SAMOËNS COMBINES PREMIUM SKIING with high quality accommodation for a discerning clientèle who appreciate the ambience of a traditional mountain village. Being a living, year round working community, though, means it has its feet on the ground, with no sense of exclusivity, and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming.
A one-hour transfer from Geneva airport (and one of the easier drives to the Alps from the UK) makes the Grand Massif a popular choice with British skiers. The skiing is varied, with something for just about everyone, including the mile-hungry.
There’ s also extensive cross-country terrain, plus dog-sledding and guided snow-shoeing (including evening treks to a mountain chalet for a traditional Savoyard meal).

Night was falling fast as we peeled off the autoroute from Geneva and began the winding final ascent towards Samoëns. When we reached the valley temperatures were plummeting. Then, through the gathering gloom, we glimpsed snow-covered forests, a clear sing of recent heavy falls. We couldn’t have been happier. 

When we reached the hotel our hosts confirmed that snow conditions were just perfect, and set to remain so. Sure enough, the next morning provided all the confirmation we needed, and revealed for the first time the dramatic setting of the village. Breakfast at the Neige et Roc proved to be an attraction in itself, enjoyed in the company of fellow guests attired for a whole catalogue of outdoor winter activities (the athletic-looking couples are invariably the cross-country skiing fans) and like us, torn between the snug pleasures of chalet hospitality and the urgent call of the mountains.

The mountains always win, of course, so we packed our skis and headed off to board the Grand Massif Express gondola for the smooth, near-vertical haul up to Samoëns 1600. Minutes later we were stepping from the coccooning microclimate of our cabin into the dessicating chill of a sunlit snowscape, before snapping into our bindings for an exhilarating glide down to the first of the series of onward chairlifts and blue-graded cruises which would take us towards Flaine. The route was hypnotic, climbing first through fairytale forests before bursting dramatically from the treeline to reveal the vastness of the ski terrain before us.

Skiing around it, on long scenic blues and reds, confirmed all we’d heard about the Grand Massif, particularly the snow quality. Then, as we swooped down through the tree-line once again, we saw it. Coming towards us like a slow zoom was the unmistakable outline of Flaine Forum, the still-contentious village created by Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer.

After a welcome lunch break we took the gondola up to the Grand Platières (2480m), the highest point in the Massif and gateway to the famous Cascades piste. The 14km blue run (the longest in Europe) drops an equally remarkable 1800m, most of them gently, until the final steep winding descent beside the frozen waterfalls after which it is named. At the bottom we found ourselves in Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, where we refuelled on chocolat-chaud before boarding a shuttle bus back to Samoëns.

Only our legs knew just how far we’d actually travelled, and it was a long way. More than we'd thought possible, in fact. Somehow, though, we couldn't resist a walk around the village, just to be part of the spirit of the place. Later, as we relaxed around a crackling log fire and reflected on our first experiences here, we just knew that we’d found somewhere to which we’d be returning, with or without an excuse.

© Roger Moss