La Clusaz ski area

Cross country or Alpine Skiing and boarding in La Clusaz can start as early as late November or early December. However,the official ski season usually begins the week before Christmas and continues until late April.

The La Clusaz ski domain covers five inter connected mountains and boasts 130km of varied downhill pistes, the majority of which are north facing. The Nordic ski area of La Clusaz is 'world' class and offers 70kms of interesting and scenic trails.

The extensive lift system provides access 25 green runs, 28 blue, 23 red and 7 black runs, not to mention extensive off piste skiing. The lower slopes are also well served by artificial snow making facilities, retaining good snow coverage right to the end of the season.

All of the cable cars and some of the chairlifts can be used by non-skiers and cross country skiers wishing to access cross country or walking trails or just meet up with friends on the mountainside for lunch soaking up the sun and sights.

If you are thinking of joining us for your ski hols, well look no further, you have found the perfect destination.

There is something for everyone in La Clusaz, excellent green runs and nursery areas for beginners, long blues and reds for intermediate skiers, and challenging off-piste for more experienced skiers. The instructors and guides all speak good english and can offer tuition from an hour to a full day or complete week if you really want to explore all the Aravis ski area has to offer.

If you want to try something different, La Clusaz also has a fab snow park and boarder cross course at Le loup area of the Cret du Merle. Plus if you love freestyle skiing you neeed to visit in late March or early April to enjoy the spectacle of the Candide Invitational . Candide Thovex, is one of La Clusaz's freestyle champions, and once a year he invites all his international ski and board buddies to try out the awesome fantastic jumps and rails his mates posse build in the off-piste areas of La Balme!  

La Clusaz is a well kept secret amongst the Swiss and French, and offers excellent boarding opportunities for all levels. Because it is a lesser known resort it means more space on the pistes!. As part of the Aravis ski area with it's 220km of well maintained slopes is a perfect destination for for boarders of all levels. La Clusaz itself offers 130km of varied pistes and is the biggest of the resorts in the Aravis, the highest of which is 2470m.

La Clusaz is served by a good mixture of cable cars, drag and chair lifts, so you can travel to the top of the mountain quick and easily and more often than not with no queues at all. The resort also tends to get the first of the snow so boarding back into the town centre is possible throughout the winter season. 

You will find that all the cross country circuits in La Clusaz are well prepared and clearly marked. Cross country skiing is mainly practised on level terrain, however the courses are graded depending on your level of ability and stamina. These range from green to black, the latter being the hardest and most demanding stamina wise as they usually consist of a steep ascent and descent somewhere in the circuit.

Cross country skiing is fantatsic excersise all ages and is similar to having a brisk walk in the mountains with long thin skis attached to your feet.

There are two main types of cross-country skiing, traditional (or Nordic) or skating. The latter being the hardest to master. Local ski shops can supply all the equipment needed and passes can be obtained in advance. Maps can be provided for the main cross country areas and many have restaurants en-route or at the end of the circuits, for those much needed breaks. 

If you would like to have a more detailed look at the layout of the pistes in the Aravis area, then one of the best we've found is this interactive map of the Aravis ski area...