The ski slopes of Flaine and the Grand Massif

I skied in Flaine in the Grand Massif area! Very good slopes and great scenery!

The station Flaine in Haute-Savoie is located between the Arve valley, a river which descends straight from the Mont Blanc massif, and the Giffre Valley wilder, whose course is fed by the countless waterfalls of the Cirque du Fer à Cheval. Not far from the Cluses TGV station, Flaine is renowned for its architecture a little special, its cultural life and its snow cover. At 1600 meters above sea level, nestled in a small hanging valley, surrounded by forests, Flaine is abundantly watered with snowfall throughout the winter which ensures the optimal functioning of its ski area. Let's go and visit the Flaine ski area.

Flaine ski resort

The ski resort of Flaine was designed in the late 60s like most modern French resorts. Its development follows the development of its ski area which, from the initial mountain pasture, aims to conquer the heights surrounding the resort.

This is a modern station which is accessed by a mountain road. This leaves the Arve valley shortly after the Cluses pass, reaches the village of Arêches-la-Frasse and its Carroz resort before tackling the few bends of the Pierre Carrée pass at 1844 meters and descending to Flaine.

From the first bends of the descent of the pass, we come across countless districts of modern residences, but it is only on approaching Flaine-Forêt that we discover the famous architecture of Flaine in the middle of the snowy forest.

It is Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer who was responsible for the architectural design of the station. Known at the time for having designed large buildings such as the UNESCO Palace in Paris, or the Whitney Museum in New York, it is therefore a leading figure in 20th century world architecture who will leave his mark here.

The result is a set of lines of buildings, all facing the same direction, arranged on three levels so that each building does not see its neighbor on the side or its neighbor on another level. The forest hides the whole. The concrete color, rather raw and gray, contrasts in summer with the green of the forest and the mountain pastures, but in winter it blends into the patchwork of white and dark formed by the snowy forest and the slopes of the ski slopes.

We like it, we don't like it, but it is a significant architectural heritage that we discover at Flaine. Two buildings (the Flaine Hotel and the Betelgeuse building are classified as historical monuments, just like the chapel). Then finally, we mainly come to Flaine to ski!

So, we move from one district to another by changing levels. Flaine Forest, Flaine Forum et Flaine Snow Front occupy floors between 1700m and 1500m above sea level. The center is the Forum at 1600 meters. Two public elevators connect Flaine Forum to Flaine Forêt.

On the other hand, to go to Flaine Front de Neige at the bottom of the resort, you have to walk or take a shuttle. Just like to go to Flaine Les Gérats and the Hameaux de Flaine at 1800 meters near the pass.

All neighborhoods have at least one end that is close to the ski slopes.

Restaurants and shops are located at the foot of the buildings. You can get around Flaine without a car, which makes it a pleasant destination for families.

Skiing in Flaine from other resorts in the Grand Massif area

Si Flaine is more or less in the middle of the massif, the other resorts are on its periphery. To the north, the Grand Massif is bordered by the Giffre valley. Morillon and Samoëns are the two main villages in this part of the valley.

Cable cars leaving from the outskirts of the two villages provide easy access to the slopes of the ski area.

Morillon is a small village on the left bank of the Giffre, the one in the shade. An old and typical village of Haute-Savoie, it is located at an altitude of 680 meters. This is unfortunately a fairly low altitude in the context of global warming that we are experiencing, and the snow comes to whiten the roofs and meadows sporadically. Rather in the shade, in winter, the snow can still stay on the ground and give this white atmosphere often sought during ski holidays in the Alps.

In the hamlet of Esserts, at an altitude of 1100 meters, we find the small resort of Morillon 1100. This one, directly on the slopes of the area allows you to quickly enjoy the ski slopes at a correct altitude. Morillon, the village, and the Esserts resort (Morillon 1100 meters) are connected by a gondola that operates during the opening hours of the area. The Morillon 1100 resort is one of those resorts that have tried to give the architecture a mountain look by covering the concrete with wood. The atmosphere is pleasant. And you can quickly reach the heart of the ski area and do some skiing in Flaine as well!

Samoens is a bit like the historical capital of the upper Giffre valley. In the centre of the village you will find old stone and wooden houses, a pretty little church, narrow streets and a real village atmosphere. A small museum traces the history of Marie-Louise Jaÿ, founder with her husband Ernest Cognacq of the Parisian store "La Samaritaine". Having left Samoëns with nothing and nothing, through hard work and good decisions she made her fortune. She used to donate part of her earnings to charity and that is how she created the botanical garden Jaysinia in Samoëns which is home to more than 5000 alpine plants.

On the outskirts, homes have multiplied, as well as luxurious hotels, all the way to the district at the foot of the Grand Massif, where a cable car takes skiers to the slopes.

The atmosphere in Samoëns is very pleasant, but the low altitude, just over 700 metres and the good sunshine (the village is on the right bank of the Giffre) mean that the snow does not last long in the valley around the old village.

The gondola that takes skiers to the annex Samoens 1600 provides a convenient link to the rest of the ski area, making it easy to ski in Flaine. The gondola opening hours are aligned with those of the ski area.

On the other side of the Grand Massif, on the Arve Valley side, the sunny balcony of the Carroz d'Araches is home to a village resort located at an altitude of 1100 metres, from the outskirts of which a cable car connects it to the ski area. Easy to access, a few kilometres from Cluses and its TGV, Les Carroz stands out for its chalets and alpine architecture surrounded by forests. The southern exposure sometimes compromises snow cover in the village, but the cable car connection ensures skiability during the season. In any case, access to the Flaine ski slopes is quick.

In the Grand Massif area, we therefore have a modern resort, Flaine, and three villages, Samoëns, Morillon and Les Carroz. There are also car parks on the road that goes up to Flaine from which you have access to the Flaine ski area, such as Les Molliets at 1500 metres or Le Vernant at 1700 metres.

Skiing in Flaine and the Grand Massif.

The geographical position of the Grand Massif, just before the Mont Blanc massif on the trajectory of Atlantic disturbances, means that the snow cover is excellent at altitude. It is often at its peak in spring, when it is not uncommon to measure four metres of snow on the ground at the top of the slopes.

Whether you come from Les Carroz or the Giffre valley, the first instinct will be to climb to the top of the area and ski around Flaine.

From Le Carroz, we will take the Kedeuze cable car, before going back down into the Molliets valley to then go up by chairlift to the Tête des Saix.

We also reach the Tête des Saix, a little higher, by the Samoëns side, directly from Samoëns 1600 by Chariande Express. On the other hand, from Morillon 1100 you will first warm up by going back down from the top of the Sairon chairlift to the base of the Coulouvrier chairlift. A nice descent in the middle of the forest, in the morning shade, which can be done on a red or blue route.

From the Tête des Saix, you can continue skiing on the slopes above the starting villages, but above all you can enter the Flaine ski area.

You then have to go back down a little by a short blue slope, before using the Vernant chairlift which takes you to the top of the Grand Vans at 2204 meters above sea level. From up there, everything is possible.

What you need to understand about the Flaine area is that all the slopes that come down from the peaks (Grands Vans, Grandes Platières and Tête des Lindars) surrounding the resort always come back down to the resort. No risk of taking the wrong direction. There is only one exception and I will talk about it later.

Since the Large Platières and Big Vans, it is the area of ​​large blue or red boulevards, sunny and pleasant to ski in all conditions.

On the other hand, between the Grandes Platières and the Tête des Lindars, the slopes, more in the shade, tend towards a dominant red, even dark red. More sporty, this sector of the area will delight the more sporty and experienced skiers. Others will rather wander around the Grands Vans and the rest of the area.

I have a comment to make about the bottom of the ski slopes upon arrival in Flaine. They are very busy and often become very rough or even slippery at the end of the day. Beware of returns.

I now come to the exception that I mentioned above: from the Grandes Platières, if the conditions are good you can take a very long track of 14 km, the Cascades trail. It’s a blue one that goes back down towards Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval.

It is very beautiful and allows you to have beautiful views of the site of this small village of Haut Giffre, but the only way to return afterwards is to take the shuttle which will take you to Samoëns. I see it more as a pleasant way to go back down to Sixt for skiers staying in this village, who left in the morning from Samoëns, as a destination to aim for when skiing in the area. So be careful, because once you're committed, you can't go back.

For fans of black runs, the Combe de Gers, the Diamant Noir and Agate runs in the Lindars sector await you!

As for Samoens, the Corne track is a fairly steep black track in the forest. Often there is black ice to make it even more challenging.

All the slopes between Samoëns 1600 and Tête des Saix are pleasant to ski in the middle of the day when there is a greater hope of seeing the sun. The last returns on the Perce-Neige slope which leads back to Morillon or Les Carroz are complicated because the slope is often very damaged at the top. There are many beginners who move the snow by braking with their skis; this forms bumps and areas with snow which is less pleasant to ski.

Finally, the real pleasure of periodically reaching, after each lift, the high points of the Flaine ski area, comes from the encounter that one has there with Mont Blanc. The view of the Mont Blanc massif is extraordinary, especially from the Grandes Platières.

You can also enjoy it via this Webcam: click here

The Flaine ski area represents half of the ski area of Grand Massif. This allows you to ski on 265 kilometers of slopes served by 62 ski lifts from which you will descend towards 139 slopes. All on a very well-snowed area between 1600 and 2500 meters with a breathtaking 360-degree landscape over the whole of Haute-Savoie, from Chablais to the Aravis and from Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc.

Happy skiing in Flaine and the Grand Massif!

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