Barring last minute hitches, two of Europe's leading ski resorts will be connected by lift from today. Double-decker cable cars will allow skiers to switch between the slopes of Les Arcs and La Plagne in the French Tarentaise in four minutes. Previously, this took 30-45 minutes by bus or taxi.

The €15m lift will carry 200 people in each of two, independently operated cabins suspended up to 380m above the floor of the Ponthurin valley. It covers a distance of almost 2km between Peisey Vallandry and Les Coches.

Its development has created one of the world's largest networks of prepared ski and snowboard runs. Branded "Paradiski", it has 238 pistes, served by 143 lifts and covering 420km of skiing, still smaller than the nearby Trois Vallées area, which claims 600km of pistes and has 200 lifts.

Compagnie des Alpes, which controls both resorts, is offering a six-day lift pass for €190 per adult.