Ski Schools Châtel (18 offers)

Learn to ski in Châtel

Located south of Lake Geneva within the French Haute-Savoie department, the ski resort of Châtel is reached in just over an hour from Geneva airport. Châtel is surrounded by two mountain ranges; the Dents du Midi in Switzerland and Les Dents Blanches, which extends over both the Swiss and French borders.

Châtel has two sectors of pistes and shares its slopes with Avoriaz on the French side, and the Swiss resorts of Morgins & Torgon. The two sectors are connected by the Gabelou and Portes du Soleil lifts and offer a total of 45 slopes at altitudes between 1100m - 2200m.

All 4 resorts are part of the expansive Portes du Soleil region: The Portes du Soleil offers a total of 286 pistes and extends over 12 resorts within France and Switzerland, from the Mont Blanc to Lake Geneva.

Ski lessons for beginners in Châtel

With 9 green and 15 blue runs directly within the resort of Châtel plus a total of 222 blue runs within the Portes du Soleil region, there are plenty of pistes for novice skiers.

Ski schools in Châtel offer lessons from age 4yrs. The meeting place is at the meeting point by the “Pierre Longue” gondola in Pré la Joux, which is on the Avoriaz side of the resort. Here, there are numerous green runs that are ideal for beginners learning their first skiing moves, the snowplough and glide.

Once the basics have been well-established, the ski schools in Châtel progress to the blue runs accessed by the Pre-La-Joux lift. The focus of the lessons now shifts to improving technique and introducing parallel skiing.

Ski novices looking for a change of scenery to practice after lessons, can head back to Châtel: The Super Chatel lift accesses several green and blue runs directly from the village.

Kids’ ski lessons in Châtel

Ski schools in Châtel offer lessons to kids aged 4yrs and above. Lessons for little skiers aged 4-5yrs are held in small groups of 3-6 participants. Kids aged 6yrs+ are arranged in groups according to their experience, these groups having no more than 9 skiers.

First-time skiers start with learning the basics of the snowplough and glide whilst familiarising themselves with their equipment. Once the ski novices are secure with their snowplough and glide moves, the ski schools in Châtel move lessons on slopes with more of an incline; these can be green or easy blues.

Kids who have skied before, or those who have skied several times already are taken directly to more advanced blue or red slopes within the resort. The lessons now centre on improving technique and introducing parallel skiing & carving.

Snowboard lessons in Châtel

Ski schools in Châtel offer snowboard lessons from age 10yrs. Lessons are held in small groups of 4-8 boarders, the groups being arranged according to the ability level. As with ski lessons, the first lessons focus on the boarder adapting to the equipment. Gliding is learned and gentle curves are introduced.

Snowboard lessons for beginners are also held on the flattest slopes within the resort. The ski schools in Châtel take more experienced riders directly to blue or red pistes that suit their ability. Advanced boarders are taken further afield, to explore the extensive pistes of the Portes du Soleil area.

Châtel ski pass

Châtel offers two ski passes: The Châtel Liberté ski pass offers 82 slopes and 130km of skiing. The pass covers all of Châtel, La Chapelle d'Abondance, Torgon and the Corbeau sector of Morgins (both Switzerland).

The Portes du Soleil ski pass covers the entire Portes du Soleil ski area: 306 slopes, 195 lifts and 600km of pistes.

Prices for both passes vary according to the skier’s age and the length of stay. The ski schools in Châtel will be happy to provide further details regarding the best pass for the skiing ability.

Ski lesson prices in Châtel

Ski schools in Châtel offer group and private ski and snowboard lessons. The prices quoted are the lowest price per lesson within the season, not including equipment:

	Kids ski lessons	Adults ski lessons	Snowboard lessons
Group	from 28€/2hrs	from 28€/2hrs	from 30€/2hrs
Private	from 50€/hr	from 50€/hr	from 50€/hr

The best ski schools in Châtel

ESI Pro Skiing Chatel

Founded in 1977, the ESI team offers group and private ski and snowboarding lessons in Châtel, in English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, German & Russian.

Meeting point: At the ski school’s meeting point next to the "Pierre Longue" gondola.

CheckYeti customers reviews: value for money, kids friendly, patient

What makes ski lessons in Châtel special

Intrepid snow fans head up the Rochassons chairlift at Pré la Joux to access the 1,200m-long Fantasticable zip-wire and fly at speeds of up to 100km/h over the village of Plaine-Dranse. Having reached the bottom, skiers and riders can snap on their skis or boards and glide the rest of the way down back into the village.

For two hours every Thursday evening, the Linga stadium piste becomes a sound and light spectacle for those who want to enjoy skiing in the moonlight.