Free ride skiing in Les Gets – the best off piste adventures

World-renowned skiing resorts such as Verbier, Tignes, Nesiko, and Chamonix are often the first to come to mind for extreme skiing aficionados. However, for those who seek a combination of thrill, affordability, and a more intimate ski experience, Les Gets in France is an unmissable destination. 

Why Choose Les Gets Over More Popular Skiing Resorts? 

• Safety and Visibility: Resorts like Tignes might offer massive powder dumps due to their high altitudes, but they often come with the risks of storms, high winds, and whiteout conditions. In contrast, Les Gets, with its tree-line skiing, ensures clouds don't obscure your vision, always promising better visibility.
  
  
• Guaranteed Snow: Les Gets takes pride in consistently offering snow-covered terrains throughout the season. Combined with its amazing sun exposure, it provides skiers with optimal skiing conditions.
  
  
• Gateway to Portes du Soleil: Being a part of the Portes du Soleil network, Les Gets opens doors to one of the world's largest skiing areas. Skiers can effortlessly traverse between French and Swiss resorts, experiencing more than 650 km of slopes and 280 ski lifts.
  
  
• Affordability: Skiing can be an expensive hobby, but not in Les Gets. Here, ski passes can cost up to half as much as those in higher-altitude areas. Additionally, with more competitively priced restaurants and accommodations, you get value without compromising on the experience.
  
  
• Authentic Alpine Charm: Beyond the slopes, Les Gets exudes an authentic alpine allure. Its traditional wooden chalets, historical landmarks, and warm local community make it more than just a skiing destination. It's a place where tradition meets adventure.

Explore the Free-Ride Ski Terrains of Les Gets in 2023

The altitude of Les Gets ranges from 1172m to 2020m, Tignes will go up to 3400m, with most of the resort above the tree line. The high altitude resorts are know for getting bigger dumps, however, these resorts also have higher risk of storms and high winds, meaning that a large proportion of the resort has to be shut and also the visibility becomes very poor. With tree line skiing you will never have poor visibility as the clouds will never settle in the trees, however, when above the tree line you will often have days of total white out.

One point which should also be considered is the cost – a ski pass for Les Gets can be as much as half the price of a ski pass in the higher areas (in Zermat the ski pass is 80 CHF plus 16 CHF for the train – just for a day’s skiing). Restaurant and accommodation prices are also lower in Les Gets. There are four main freeride ski areas:

Chamossière

The summit of the lift is at 2002m, where you can drop into a vast open powder field where it is easy to find fresh tracks. There are many different routes to ski which are easily navigated and you can view the whole area from the lift. If you want to push yourself there are many rocks and features to jump off. The slopes are North Westerly facing, meaning that they are not as effected by the sun as south facing pistes, so the snow conditions will remain good later in the season and into the afternoon. There is a 6 person high speed chair lift with a transit time of just under 5 minutes, with a 508m vertical ascent.

Nyon

This area is a little more extreme than Chamossiere, it also drops into the tree line, giving a greater variety of terrain to negotiate and ski through. This area is a great place to ski with many features. Being part in the tree line also means it is easier to ski on days when there is poor visibility at higher levels. Additionally, it will not be closed on days when there is a high avalanche risk.

Les Gets Bowl

The bowl has 4 chair lifts, and most of the area is in the tree line, with the top of Ranfoilly lift at 1862m. Underneath every single lift there are a huge variety of pistes, ranging from easy blue’s to difficult blacks and in-between the pistes there is endless tree line powder skiing. Towards the end of the season, when the snow is a little thin, you can ski down Les Gets world famous mountain bike tracks – which is great fun. For the majority of the season, the tracks are buried, leaving endless tree line skiing.

Mont Chery

This is the real gem of Les Gets, it is only a small mountain with few lifts, and most of the pistes are reds and blacks, meaning that during the busy weeks, Mont Chery can still be quiet. I have lived in Les Gets for 10 years and have never been bored with this mountain, similar to the Les Gets bowl, there are many tree lines to ski, and over the back of Mont Chery there is steeper and more extreme skiing, easily lapped by fast chair lifts.

Read the blog about the best of Mont Chery Freeride

Bonus: The Portes du Soleil Connection

In 2023, make the most of Les Gets being a part of the Portes du Soleil – the world's largest international ski area. Whether you're on the French or Swiss side, there's a vast expanse of off-piste skiing to explore.

Après-Ski Life in Les Gets

Winding down after a day of skiing in Les Gets is an experience in itself. With over 30 restaurants serving authentic alpine food, lively bars with live music, and the historic Igloo discotheque, the fun doesn't end on the slopes.

In Summary

Les Gets, with its fast lifts, tree line skiing, value for money, traditional village charm, and the vast Portes du Soleil connection, is a destination waiting to be rediscovered in 2023. Join us for an unforgettable ski adventure!

 Ben Nathan - ISIA Qualified Ski Instructor and Director of Chalets1066

Thanks go to PDS Ski School for the 2nd and 4th pictures and to the Les Gets Office de Tourisme for the 1st and 3rd pictures in this blog.