Despite its low altitude, most of Saint-Gervais’ domain is above the key 1,400m mark, with peaks reaching 2,000m. Mont d’Arbois’ grassy slopes mean not much snowfall is needed for effective cover, and its position on the north side of Mont Blanc lends a wintertime boost.

Ski highlights

  • Beginners: Unlike many resorts, Saint-Gervais has a fantastic high-altitude beginners’ area in the form of Les Marmottons (1,840m). Take the gondola from Le Bettex to access gentle greens and a kids’ play area, before descending along the beautiful (and easy) Chateluy.
  • Intermediates: Intermediate skiers are king at Saint-Gervais, with long, wooded blues and reds crisscrossing Mont d’Arbois. Towards Megève, Rochebrune is a good area, while Combloux and La Giettaz are quieter and good for Sunday skiing.
  • Experts: Aside from the short but steep Côte 2000 and l’Épaule runs, on-piste thrill seekers may find Saint-Gervais somewhat lacking. However, the resort’s low profile means the off-piste is virtually untouched. Powderheads should skirt the back of Mont d’Arbois and Mont Joux for some serious freeriding or stop by the “Magic Garden” between the Lanchettes and Radaz lifts for some great tree-skiing.

Saint-Gervais also contains roughly 40km of free-to-use cross-country tracks, although as much of this terrain is up at Le Bettex, you’ll need a lift pass to access it. There are more tracks at Le Prarion, suitable for traditional Nordic skiing and newer skating styles.

Photo: Boris Molinier

Ski schools and guides

Saint-Gervais has several ski schools, including France-wide ESF (École de Ski Francais), based in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Saint-Nicolas. Both schools provide group lessons to children aged 3–13 throughout the season. Outside school holiday periods, you’ll only find lessons on the weekend.

For private and small group lessons, SupremeSki offers top-qualified, Anglophone instructors.

Lift system

While Saint-Gervais hasn’t been at the cutting edge of ski lift technology, the resort’s frontrunners began a major infrastructure programme in 2022 to refurbish its older lifts. First to go was the Arbois two-seater, replaced with the high-speed Nants six-seater. Including the vast ski area within the Évasion Mont-Blanc pass, Saint-Gervais has a total of 124 ski lifts.

The brand-new Le Valléen gondola connecting Le Fayet and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains began construction in 2023 and is set to open in September 2024. Once complete, it will ferry a maximum of 1,250 people an hour directly off the train station platform in Le Fayet up to the main town (like Les Arcs’s funicular), reducing CO2 emissions by roughly 12–15%.

Today’s Saint-Gervais is a mixture of fast quads and gondolas (e.g., Princesse, Bettex-Arbois, Alpette) and the slow, older chairs the resort is gradually replacing. It’ll be a while before the entire lift system is upgraded, so it’s best to start early and stick to faster lifts at peak times.  


Snow reliability and snowmaking

On paper, Saint-Gervais’ low altitude is its biggest drawback. Despite this, the resort has a good snow record supplemented by a large snow cannon system (accounting for around 1/5 of the terrain).

If you have the Évasion Mont Blanc Pass and find the snow is poor down low, take the bus to Les Contamines and head up to the Sector Hauteluce. Most of the runs here are above the 2,000m mark and offer incredible panoramas, including the Aiguille red running from Aiguille Croche (2,487m)

Terrain park

Within the wider domain, you’ll find several terrain parks with pipes, moguls, rails, and jumps. For those staying in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains or Le Bettex, the Snowpark Mont Joux is the easiest to access at the foot of the Mont Joux chair. It has a hip, big air, tables, and rails.

There’s also the Waidzai Park above Megève and stand-alone features in Les Contamines, Combloux, and La Giettaz.