Geneva area skiing

My wife's cousin lives in a French enclave a stone's throw from Geneva airport I believe. She's invited us to come for ski week in February. She said Chamonix or Montblanc is a 45 minute drive. Are those the same mountain even — I'm clueless although I've skied Montblanc with my brother once — we paid for a van service from Geneva and didn't even hassle with renting a car. This time we will have a rental car so we can hit multiple resorts or stay put with one lift. What are the best options?

My kids are 9 and 11 and have only skied for about a month total. They don't handle steep or ice well but otherwise they can ski all mountain but we stick to mostly easy and intermediate slopes though they'll hit an occasional expert slope when I know they can handle it. I think it's a great opportunity for them to ski a big European mountain and since we'll have free lodging I think we should take advantage. The driving doesn't sound too bad.

We ski 4 days from 9am to 4pm and call it a day. I could probably push them to 5 days but honestly 4 full days of skiing is probably about right for now. They will be first on the mountain and last off for 4 days. This is what we've always done and they're good skiers considering how little they've actually skied.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cham...45.8326223!3e0

On skis they're one and the same if I'm not mistaken Jorn. I think there's a gondola that dissects both mtns basically

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Originally Posted by holliscx

We ski 4 days from 9am to 4pm and call it a day. I could probably push them to 5 days but honestly 4 full days of skiing is probably about right for now. They will be first on the mountain and last off for 4 days. This is what we've always done and they're good skiers considering how little they've actually skied.

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I like this approach. It's the same way my dad approached it when I was a kid. It gives kids a chance to enjoy the village or town and really fall in love with being in the mountains--at least, that's the way it worked for me.

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Originally Posted by holliscx

On skis they're one and the same if I'm not mistaken Jorn. I think there's a gondola that dissects both mtns basically

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The cable car takes you up to the MIDI so you can ski the Vallee Blanche glacier.

The two mountains you are thinking of are probably to the two ski resorts nearby Flegere and Grand Montets.

If you’re willing to drive 2hrs you’ll have access to Les Arcs, Tignes, Val d’Isere, La Rosiere and Ste Foy. I’m not a fan of Les Arcs but Tigne/Val d’Isere is awesome. The lift that goes up and over a ridge to access the glacier is really breathtaking. La Rosiere is a personal favorite, partly because of the novelty of straddling the French/Italian border. Good photo opp for the kids and good pasta for lunch!

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Originally Posted by holliscx

...Are those the same mountain even — I'm clueless although I've skied Montblanc with my brother once — ...

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Originally Posted by holliscx

On skis they're one and the same if I'm not mistaken Jorn. I think there's a gondola that dissects both mtns basically

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Understood from the first post that you were clueless, thus the map.

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Originally Posted by echelon_john

... Tigne/Val d’Isere is awesome. The lift that goes up and over a ridge to access the glacier is really breathtaking. La Rosiere is a personal favorite, partly because of the novelty of straddling the French/Italian border.

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Ditto that about Tignes/Val d'Isere. Nearby Val Thorens - not.

The Italian side of La Rosiere is La Thuile - gorgeous views, especially considering that it's not very high up. Too much cigarette smoke but hey, it's Italy.

Thanks for the recommendations. Re: Tignes/Val d'Isere what's the advantage - the skiing, views, the whole package? It's just a nice day skiing? How does it compare to Mont Blanc for a day? I think I'll push to do a day trip to Tignes then if we can. I need to research terrain for my kids aren't skiing off piste or expert so we're sticking to cruisers so they can build confidence. I want to find some terrain that they can really enjoy. It's just about being in the mountains free to choose which way we want to ski down but they're not going to be bombing chutes or moguls. We're still trying to get a few more days skiing in our legs. They're novice but can ski all mountain from first lift to last. They trust me to keep them safe. I ski 100% for them — I'm out there to show my kids what's possible

My advice is always keep it simple. If the children are not expert, then schlepping here there is a waste of time and adds frustration.
I think you may have more fun just walking around the town. For my money, Grand Montets fits the bill if you want easy access freeride terrain for you, and cruisers for the kids.


From the Telegraph today:

From Piste to Pub to Pillow: An Insider Ski Holiday Guide to Chamonix
2021-10-13 10:56:16.205 GMT


By Telegraph Ski & Snowboard

(Telegraph) -- These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change
quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey.
Note that our writer visited pre-pandemic.

Europe's long-lasting favourite

Chamonix has been at the sharp end of Alpine adventure since 1760, when a
Genevois scientist offered a prize for the first ascent of its famous local
mountain – Mont Blanc, 4,807m, the highest in the Alps. The resort had its
first growth spurt in the Victorian era, hosted the first Winter Olympics in
1924 and has re-emerged on the freeride wave as the capital of all-mountain
skiing and snowboarding, especially for experts.

With a resort height of 1,035m and a top lift at 3,842m, the range of skiing
on offer in at Chamonix is exceptional and versatile – long runs below the
tree line offer good sport in bad weather, and big glacier runs at high
altitude are often at their best in April. This is a landscape built on a
heroic scale that makes other resorts seem tame by comparison.

Chamonix resort itself is a busy town of 9,000 permanent residents at the foot
of Mont Blanc, just below the French entrance to the Mont Blanc road tunnel.
While it can’t be described as a tranquil Alpine retreat – a steady stream of
heavy trucks schlepping up through the hairpins does nothing for the mountain
ambience or the air quality – Chamonix’s setting beneath the cliffs and
tumbling glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif is tremendous.

The town’s old buildings have kept their sedate Victorian and more fanciful
Belle Epoque look and, since the centre is traffic-free, it offers pleasant
strolling, with cafés overhanging the river Arve’s torrent and a wealth of
interesting shops – galleries, bookshops and speciality food, as well as
souvenirs and the latest technical snow-sports clothing and hardware.

Since its four separate ski areas are spread out along the valley, making the
most of Chamonix requires planning and some patience with bus rides and queues
– but its long descents are ample reward. Being within an hour of Geneva
airport means it makes a good destination for a weekend too.

Chamonix’s smaller villages, such as Les Houches, Argentière and Vallorcine,
offer access to the same top-quality slopes but a quieter place to stay. The
extensive Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass covers more slopes than the other option,
Le Pass, including resorts such as Courmayeur through the Mont Blanc tunnel in
Italy and Verbier in Switzerland.

Navigate Chamonix's ski area with our insider's knowledge of the local slopes
and beyond, on and off piste, ski schools and terrain parks.

Chamonix gives access to not one top-class ski area, but three, at least.
Opting for the Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass rather than more limited Le Pass
also covers the resort’s fourth main area, Les Houches, and the Aiguille du
Midi lift from the centre of town to the shoulder of Mont Blanc. What’s
more, Megève and Saint-Gervais in France and Courmayeur in Italy are also
covered, with a 50 per cent price reduction for Verbier in Switzerland.

Half a dozen smaller, easy resorts along the Chamonix valley are also covered
by both passes. Le Pass best suits novices unless staying in Les Houches. Its
small local ski area has its own lift pass as well as being part of the
Unlimited pass. Le Pass can be upgraded to an Unlimited pass at any time by
paying the difference.

Chamonix’s revival owes much to the opening of the Argentière/Les Grands
Montets sector back in 1963. The top of the Grands Montets ski area is an
immense freeride playground, much of it glacier, punctuated by two long black
pistes of 1,300m vertical back to the mid-station, Lognan, and 2,000m vertical
for the full descent down to the valley.

Those who want to get to the off-piste on the Argentière glacier can access
the area under their own steam from the top of the Bochard gondola. The 250m
of vertical ascent takes approximately one hour using touring skins.

Bochard and the other Grands Montets lift above Lognan, the Herse chair,
themselves serve terrific terrain, including a few groomed intermediate
pistes, and there is a dedicated beginner area at Lognan, but this is not a
mountain for easy cruising. The red run down from Lognan to the valley, Pierre
à Ric, is great in the morning, when hardly anyone uses it, less enjoyable
from mid-afternoon, when it’s packed.

The Brévent-Flégère sector on the sunny side of the Chamonix valley, accessed
by gondola from Chamonix to Brévent or Les Praz to Flégère, is a game of two
halves. Each half has a broad fan of intermediate pistes above steep forest,
with a single black run down to the valley, marked on the map but rarely open.
A new Flégère gondola opened in 2019, replacing an old cable-car.

A flat two-way linking lift near the treeline, Liaison, connects the Brévent
and Flégère sectors, the whole being a splendid wide-open space for sunny
cruising with classic views of the Mont Blanc-scape. Many keen
adrenalin-junkies who obsess about Argentière spend hours queuing when they
could be enjoying great conditions in this sector – powder, spring snow or
groomed corduroy pistes depending on the time of year and time of day.

The two-stage cable car from Chamonix town to Plan de l’Aiguille (2,170m) and
Aiguille du Midi (3,842m) is an engineering marvel and sightseeing highlight
in itself. The famous Vallée Blanche run (an unmarked, unmaintained,
unpatrolled off-piste itinerary route) runs from here back down through the
glaciers to Chamonix, and delivers some of the most spectacular scenery the
Mont Blanc range has to offer.

It starts with an exposed ridge walk and often finishes at the longer, steep
stairway up to the Montenvers railway back to Chamonix. If snow conditions are
particularly good, it may be possible to continue down through the woods to
the Planards chairlift. The run itself is a long scenic cruise with a few
tight sections between gaping crevasses – fairly easy, but dangerous. There
are more challenging routes down the Vallée Blanche, but even for the main
so-called tourist route, it’s advisable to go with a guide.

Balme-Vallorcine is an M-shaped area with gentle open slopes and reliable snow
at the head of the valley, ideal for confidence building and entry-level off
piste. Balme is accessed via gondola from La Tour, between Chamonix and
Argentière, with an easy link to the attractive woodland runs and more rugged
terrain above the village of Vallorcine.

Les Houches has long runs through the woods of a kind more often associated
with Austria, including La Verte – Chamonix’s World Cup downhill race course.
Although it’s graded black, it’s not especially difficult unless taken at
downhill racing speed. There is also a top-to-bottom blue run, Aillouds, but
the terrain is essentially intermediate, with good lunch options. The trees
lining the runs also help with visibility on snowy days.

Ski instructors and mountain guides come here to qualify, and every dedicated
skier and snowboarder has its challenges on their bucket list. But there are
nursery slopes and blissful fast-cruising pistes as well as all the rough
stuff, and the stunningly scenic 20km Vallée Blanche off-piste run is doable
by confident intermediates as well as experts. The resort is also popular for
those looking for a weekend break in the mountains, due to its proximity to
Geneva.

Essential information

British Embassy/Consulate: (00 33 1 44 51 31 00; ukinfrance.fco.gov.uk)

Ambulance (samu): dial 15

Police: dial 17

Fire (pompiers): dial 18

Emergency services from mobile phone: dial 112

Tourist office: See chamonix.com, the website for the Chamonix Mont Blanc
Tourist Board, for weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic details and
local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the
main office in the centre of Chamonix or at one of the smaller bases in the
satellite villages.

Chamonix is more like 1h15-30 drive if my memory is correct.

If you go to Morzine or Avoriaz you have access to the Portes du Soleil domain which span accross 12 skis resorts in both France and Switzerland, all connectable by ski lifts. With 600km of tracks you could spend 2 weeks and barely ride the same slopes twice. But you can also get the cheaper local resort ski pass, more sensible for a 4 days trip with kids.

It should be a bit more affordable than Chamonix.

Anyway, whatever resort you choose, buy the lift pass now online as they are usually 50% cheaper when bought off season.

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Originally Posted by sk_tle

Chamonix is more like 1h15-30 drive if my memory is correct.

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The Geneva airport's on the north end of town. If the cousin's place is in the French Jura, yes, it's gonna be a decent hump to Chamonix everyday, especially in winter. If the place is in the Haute-Savoie instead, not quite as bad. In either case, seems like a good bit of schlepping to me, especially with kids. Commuting back and forth to Tignes, hmmm? You might consider La Clusaz, though it's only slightly closer and not as high. But way less ritzy than Chamonix, not a mega-resort, more of a family-weekend vibe. At least it was when we were there for two weeks of skiing many years ago. Les Carroz is probably even slightly more accessible from Geneva, but not as complete as a ski town.