La Clusaz Ski Holidays

Why choose La Clusaz

La Clusaz is a perfect choice for skiers and snow boarders who prefer resort charm over altitude. Its 200km of piste both below and above the tree line offer plenty of options. Few other French ski resorts manage to retain the feel and charm of a proper mountain village that exudes the rustic feel of La Clusaz.

The resort has made huge investments in snow making and when you consider its height at 1100m with a ski range to 2500m it’s a wise choice as when the snow is poor La Clusaz can suffer but with most of the runs facing West or North the snow tends to hold up well when the sun is shinning. When conditions are good there is no better place if you prefer a real mountain base for your skiing or snowboarding holiday.

The ski area is spread over 5 linked sectors in the two separate resorts of La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand all covered under the same lift pass.

On the mountain the restaurants are both attractive and good value.

Skiing in La Clusaz

Beginners skiing

Both La Clusaz and La Gornand have great green runs and the whole area is regarded as a perfect choice for both beginners and intermediate skiers and snow boarders. Progression slopes are also plentiful with some excellent gentle blues, particularly above the Beauregard cable car. There are serveral nursery slopes just above La Clusaz for total beginners to learn on.

Intermediate skiing

La Clusaz is a perfect choice for all levels of intermediate. The more nervous will love the gentle runs from the top of Beauregard, where there is a network of gentle tree lined runs. It’s possible to cruise around for hours on gentle greens that link much better then in many other resorts. The braver skiers will prefer the long reds of the La Balme area.

Advanced skiing

Looking at the piste map, advanced skiers might think at first glance that there isn’t much to chose from, this is largely true if you are a piste skier, but off piste skiing is available in all the sectors and is all the more appealing as its ignored by 99% of the visitors so the snow holds well with so few skiers making tracks.

On piste there are a few runs you will want to tick off, we recommend the Black Vraille which heads towards to speed ski area and is seriously steep. There are also so good shady Blacks on the other side near Le Grande-Bornand.

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is popular in this area as both La Clusaz and Le Grande-Bornand have terrain parks. Beginners will enjoy learning on the nursery slopes which are served by chair lifts. There are a number of drag lifts but most can be avoided with planning.

Free Riders will prefer the runs around La Balme which offer a wonderful natural playground.

For experts it will be the off piste areas that will make your trip.

Après ski in La Clusaz

Once, La Clusaz was known as a sleepy French resort, but not any more! As the Brits moved in the resorts night life took on a new beat, particularly at weekends. We recommend the Caves du Paccally located in the centre offering live music nightly. The Pressoir is a sports bar showing sports videos. For dancing head to either the Ecluse Disco or Club 18 rocks which also has live music weekly.