In Les Carroz, Morillon, and Samoëns classic runs include Marvel; a fabulously long green that goes through the forest, Sairon; a long blue with many jumps and banks on the side of the piste, Lou Darbes; a medium length blue run that is downhill all the way — an excellent run for 'bombing' down, and Aigle Noir, a steep, difficult black run. The predominantly north-facing runs are very reliable: package companies offering "snow guarantees" often import punters from other French resorts when their pistes have lost the amount of sufficient snow that can be skied on. Flaine was the first resort to feature artificial snow making in Europe from 1973. In each different grade of run (green, blue, red, & black) there is a theme in the Flaine bowl. For example most of the blue runs are named after metals/jewels (e.g. Serpentine, Turquoise, Dolomie, Cristal, Tourmaline, Émeraude), nearly all the reds are diabolically named (e.g. Faust, Méphisto, Belzébuth, Lucifer) and most black runs after stones (e.g. Diamant Noir, Agate, Styx). Most green runs are named after trees (e.g. Mélèze, Pin, Epicea). This only occurs in the Flaine valley though; the other resorts' runs are named separately. However the same names are repeated in different resorts. For example "Combe", valley, is a popular name because of the many runs leading into valleys. Arête, ridge, is also popular. In Flaine Forum, the Nursery Slopes are served by a small chairlift (Le Pré) which is excellent for beginners due to the fact that it doesn't go far above the snow. They are also interesting as they go down from the resort centre, rather than down to the resort. There is also a short green run which runs to the left of the lift. Lift system There are 2 free lifts (Pré and Télébenne) which link the up and lower parts of Flaine. Flaine is in the process of implementing an upgrade program to its lifts and trails called Flaine Perspectives 2006–2010. For 2006, new gondola cabins were installed on Aup de Véran, whilst the base station was renovated for 2007. For 2008, the Les Gerats lift was installed to allow better access to the new Intrawest village (Flaine Montsoleil). In addition the Tête des Verds 6-person detachable chair was installed from the main base area. For 2009, Flaine aim to renovate the Télébenne, installation of a 4-person chair to replace the Bois button,