Winter & Ski Home Ski Resort Reviews Alps Le Grand Bornand

Quintessentially Savoyard...

Morning on the Red-graded Le Fenil piste below the Col des Annes.

In the Haute-Savoie area of the French Alps, a short drive from the lakeside town of Annecy, lie the unspoilt mountains and valleys of the Massif des Aravis, spiritual home of the celebrated Reblochon cheese. A combination of relaxed family skiing and solid value have made it deservedly popular with day visitors from nearby Geneva, while quick flight transfers and easy road access attract increasing numbers of skiers from the UK. Although in absolute terms altitudes are modest, the location has continued to produce abundant snowfalls in recent years.

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Children’s ski-school groups have plenty of terrain in which to build confidence.

Despite the name, the most extensive (and most varied) terrain actually lies on the slopes above Le Chinaillon, directly accessible from the village via the new 6-seater high-speed La Floria ski-lift, or a selection of alternative chairlifts strung along the valley. Those based in Le Grand Bornand village have a choice of two gondolas, the longer of which (Le Rosay) reaches beyond the gentler, lower terrain and drops skiers at the foot of onward lifts serving the steeper stuff. The high-point is Mont Lachat (2100m), which has a dedicated freeride area. Further on, at the far end of the Vallée du Maroly, there’s a real sense of remoteness on offer (plus a large snowpark) below the Col des Annes and at the Tête des Annes (1869m). From here you start to appreciate that the terrain is much more extensive than it looks on paper. Closer to home, there are reassuringly gentle novice areas just above Le Chinaillon and at the top of the La Joyère gondola, for those based in Le Grand Bornand village.

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Le Chinaillon village awakes after fresh snowfalls.

Skiers here have not one but two villages from which to select their base: Le Grand Bornand and its slightly higher neighbour in the next valley, Le Chinaillon. Perhaps surprisingly, each has a genuinely traditional feel, although Le Grand Bornand village has a greater sense of being in the heart of things. Both are year-round working communities, so feel alive and welcoming throughout the seasons. The architectural style leans towards individual traditional chalets, and looks set to remain so, if sympathetically-styled large-scale apartment developments like the Village de Lessy are anything to go by.

Connecting the two villages are frequent shuttle bus services used by skiers and residents alike.

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The six-seater high-speed Floria lift offers quick access to the heart of the ski area.

It would be hard to imagine a more relaxed and traditional setting in which to ski, and the ease of accessibilty is another plus factor for skiers from the UK. Generations of French and Swiss families, too, continue to return to enjoy the place in which they learned to ski, and you can see why. The terrain accommodates just about everyone, from first-timers up to freeriders and freestyle skiers, while the Famille Plus label underlines a continuing commitment to family skiers. If there's a limitation then it has to be in the mile-hungry intermediate sector - but add nearby La Clusaz (included on the Aravis lift-pass) and everyone should be happy.

It’s been far too long since we were last here in winter, and as we roll into Le Chinaillon at nightfall the heart of the village is covered by a thick blanket of fresh snow. It’s already good to be back. There are further overnight falls, and next morning we awake to find snow-ploughs hard at work keeping things moving, and piste-groomers, heading back after what was clearly a long night. As the last snowflakes swirl and sting in the breeze we walk down to the La Floria chair-lift and are soon heading up to a distinctly chilly 1800m. But when we get there the sun is hanging in a crystal clear sky, encouraging us to set our sights on the furthest point we can see: the 1869m Tête des Annes.

The mountains also offer more demanding terrain for experienced skiers.

Things warm up rapidly on the first run of the day, the long, Red-graded Combe de la Tolar dropping away steeply towards the base of the next lift: Les Terres Rouges. This time it’s a slower haul, giving us time to get our bearings and watch the first of the day’s freestylers making exploratory runs over the humps in the snow-park. At the top we set off past the aptly-named Panorama mountain restaurant on the Blue-graded Les Rhodos, over to join the Almet drag-lift for the long, near-silent haul towards the Col des Annes. It's a simple enough lift, which drops us at the start of Le Fenil, a bracing Red run which feeds into the lower reaches of Blue-graded cruise down from our target: the Tête des Annes.

You can get away from it all above the Vallée du Maroly.

Getting there is an entertaining affair, courtesy of the Les Annes chairlift, whose relaxed progress takes us through pine forest and into the wide open spaces falling away on either side of the ridge which leads to the 1869m summit.
By now the villages seem a very long way away, and the ski area has taken on a new, much larger dimension than we remembered from first time around, when we hadn't made it quite this far. The view from the top makes it all worthwhile, as a vast snowy landscape floats high above the dense mists cloaking the distant valley floors; today, as usual, the skiers are getting the better deal.

The Col des Annes piste – a classic scenic cruise.

The descent on the Blue-graded Col des Annes qualifies as a classic scenic cruise, and takes us past traditional alpage farmsteads and a small, remote stone chapel. Moments like this sum up the spirit of skiing in the Massif des Aravis.
After a welcome lunch break back at the Chalet du Maroly we take the La Tolar chairlift over to our starting-point. From here we pick up the Red-graded Les Lanches piste, working our way towards the novice area at the summits of the gondolas from Le Grand Bornand village. When we get there the only run which would normally take us down – the Red-graded l’ Envers piste – is closed, so we forego the alternative of a gondola ride and instead spend some more time getting better acquainted with the areas below Mont Lachat and the Roc des Arces. L’Abondance is a popular Blue piste (whose lower reaches are equipped with floodlighting) which drops neatly down to the foot of the Les Gettiers chairlift, with the option of peeling off where it’s joined by the Red-graded Les Gentianes for the final run down to the La Floria six-seater. Take it and you can pick up the full length of Les Gentianes or, if you have energy to burn, test your stamina on the moguls of the steep and generally-ungroomed Les Dames Red down to the Maroly sector. Alternatively, running alongside is the Black-graded Couloir de la Sonnerie – after which you might welcome Le Lac, a gentle Green-graded return run through the trees.

High above the mists cloaking the distant valley floors.

The following morning finds more fresh snow, so before we ski we make the most of the chocolate-box setting by walking over to Vieux Chinaillon, the very oldest part of the village. It’s time well-spent, looking and feeling like the quintessential Alpine community you always pictured, but never thought you’d find. But this is the real thing, and like skiing around the local mountains and valleys, it’s a revelation for anyone more accustomed to modern, purpose-built ski areas.

© Roger Moss 2010

Early morning walkers explore Le Vieux Chinaillon.