Beginners who want to learn to ski in Les Gets have the great opportunity of spending their holiday in a French resort with a large number of easy slopes.
More experienced skiers who come to Les Gets are able to explore the largest ski area in Europe, the Portes du Soleil, with a single ski pass. Les Gets is a ‘Famille Plus’ village, meaning its facilities, particularly those for children, have been rated outstanding. The resort has a full programme of events all through winter and especially Christmas in Les Gets is absolutely magical.
In this article, you will find everything you need to know about the ski resort of Les Gets, its ski schools and the various activities that can be done there.
The location:
Situated at 1200m in the Haute-Savoie department of south-eastern France, Les Gets is an hour’s drive from Geneva airport, with convenient bus and train transfers directly from the airport. The resort has a charmingly French and very family-oriented feel, with traditional shops and pretty wooden chalet buildings.
Together with its neighbouring resort of Morzine, Les Gets has 110km of slopes and 52 lifts. With 44% of the runs being classified as easy, ski schools in Les Gets have plenty of choice for their beginners’ lessons.
Les Gets is located south of 3 very beautiful ski resorts that are suitable for beginners: Morzine, Avoriaz and Châtel. Together with Morzine and Châtel, Les Gets is recognized as a family-friendly ski resort, while Avoriaz offers, in addition to a variety of ski schools with courses for all levels, a lot of freestyle fun.
Les Gets has two skiing areas – Les Chavannes, which is linked to the Portes du Soleil and shares pistes with Morzine and the Mont-Chéry, where you get an exceptional view of the Mont Blanc Massif. The Portes du Soleil area encompasses 12 resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It has 650km of pistes at all levels and around 200 ski lifts.
The best slopes to learn to ski in Les Gets:
The slopes around the Chavannes lift area are suitable for absolute beginners. Here, you can safely make your first attempts on skis because the inclination of the slopes is very moderate and there is enough space for everyone. Once the first technical elements have been well-established, beginners advance to some of the easier slopes on the surrounding mountains.
The most famous green slope in Les Gets is the 1km long Piste 64, which is accessed by the Mouille au Roi chairlift. The 64 is a very popular slope and was named after the year in which there was no snow in the resort.
The Bleuets run, accessed from the Chavannes Express, is a run that is ideal for skiing beginners who are ready to progress onto the next level. The piste is almost 2km long and descends through the forest, back down into Chavannes.
Learn to ski in Les Gets:
Ski School 360 Les Gets, the ski school recommended by CheckYeti to learn to ski in Les Gets, has 20 years of experience. The school offers small group courses which focus on individual attention. Lessons are held in English and French. The Meeting point is at the bottom of the “Chavannes Express” chairlift, right next to the departure station and opposite the school.
Group courses for children:
Children aged 4yrs and above can learn to ski in Les Gets. Lessons last for 2-2,5hrs per day and start at the snow-sure Mappys area, around the Chavannes lift.
Mappys is a quiet and secure area with two magic carpets, a snow cable and a rope tow, plus 4 gentle slopes. Here, first-timers draw their first tracks in the snow by learning how to glide and to snowplough, before moving on to slightly more challenging slopes within the resort.
The Chavannes area is the main destination for lessons. The area has a total of 13 green, blue, plus one red slope, all of which are covered by the “P’tite Glisse” beginners’ ski pass and which are perfect for those who want to learn to ski in Les Gets. Moreover, young intermediate skiers will find plenty of excellent red runs in the vicinity. Particularly the reds in the Chavannes area, which are higher up the mountain towards the Le Ranfoilly at 1800m, are highly recommended.
Les Gets ski pass
The Les Gets – Morzine lift pass provides access to 48 ski lifts and 120 kilometers of slopes at all levels. The price is dependent on length of stay, season and age.
Beginners are advised to go with the “P’tite Glisse” skipass, which allows them to access a total of 13 slopes within the Chavannes area: The green slopes at the Mappys zone, Piste 64, Indiens, the Territoire du Grand Cry and the Mauve, As well as the blue runs Fougère, Bleuet, Gentiane, Bruyère and Vieux Chêne, and the Orchis red run.
What to do in Les Gets
Besides learning to ski in Les Gets, you can also enjoy a wide range of other fun activities during your winter holiday in the French Alps.
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- Alta Lumina: Alta Lumina is a night show in which an itinerant musician guides the group of visitors through an artistically illuminated path. The atmosphere is like in a fairy-tale and the musician will get on a hot-air balloon to guide the group through the mountain path from above, an experience full of emotions and surprises. Thanks to the dancing lights and special effects, spectators really “see” the music. The show takes place every Friday and Saturday throughout the year and for two consecutive weeks during the autumn break.
- Grand Cry Territory: The whole family will have their fun at the Grand Cry Territory, with its trappers cabin, mini farm and native Indian-themed run, which winds its way through the forest and has various exciting sections including tunnels and easy obstacles, plus lots of fun photo opportunities.
- Ice skating: In Les Gets, you will find an ice rink right in the centre of the village – a picturesque setting for some skating fun.
- Visit the nearby ski areas: Portes du Soleil encompasses 12 ski resorts that are all well connected and worth visiting between lessons. In each town, you can try a new activity. For example, in Morzine, you can go snow tubing, in Avoriaz, you can go husky sledding, or in Châtel, you can try the “Fantasticable” Zipline.
Born in South Tyrol, I love mountains and nature in general. Whether it’s 30 degrees or -10 degrees, my motto is “always find new challenges and new emotions in the nature”.
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