The Piste
Beginners
There are 6 different nursery areas in Chamonix - Chamonix Town, Brevent and Flegere, Le Tour, Grands Montets, Les Houches and Vallorcine.
There are two nursery areas in Chamonix town; the Savoy slope which has a magic carpet and two drag lifts, and the Planards slope which has a few drag lifts and a chairlift. Also in the centre, is the Brevent cable cat which accesses several green and blue runs in Brevent and Flegere so is a good place to progress after the nursery slopes.
In Le Tour, there are both nursery slopes as well as blue and green runs further up the mountain.
Le Chosalets nursery slopes are easily accessible from Grands Montets, annd Le Tourchet nursery slopes is located in the centre of Les houches.
For those staying in Vallorcine, La Poya offers a good introduction to the slopes and the Vallorcine gondola offers access to a variety of pistes further up the mountain.
Intermediates
The ski areas in Chamonix aren’t connected so it isn’t the ideal ground for those wanting to cover vast distances but the resort does have some excellent intermediate slopes.
In Brevent, the Combe de la Charlanon run from the top of the Col Cornu chair is a good red with a black variant. Flegere has several red runs from the top of the Index chairlift.
In Le Tour, The Belle Place is a good red run through the trees, and the Ecuries, Chatalet and Caisets all join up to make one long red run which is a popular run for intermediates.
The runs in Grands Montets are slightly more challenging. La Pierre a Ric is a popular choice to practice carving, and the piste joins up to the Variate Hotel piste which is an ungroomed red with plenty of moguls.
Les Houches is a good spot for intermediates with 12 red and 6 blue runs which are all accessed from the top of the Bellevue and Prarlion telecabines, here you can also get an amazing 360 degree view of Mont Blanc.
Experts
Chamonix has plenty of runs for experts.
In Brevent, you can ski from the top of the Brevent cable car via the Charles Bozon run and Nants run to clock up nearly 1500m of vertical descent; and in Flegere you can ski both the Lachenal piste and Praz piste from the top op the Index chairlift to clock up 1300m of descent.
Grands Montets has some of the steepest and most challenging pistes in Chamonix. Some of the hardest pistes are found from the top of the Argentiere cable car. Both the Point de Vue and Pylones pistes are graded black and are not bashed so are often mogulled creating a steep and challenging run.
In Les Houches, both the Kandahar run and the Mur des Epines run from the top of the Bellevue cable car are challenging pistes.
Ski School
There are several ski schools in Chamonix offering both group and private lessons. Group lessons are cheaper and more sociable but will be less intense than one-on-one tuition.
ESF has been running for over 70 years and have fully qualified English speaking instructors to help you improve your skills. ESF offer group and private lessons as well as mountain guiding for all abilities.
Evolution 2 offer ski and snowboarding lessons in sight of the Mont Blanc for everyone from complete beginner through to adventure seeking adrenaline addict.
British Alpine Ski School (BASS) have been operating for over 14 years, their team of instructors are at the top of their profession delivering both private and specialised group courses for adults.
Equipment Hire
There are a number of ski rental shops throughout Chamonix and neighbouring resorts. We would recommend that you book your ski hire in advance so you can benefit from excellent online savings of up to 60%.
Intersport have two stores in Chamonix and are one of the best places for online offering a range of equipment for all budgets and abilities. They often offer fantastic 50% discounts.
Ski Republic have three stores in Chamonix. They offer a good selection of equipment and often have family, group and all-inclusive offers.
Skimium have two stores in Chamonix and offer fantastic online savings.
Sport 2000 offer affordable ski hire and have three stores in resort.
Lift Passes
There are three main types of lift passes available in Chamonix; the Mont-Blanc Unlimited full area pass, the Chamonix Le Pass which covers the local area, and the Rapid Card which is a prepaid, pay-as-you-go, non-consecutive multi-day loyalty pass.
The most popular pass is the Mont Blanc Unlimited fulla area pass as it allows you to ski the whole valley. Below are the lift pass prices based on the 17/18 Season. Prices for 18/19 Season may vary. Prices are in euros.
6 Days Chamonix Le Pass Mont-Blanc Unlimited Adult (15-64y) 258 306
Child (5-14y) 220 260
Senior (65-79y) 220 260
Lift passes are free for under 5s and over 79s, proof of age is required.
Family passes are available for families comprising of at least two adults and two children. Additional children are free (up to a maximum of 3 extra). A 6 Day Chamonix Le Pass is 800 and a Mont Blanc Unlimited is 950.
There are several
beginner passes for different areas of Chamonix that can be bought on site at the ticket offices.