The Contamines-Hauteluce ski resort

I tested the ski slopes of the resort of Contamines-Hauteluce. I accessed it via Beaufortain, via Hauteluce, precisely, and not via the Val Montjoie.

What interested me was to see the slopes in the upper part of the area tested and I can't believe it: it's just magnificent!

I tell you all about it in this article.

The Hauteluce ski resort, in Beaufortain, connected to Les Contamines

The small village ofHauteluce is perched in the sun at an altitude of 1200 meters, in the heart of the massif of Beaufortain. I already spoke about it in the article devoted to Beaufortain, which you can read hereThis is a very pretty region of the French Alps, probably one of the most authentic. There are no large ski resorts here, no buildings to disfigure the landscape, and a life that revolves around agriculture and livestock farming, with the production of the excellent Beaufort cheese at its center.

The village ofHauteluce, with its charming church whose bell tower is topped with a pretty bulb and the facade decorated in trompe l'oeil is the gateway to two important passes. The Col des Saisies, an important passageway to the upper Val d'Arly, Megève and Sallanches and the Col du Joly which was an important passageway to the Val Montjoie and the passes to Italy via the Bonhomme and the Seigne.

Today, a ski lift and a ski slope connect the village of Hauteluce directly to the Les Saisies and Espace Diamant ski areas. On the other hand, you have to go to the foot of the Col du Joly, just below the Girotte dam to access the vast area of Contamines Hauteluce : the Ruelle cable car, easily accessible from the small parking lot.

The village of Contamines Montjoie

We no longer present the beauty of Val Montjoie. Whether it is the spa resort of Saint Gervais, entry point to the glacial world of Mont Blanc massif, Or baroque beauty of the chapels around Saint Nicolas de Véroce, from which the landscape on Mont Blanc is sumptuous, the hamlets and villages scattered in the valley are all destinations for walks and strolls. Our Lady of the Gorge, at the very bottom of the valley, lost in the middle of the forest, crossed in winter by cross-country ski trails, was an important place of pilgrimage, testimony to an extremely inspiring site. In summer, the trails that climb towards the Val Montjoie nature reserve offer sumptuous views of the high massifs. The Col du Joly is probably the site in Val Montjoie from which one can enjoy the most beautiful 360-degree view.

The resort of Contaminated Montjoie appears as a group of hamlets scattered in the valley in the shadow of the foothills of the massif of Montblanc.

The village center, somewhat terraced, soaks up the afternoon sun. The small Baroque church dominates the central street composed of large chalets typical of the region.

The sporting activities are located in the lower part of the valley, along the torrent. It is at the exit of the village that we find the Montjoie cable car which provides access to the ski area. Another access, a little further towards Notre Dame de la Gorge also allows, via the La Gorge cable car, to reach L'Etape at an altitude of 1400 meters, from which the Signal cable car takes skiers to the nerve center of the ski area.

Skiing in Hauteluce — The ski slopes in the Hauteluce area

The Hauteluce side of the ski area.

As I told you in the introduction, I started my ski tour of the ski area by leaving from the Ruelle cable car, on the Hauteluce side. This allowed me to quickly arrive at the Joly Pass, via a chairlift connection (Col), well before skiers arriving from Les Contamines could be on site. As a result, all the slopes on the Hauteluce side, barely groomed, were absolutely empty. First tracks on each of the slopes within the first hour of skiing. This is practically impossible in other ski resorts.

So it was the opportunity to test all the trails on this side. The blue ones are very easy and pleasant, with a plunging view of the Beaufortain : Col, Croix and Choucas, the Rouges des Marmottes, des Plans and the difficult red of Choton (be careful, it goes very quickly!), and even the walk with the green which descends on the route of the tarmac road which gives access to the pass in summer. We often take the Col chairlift, but halfway there we can also take the Plans and Choton ski lifts.

On the other hand, we'll keep the descent to the parking lot, on the red Bellevilla (in the shade in the morning) for the last return descent. It's not very interesting, it's perilous and it only leads back to the lower station of the Ruelle cable car.

The Contamines Montjoie side of the ski area

At the top of the Col chairlift, it is time to switch to the slope of the Contaminated Montjoie. Head towards Le Signal, the arrival point for skiers coming from Les Contamines. Readers who are in Les Contamines can start their journey here. To get down to Signal From the Col, there is the easy version, the green "col-signal route", or the sporty version, the red Col, and its variants Besoens and part of Bartavelles, also red. The descent is not long and the track is very beautiful. The valley below seems very deep while the peaks of the Mont Blanc massif seem to rise as we lose altitude.

Au Signal, you can choose to ski in two very distinct sectors. The first is located on the slopes accessible from the summit of the Olympique. The second is accessible via a link with the Tierces sector, by the small "Jonction" chairlift, which provides access to the Nant Rouge sector.

Let's start with the Olympique sector. By chairlift, you fly over a black run. This run is accessible to those who know how to ski on a steep red, but you should avoid the very first section, which is a black natural with moguls. The connection is easy from the Bretelle or Boulevard run.

Contamines Hauteluce ski area — Ski slopes between Col du Joly and Aiguille Croche

From the top of theOlympic, if you don't want to tackle the black one, you can switch to a very pretty area: the one around the Bûche Croisée chairlift. There you'll find a blue one partly in the shade (Combe), a very pretty red one (Bûche), a red one with many bumps, Frédzé, and a black one between them, Tobogan. Let's say that it's a sector for good skiers anyway. You get to this sector from the Signal, directly, via the Gentianes red run.

On the other hand, from the Olympique you can also switch to the blue Hauteluce slopes (Croix and Col, or the green Col-Ruelle) to ski in the sun, especially in the afternoon. The ascent to the Col du Joly sector will be via the Col chairlift, whose lower station is the destination point for all the slopes in the sector.

Now let's move to the side of the third parties and Nant Rouge.

From the Signal, you can reach the base of the Nant Rouge chairlift, or directly to the Tierces chairlift, via the Jonction chairlift and a short descent on a blue slope.

From the Col du Joly, you arrive at the base of Nant Rouge via the Col track, from Olympique via the Red ramp and then the Col.

The Nant Rouge sector offers beautiful, airy slopes with sweeping views of the ski area. You can go back and forth on the Monuments ski lift, then descend back to the Nant Rouge chairlift via the Nant Rouge run, or head down to Tierces via the Coins run.

With the Tierces chairlift, we enter the most difficult sector of Les Contamines.

At the top of the chairlift, you can still climb to the top of the Aiguille Croche chairlift. The dominant point of the Contamines Hauteluce ski area, and the dizzying starting point for the red and black runs that descend from it. Only for very good skiers. The black Croche run, with moguls, is particularly challenging. The red run, a little less so. When the area is open, these runs continue into the Valeray sector, where there are only black runs. This is a great place for very good skiers.

Others can try the long and sporty black Grevettaz run or go back down the red Tierces run, at the bottom of the chairlift of the same name or to the bottom of Nant Rouge to stay in this sector or on Signal to change sectors.

How do you ski in Les Contamines? — The area below the Aiguille Croche in the resort of Les Contamines Hauteluce

Skiing for everyone, but still very sporty at Les Contamines Hauteluce

The Contamines Hauteluce ski area consists of 120 kilometers of slopes, divided into 48 runs served by 25 ski lifts. Each area allows you to ski at your own pace and according to your abilities. Be careful, however, not to overestimate them, as there are some runs that could pose a challenge.

You can ski from the summit of the magnificent 1200 meter dropNeedle Hook to the bottom of the resort without taking a ski lift. It's quite enjoyable, because you also get to enjoy magnificent, very clear landscapes.

With the Beaufortain mountains in sight on the Hauteluce slope and those of Mont Blanc on the Contamines slope, there are plenty of great photos to be taken from the Contamines Hauteluce ski area!

Happy skiing!

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