round of upgrades before winter 2026/27, led by a €5m La Tania gondola refurbishment and more than €10m of disclosed snowmaking work.The confirmed programme includes 52 new La Tania gondola cabins, more than €3m for the Truite snowmaking network in Méribel, and more than €7m for snowmaking in Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville. Other projects include the final phase of the Rhodos gondola renovation, the return of the Châtelet chairlift and a new beginner conveyor.
Winter 2026/27 investment
More than €15m is already identifiable in three headline lift and snowmaking projects
Official Les 3 Vallées material lists €5 million for the La Tania gondola in Courchevel, more than €3 million for the Truite snowmaking network in Méribel and more than €7 million for snowmaking across Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville.
The scale matters: Les 3 Vallées links seven resorts across roughly 600km of pistes. That means even projects that look local — a gondola cabin replacement, a beginner run or a snowmaking line — can affect how easily skiers move around the wider domain.
The investment is not simply about adding capacity. Much of the 2026/27 work is focused on reliability, skier flow, snow security, energy efficiency and improving heavily used access points.
Three headline investments
Publicly disclosed 2026/27 projectsThese three projects alone add up to more than €15 million. They should not be treated as a complete budget for every Les 3 Vallées improvement planned for winter 2026/27.
Courchevel La Tania
La Tania's €5m gondola upgrade brings 52 new panoramic cabins
One of the most visible changes will be at Courchevel La Tania. The La Tania gondola, which first opened in 1990 and carries close to 400,000 passengers each winter, is undergoing a €5 million refurbishment.
The existing cabins are being replaced with 52 new eight-seat Poma cabins. Les 3 Vallées says the new cabins will have panoramic views, more comfortable seating, wider doors and storage for skis and snowboards. The stations and technical equipment are also being modernised to improve reliability and safety.
New cabins and modernised equipment
The passenger-facing change is obvious, but the work also reaches the stations and technical systems behind the lift.
Some existing infrastructure is being reused
Rather than replacing every component, the project retains and reuses suitable existing equipment where possible to reduce the impact of the works.
Courchevel is also adding a new 300m² panoramic terrace at the summit of Chenus. The south-facing viewpoint looks towards La Saulire and will be accessible to both skiers and pedestrians, giving the resort another high-altitude stop that does not depend on skiing ability.
That distinction is important: the cabins, stations and technical elements are being upgraded while useful existing infrastructure is retained where practical.
Méribel
Méribel is spending more than €3m on snowmaking while finishing several lift and piste projects
Méribel Alpina began work in spring 2026 on the Truite piste snowmaking network. More than €3 million is being invested in new-generation snowmaking equipment designed to improve production performance while using energy more efficiently.
The Truite is a green run and an important link between Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel, so dependable coverage matters to far more than expert skiers. The project also includes work on the water intake, with the resort highlighting water management, the natural flow of the watercourse and biodiversity.
There is also a more unusual lift change at Plattières, where selected gondola cabins are being given a new visual identity through a collaboration with French artist Lucas Beaufort.
For ordinary holidaymakers, the Truite and Niverolle work may be just as useful as a headline lift replacement because both projects are aimed at making important, accessible pistes more dependable through the season.
Belleville Valley
More than €7m is going into snowmaking at Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville
The largest individually disclosed snowmaking figure in the 2026/27 programme is in the Belleville Valley. Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville are investing more than €7 million to develop and improve their snowmaking network.
Les 3 Vallées says the objective is to strengthen snow reliability and help maintain good skiing conditions throughout the season. The emphasis on snowmaking is notable because the wider domain is already unusually high: official figures state that 85% of the ski area sits above 1,800 metres.
Biolley 2 beginner conveyor replaced
A new-generation magic carpet is being installed in the children's and beginner area to make first runs more comfortable, smoother and safer.
Autonomous drone deployment expands
After an initial deployment around the Lac du Lou off-piste sector, Val Thorens is installing a second autonomous drone to support monitoring, safety and rescue operations.
The spending shows that snow security is now a core infrastructure category alongside lifts. Rather than relying only on altitude, operators are continuing to invest in systems intended to protect important routes when natural snowfall is uneven or temperatures create shorter snowmaking windows.
What skiers will notice
The 2026/27 changes are mainly about smoother access, better snow coverage and fewer weak links
There is no single new mega-lift defining the coming winter. Instead, Les 3 Vallées is spreading investment across the parts of a ski holiday that can make the biggest practical difference: lift comfort, snow reliability, beginner terrain, inter-resort movement and mountain safety.
For skiers staying in Courchevel or La Tania, the most obvious change will be the refurbished gondola. In Méribel, the return of Châtelet and the work on Truite and Niverolle should improve both circulation and snow coverage. In the Belleville Valley, the largest visible infrastructure story is the continuing expansion of snowmaking.
Les 3 Vallées says the linked domain is scheduled to operate from 5 December 2026 to 18 April 2027. Higher-altitude Val Thorens and Orelle are scheduled for the longer window from 21 November 2026 to 2 May 2027.
Several projects do not have a public investment figure attached, so it would be misleading to present €15m as the total Les 3 Vallées budget. It is better understood as a minimum visible figure from the largest disclosed projects.
Trav's final summary
Les 3 Vallées is spending heavily on the less glamorous infrastructure that can make a ski week run better
The 2026/27 programme combines a major La Tania gondola refurbishment with large snowmaking investments in Méribel and the Belleville Valley, plus smaller lift, piste, beginner and safety upgrades across the domain.
- €5m at La Tania: 52 new panoramic eight-seat cabins plus station and technical upgrades for a gondola used by almost 400,000 passengers each winter.
- €10m+ on disclosed snowmaking: more than €3m on Méribel's Truite network and more than €7m across Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville.
- More work beyond the headline spend: Rhodos, Châtelet, Niverolle, Biolley 2 and Val Thorens safety technology are all part of the 2026/27 changes.