Wide view of child skier with big mountain backdrop at Albiez-Montrond.

Albiez Montrond

Les Sybelles, French Alps

Close the Franco-Italian border, Albiez is reached via the Maurienne Valley. Nearby are Valloire, Valmeinier, Les Karellis, plus the six lift-linked ski villages of Les Sybelles.

North-east is Val Thorens in the 3 Valleys, so Albiez gets heavy snowfalls.

Surrounded by high peaks like les Aiguilles d’Arves, Albiez (a small farming community) sits on a plateau, with a nice sense of openness.

Wide view of family skiers from chair-lift, showing Albiez-Montrond ski terrain

The Ski Area

  • Amazing scenery.
  • Enjoyable intermediate runs.
  • Off-piste potential.

Although not lift-linked to the huge Les Sybelles ski area, knowing that an undemanding 20min drive from St-Jean d’Arves is all that separates the two might just encourage you to come and discover what Albiez has to offer. If so, you might be surprised.

The ski terrain sits among fantastic scenery and you’ll have plenty of time to appreciate it, thanks to a combination of fixed chairlifts (along with a few drag-lifts) and some surprisingly wide pistes. If you’ve been looking for somewhere in which to perfect your carving technique, you’ve just found it. The majority of the groomed runs are graded blue or red, with a couple of short-and-steep blacks plus a choice of three green-graded novice areas.

Not that it’s all tame, however – the off-piste potential includes a dedicated ‘Espace Rando’ area accessible from the Crête d l’Ane drag-lift and just below the 2470m Tête d’Albiez-le-Vieux. Tucked out of sight in the next valley lies the ski area of Les Karellis, to which Albiez might one day be linked if a longstanding plan finally becomes reality.

Resort Information

Altitude : 1500mm - 2060mm
Albiez
Pistes Total:
35 km
Bar chart showing percentages of ski piste difficulty
3 Green
13 Blue
8 Red
4 Black
Ski Resort Lifts : 12
1 Magic Carpets
7 Draglifts
4 Chairlifts
Les Sybelles
Pistes Total:
310 km
Bar chart showing percentages of ski piste difficulty
25 Green
56 Blue
34 Red
9 Black
Ski Domain Lifts: 73
26 Chairlifts

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Low view of village centre, with snow-covered mountainside

The Ski Village

  • Authentic mountain community.
  • Small and friendly.
  • Great for young children.

It’s the real thing. The cosy heart of Albiez-le-Vieux tells you instantly that you’ve arrived in an authentic mountain farming village, but a tourist office, a ski-hire shop and nearby lifts confirm that it’s also been welcoming skiers for many years – in fact, Albiez installed its first lift back in 1957.

The skyline here is as you’d expect, pleasingly traditional, but things haven’t stood still. There’s one of the friendliest and best-appointed child-care/kids’ club facilities we’ve seen. There’s also a range of quality apartment-style accommodation and services just beyond the 1638m Col du Mollard, which featured in the Tour de France 2015.

Mollard is the higher of the two centres, and if anything has an even more spectacular setting, although if you plan on using the child-care centre you’ll obviously need to use the free skiers’ shuttle buses which operate between the two centres.

Staying There

Value for Money Accommodation Dining Out Nightlife Village Charm

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Skie instructor on mountainside with group of young skiers

Why go skiing in Albiez ?

A combination of exceptional value for money and a friendly, unpressured environment mean that the most immediately-obvious appeal is to young families. However, the local ski terrain is also perfect for intermediate skiers who just want to cruise on wide, well-groomed pistes while enjoying some of the most dazzling mountain scenery you’ll find anywhere.
That said, there’s also some surprisingly good off-piste potential here, too – while just 20min or so down the road lie some 310km of groomed terrain in the excellent and currently underrated Les Sybelles ski area.
Finally, there’s accessible terrain for anyone who feels like trying cross-country skiing.

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Skiing There

Beginners / Families Intermediates Advanced / Expert Mountain Scenery

Snowboarding

Two areas with a boarder cross and Fun Zone
1 Snowparks
1 Snowboarder Cross


Cross-Country Skiing

Free access to 4 different sectors, guided outings possible.
20km Cross-Country and Nordic Ski Trails

Handiski...

  • 50% off your ski pass including part day tariffs on presentation of a valid invalidity card.

icon-smileyYes please...

  • Friendly, welcoming village with lots of traditional charm
  • Lift pass offers outstanding value skiing
  • Truly spectacular mountain scenery
  • Option of skiing in nearby Les Sybelles

icon-frowneyYes but...

  • You won’t come here if you’re a party animal
  • Not one for high-mileage skiers (but Les Sybelles are nearby)
  • Tortuous access roads need care on snowy changeover days

icon-winkingOur Tips

  • Be aware that our heart ratings take account of the off-piste potential and the option to add mileage by visiting Les Sybelles
  • Adopt a small-is-beautiful attitude, relax and enjoy the exceptional scenery

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Practical Information

Residence les Chalets du Hameau des Aiguilles

Located 250m from the ski lifts/slopes and 200m from the nearest shops, the residence is made up of recent and spacious apartments, distributed in 24 chalets like a mountain hamlet and able to accommodate 2 to 10 people. Built in natural materials, they respect the charm and authenticity of the local architecture.

More info: maeva.com