Skiing in Chamonix: the ski areas, the levels, the 2026-2027 season and who it suits

Skiing in Chamonix is not skiing in a resort. It means choosing one ski area out of five each morning, scattered along a twenty-kilometre valley and linked by bus, not by the slopes. The reward for this fragmentation is unique: from green runs in the forest to the glacier descent of the Vallée Blanche, with Mont Blanc facing you everywhere.

This page compares the ski areas, says which one suits which level, and gives the dates and hours of the 2026-2027 season and what a day costs. Detailed lift pass prices are in our lift pass guide.

Our tip: Buy your pass online at least 3 days ahead and keep your hands-free card from one stay to the next: you go straight to the gates, without the Saturday morning queue at the ticket desks.

How many ski areas are there in Chamonix?

Four marked ski areas and one high-mountain route. The tourist office gives about 150 km of runs for the valley, a total that varies between sources; the Vallée Blanche is not part of it, as it is off-piste.

For run-by-run detail, each area has its official map, linked from our page on the piste maps. Keep the essentials in mind: the valley has about 150 km of runs, spread over areas that do not link up on skis.

Each number on the map is a lift base, with the altitude of the area it serves.

Which ski area should you choose for your level?

Beginners

Les Houches and Le Tour-Balme are the most sensible choices: progressive areas, runs through the forest, less abrupt terrain. In central Chamonix, the small Savoy area at the foot of Le Brévent works as a learning zone, with the Soleil pass at €27.50 for an adult day.

To avoid on a first day: Les Grands Montets, and of course the Vallée Blanche, which is not a ski run. Lessons should be booked several weeks ahead during the holidays.

Intermediates

Brévent-Flégère, Balme and Les Houches offer the best balance of marked runs, scenery and difficulty. Les Grands Montets suit a strong intermediate, comfortable on variable snow, who accepts that some lifts may be closed.

Experts

Les Grands Montets, the valley's off-piste and the Vallée Blanche are behind Chamonix's worldwide reputation. The expert character comes less from an exceptional number of groomed black runs than from the natural terrain, the changing snow and the glacial setting. Off-piste, a high-mountain guide is not a luxury.

Non-skiers

They will not be bored: the Aiguille du Midi, Montenvers, the Brévent panoramas, the pool, the museums and the town centre. See things to do in Chamonix and the Aiguille du Midi.

What are the dates of the 2026-2027 season?

The press kit announces a general opening from 12 December 2026 to 18 April 2027. That does not mean every ski area opens every day over the whole period: each has its own calendar.

Two points remain unclear in the published information.

The press kit also mentions an end date of 11 April 2027 for one sector or product, alongside 18 April. And one tourist office page stops Les Houches on 26 March, while the official price list runs to 4 April. The details, area by area, are in lift opening dates.

How much does a day's skiing in Chamonix cost?

The Chamonix Le Pass covers Brévent-Flégère, Les Grands Montets and Balme. Les Houches sells its own pass.

Four hours cost €53.20 in early season in Chamonix and €53.80 in Les Houches. Bought online in advance, Chamonix Le Pass starts at €49 a day: that is a starting price, not the price of a Saturday in February. Children under 5 ski free on the published price lists.

A day "from €49" quickly passes €100 per person once you add rental, transport and lunch. The comparison with the Mont-Blanc Unlimited, family passes and buying tips are in our lift pass guide.

How do you get from one ski area to another?

By bus, train or car: no ski area is linked to another by the slopes. Chamonix Mobilité's 9 Skibus lines serve the foot of the slopes, free for anyone with a valid lift pass, and the Mont-Blanc Express train links Les Houches, Chamonix, Les Praz, Argentière and Vallorcine.

A multi-area day is therefore a day of transfers. Choose one area per day, depending on the snow, the wind and your level, and check the last bus back. It is all explained in getting around Chamonix.

When should you come to avoid the crowds?

The trends are clear: the French school holidays, weekends in January and February and sunny days after a snowfall concentrate the crowds.

The best compromise: a weekday outside the holidays, with stable weather and a report announcing that the sectors you want are open. March and April often combine still-good snow with gentler crowds: see when to go to Chamonix and skiing in Chamonix in April.

Is the Vallée Blanche skiing for you?

Only if you are an advanced skier, accompanied by a guide. It starts at the Aiguille du Midi, at 3,842 metres, for about 20 kilometres and 2,000 metres of descent on glaciers, down to the Mer de Glace. It is not a ski run: no markers, crevasses, seracs, and an exit along a ridge that impresses.

Its technical level is lower than its reputation, but the high-mountain environment changes everything. It is all detailed in our Vallée Blanche guide.

The small print the brochures skip

• The ski areas are not linked on skis. A bus, train or car is part of every day.
• The top of Les Grands Montets is not guaranteed. It is announced as closed this season, with access via Plan Joran: see our page on Les Grands Montets.
• The low sectors fear thaws. Les Houches starts at around 950 metres: open on the calendar does not mean good snow.
• Opening hours are not guarantees. Wind stops a gondola without warning the traveller.
• The extras add up. Guide, safety gear, rental, insurance, transport, parking: none of it is in the lift pass.
• Groomed skiing is not what Chamonix is about. Anyone looking only for long, wide, linked runs will be happier in a large purpose-built resort.

Chamonix or a big Tarentaise resort?

It is not a question of quality, it is a question of model. The large Tarentaise ski areas offer more linked kilometres from your door and a wider choice of groomed runs. Chamonix offers a lived-in valley, several villages, the high mountains right there and a unique place for off-piste.

That is an advantage for experienced skiers, mountaineers and people who like a real village in the evening. It is a weakness for a family that wants to do everything on skis from its accommodation: for them, the choice of village is decisive, see where to stay in Chamonix.

For logistics, see parking in Chamonix and how to get to Chamonix. All our skiing guides are in the Skiing section.

Sources

Sources: Chamonix winter 2026-2027 press kit, Chamonix Tourist Office (presentation of the ski areas, Vallée Blanche page), official pages for Les Grands Montets, Brévent-Flégère, Balme-Vallorcine and Les Houches-Saint-Gervais (2026-2027 dates, hours and prices), Chamonix Mobilité (Skibus).

The number of runs by colour, hour-by-hour crowd levels and free shuttles for the whole season are not published consistently. Two end dates exist side by side for Les Houches and for one sector in the press kit, and we show both. Research carried out on 27 October 2026.