Winter & Ski Home Ski Resort Reviews Alps Combloux

Taking scenic skiing to another level...

ESF instructor and young skiers at Le Christomet (1853m).

In the Haute-Savoie area of the French Alps between the Chamonix Valley and the Val d’Arly. To the north lies the Massif des Aravis, while just across the valley is Megève. Transfers, via Sallanches from flights into Geneva, are easy and there’s good road access both from here and from Albertville. Although the busy route passes through the centre of Combloux, the ski area and most of the accommodation lie hidden from view further up the mountain, where they remain relatively undiscovered by those focused on big-name areas elsewhere. We think there’s something of the wild spirit of Canadian skiing in the forested areas over towards La Giettaz...

The Red-graded Nouvée piste above the Le Giettaz sector.

The skiing on this side of the valley is covered by the Portes du Mont-Blanc lift pass, and covers the linked terrain of Combloux, Cordon and La Giettaz. Pay extra for the full Evasion Mont-Blanc lift pass and you can also explore all that Megève, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Nicolas de Véroce and Les Contamines-Montjoie (the latter accessible by car or shuttle bus) have to offer. Convenient hands-free passes are well worth the small refundable deposit. It adds up to a lot of skiing, but even the local terrain is surprisingly extensive – and you won't ski anywhere prettier. Highlights include long descents through the forest into La Giettaz and wide cruises against the dramatic and unmistakable backdrop of Mont-Blanc. You’ll remember this place.

Combloux’s distinctive ‘onion’ spire rises from the heart of the historic village.

The heart of old Combloux is a genuine Savoyard mountain village, and still retains many historic features, including a distinctive onion-spired church complete with a jewel-box interior. Less immediately obvious is a preserved farmhouse which offers a time-capsule insight into mountain life in past times. Nearby are boutiques, bars and a useful range of services. The ski area, though, is considerably higher up the mountain, and served by regular shuttle buses, which pass other visitor accommodation en-route. Once up there, things are much more limited, but the vibe is both friendly and welcoming.

Two adaptive skiers survey progress in the morning’s ESF ski-class.

Skiing on this side of the valley is a back-to-nature affair, and takes some beating for anyone looking for an unspoilt natural setting. There’s also gentle, reassuring terrain for beginners, and key pistes are both wide and well-groomed. More experienced intermediates, too, will find some surprisingly long descents, including some steeps. Although we didn’t encounter too many snowboarders during our visit, it’s no reflection on the lift system, which is for the most part modern and efficient, with relatively few drag-lifts. Disabled skiers are also particularly well catered-for in Combloux, which is a popular centre for adaptive skiing.

After a spell of exceptionally mild late-season weather we don’t have high expectations for our visit to Combloux. How wrong could we be? Against all the odds, this modest-sounding resort delivers the kind of skiing experience which surprises us, prompting us to add a new star-rating category (for Mountain Scenery) to our resort reviews.

Skiers from Megève have access to skiing here (and several good return pistes) via the Jaillet gondola lift, which tops off at almost 1580m. Our day, though, begins at La Cry, which even at 1183m still has sufficient snow-cover to allow us to take the short Garrettes drag-lift to join those skiers electing to park higher up for direct access to the Beauregard 4-seat high-speed chairlift. The ensuing long ride, through the forest echoing with birdsong, sharpens the senses and hints at what is to come. As soon as we’re back on the snow we point our skis down the Blue-graded Papa piste to pick up the Pertuis chair-lift.

The lift system has benefitted from sustained heavy investment in recent years.

The high-speed 6-seater hauls us smoothly up to 1755m, where the views across to Mont-Blanc are already spectacular. It’s also the point of departure for the exhilarating Red-graded Jorace piste, but we decide to save this for the following day and instead work our way over to La Giettaz. This means taking the gently-meandering Bel Ava Blue piste which brings us to the 6-seat Christomet high-speed chairlift for another scenic haul, this time to the 1855m summit of Le Christomet. Once again the panoramic views are mesmerising, and the ski area is starting to feel much more extensive than we ever imagined. Underlining this is the long onward Blue-graded cruise on the Tréffléannaise piste, which takes us 5km down through tracts of unspoilt forest as if we were ski-touring.

Part of the 5km-long scenic cruise down into Le Plan 1200.

Eventually the villages Covagne and Le Plan 1200 come into view, and show us just why La Giettaz sector appeals to away-from-it-all fans who believe that where skiing is concerned, small really is beautiful.

The long haul out, currently via the 4-seat Torraz chairlift, is set to become much faster when this old fixed lift is replaced (completion is scheduled in time for the 2010/11 season). As it is, the views from the 1930m summit more than repay the climb, and we tackle the return run to Le Christomet along the Blue-graded Contreverse piste (including the very gentlest of hauls on the near-horizontal Charmots drag-lift) in high spirits. The onward Blue-graded cruise on Chevreuil, followed by a run down through the tree-line on the Bouquetins Red brings us to the Coeur d’Or mountain restaurant.

More scenic cruising on the Blue-graded Controverse, with Mont-Blanc for company.

After the definitive relaxed lunch-break we launch ourselves back down towards the Pertuis lift, at the top of which are a couple of nearby Reds (Jorace and Porrez) served by the Jouty chairlift. Although the afternoon sun is softening things,these North-facing pistes hold up well, unlike the lower sections of the return runs back to our starting-point at La Cry. But it’s skiable, and rounds off a day on the kind of high-note which inspires us to come back for more the following morning, before heading over, as planned, to explore the Saint-Gervais sector.

Make no mistake; Combloux is an absolute charmer, and well worth exploring in depth before looking elsewhere. Definitely one to be filed under ‘Favourites’...

© Roger Moss