Skiing things differently...

Setting off from Signal 1900 on the Roselette piste.

Between the Chamonix Valley and the Val d’Arly in the Haute-Savoie area of the French Alps. Unlike its near-neighbours Saint Gervais and Megève, Les Contamines takes no through-traffic, since the road stops at the far end of the valley. Road access from Saint Gervais is simple enough, however, with no arduous mountain climbs. The location is impressive visually, nearby Mont-Blanc providing visual drama, along with healthy snowfalls, while over in the next valley lies Hauteluce and the Beaufortain.

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There’s little hint of the variety on offer, including excellent terrain for experienced skiers and improving intermediates.

Two gondola lifts converge on Etape 1470, from which you either take an onward chairlift to ski a selection of tree-lined terrain (for competent skiers this means all the way down to the valley floor) or a gondola up to Signal 1900. Here you’ll find terrain for all abilities, debutantes included. Lovers of Blue-graded cruising have a good selection of quite long runs, including a couple of scenic swoops over into the Hauteluce sector.
It’s more competent skiers, though, who get to appreciate the full extent of just what Les Contamines offers. Red-grading tends to be more a reflection of gradient steepness than anything too daunting - and often you can change your mind along the way and switch to a Blue should you change your mind. For something altogether more testing, take the draglift up to Veleray 2450 for bracing drop down to 1577m on the Black-graded Rebans.

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It’s a real Alpine community in a dramatic setting and with a lot of history.

The old village has an appealing authentic feel, and still has a reassuringly down-to-earth skyline. Les Contamines-Montjoie has been welcoming visitors since the first hotel opened in 1900, and founded its Ski Club just eleven years later. Chalet style still rules, with larger apartment developments only really in evidence (conveniently) closer to the Montjoie gondola. There’s also limited on-mountain hotel accommodation at Etape 1470. Shuttle-buses around the valley are free.

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You’ll return a better skier, with a sense of having skied in the very heart of the Alps.

Confident skiers who value the purity of a back-to-nature mountain environment and a dramatic setting for their skiing experience. It’s friendly and although in the heart of Massif du Mont-Blanc, has a refreshingly tucked-away vibe. Which is why if you want to explore the full extent of the Evasion Mont-Blanc lift pass you'll have to consider transfers by road at the start and end of each day. But if you’re happy to stay put and explore the local terrain in depth then chances are you won’t be disappointed. And despite the image, the gentle beginner areas and choice of ski-schools (which offer English-speaking instructors) make learning here perfectly possible. And there’s lots of scope for improving intermediates...

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The weather forecast isn’t overly encouraging when we set off for Les Contamines, but we’ve heard so much about this place that we’re not going to pass up an opportunity to ski here at long last. The drive round from our base in Combloux proves to be pretty undramatic, unlike the scenery which greets us as we make our final climb to the village. We normal resist using words like ‘cute’ to describe ski villages but in this case there’s no escaping the fact that this is how it looks and feels at a first encounter. Judging by the beautifully-restored Baroque church rising from the skyline, it’s also very much a living and working mountain community with a lot of history. For now, though, we press on, driven by a desire to get up to the ski area and cram in what we can before a fast-approaching depression stops play.

The final approach to the Jonction two-way chairlift.

We have no problem at all parking at La Gorge, and are soon riding the gondola on a steep haul up through the forest to Etape 1470. From here we could take a Red-graded return run through the trees back to our starting-point, but instead transfer to a second gondola for a gentler ride up to Signal (1900m). With so far little more than a gentle breeze, we decide to ski down to pick up the Roselette chairlft for a look at the liaison with the Hauteluce sector. At the top it’s already feeling more unsettled, but the scenery falling away both ahead and behind us is simply amazing, so we decide to take the plunge and go for it on Choton, a steep but wide Blue cruise which takes us all the way down to La Ruelle (1600m).

The Beaufortain is spread before you as you enter the Hauteluce sector.

It’s literally a blast, thanks to having to ski against a strong headwind, so at the bottom we decide to take a chocolat-chaud break and make the most of the views. Once we’re suitably revived we snap back into our skis once again and schusse down to the Col chairlift. From here we have the option of continuing down to Belleville 1200 for a return gondola-ride, but decide instead to take the high-speed four-seater up to the Col du Joly. At the 2000m ridge the wind has risen still further, giving us a real sense of achievement for having made the return trip. Somehow we just know it must all be so different in fine weather, but sometimes the sense of adventure of skiing in less-than-perfect condition brings its own rewards. Today has already proved the point.

Deep beneath the snow lie hibernating marmots and the fertile Alpage pastures on which cattle still graze in summer.

As we drop back down from the Col visibility comes and goes, but so far hasn’t decided to clamp-down. Taking this as a good omen, we join the Jonction four-seater chairlift at its mid-point (the lift operates in both directions) for the first stage of a ride all the way up to Aiguille Croche, at 2487m the highest point in the ski area. The next is the four-seat high-speed Tierces lift, which, believe it or not, replaced an almost 2km-long haul by drag-lift (originally a T-bar). In 1995 the new lift opened this rewarding area up to intermediate skiers, along with the topmost terrain, served by a four-seat fixed chairlift.
At the top we get little more than fleeting glimpses of the vastness all around us, but it’s still hugely impressive – and becoming windier by the minute, so the nearby drag-lift up to the Black-only terrain below Veleray (2450m) is closed. In these conditions we’re hardly complaining, and set off on a long Red- and Blue-graded descent which eventually brings us right back to the Col lift mid-station. This time we join in the opposite direction and find ourselves heading calmly back up to Signal (1900m).

Between Aiguille Croche (2487m) and the Col du Joly (2000m).

At the top it’s sunny and feels a lot less exposed, but gusting winds have nevertheless closed the gondola, which runs along a ridge. Sadly we haven’t managed to take in the Gentianes piste, as we’d planned, to explore the gully between here and the Aiguille de Roselette, but on the gentle cruise back to Etape 1470 we know we’ve crammed a lot into a very unpromising day’s skiing.
During the gentle gondola ride back down to La Gorge our cheeks are burning and our hands tingling. But it’s as nothing compared to the highlights we replay in our minds – it all adds up to the kind of tantalizing glimpse into just what this place offers skiers with the desire and imagination to try something just a little away from the mainstream. One to which we’ll be returning, in fact.

© Roger Moss.

The Roselette chairlift providing access to the Hauteluce sector.