The French summer by the Riviera or on the West Coast of France and winter in Megève. Megève is where you can ski leisurely on some easier slopes, take on some harder less frequented slopes, and find a resort with a perfect balance of on-piste and off-piste activities, with a fine dining and culinary scene. Research had us convinced that Megève would be a small mountain without plenty of natural snow and not that great of a place for skiers. I went in with low expectations with the primary purpose of our stay being the town, but boy…are all these articles online WRONG. Megève ski resort is stunning and the Évasion Mont-Blanc area has plenty of trails for all levels. To prove to everyone that there is a lot more to see in Megève ski resort then one would think, here is my resort guide for all levels to the Mègeve ski resort Évasion Mont-blanc.

How Difficult is Megève Ski Resort?

Let’s preface this by saying that I like to think of myself as a good skier and a safe skier. What does that mean? It means that I could probably get down anything, but I prefer to go for the more scenic, less dangerous route. Safety first. That’s why I’m a big fan of blue and red runs, but throw in some black runs depending on the mountains definition of “black.” This made Megève ski resort perfect for me. 50% of Megève ski resort’s terrain is intermediate, 37% easy and 12% difficult. Parfaite. It is also super kid friendly so parents can drop kids off at a ski lesson and go about their day. I figured it might be useful to write a few pointers on navigating the ski area, as well as a few top spots, hidden gems, and my favourite pistes of different difficulties with videos and photos below.

Remember, in Europe ski run colors means slightly different things than in the US:

Map

The Évasion Mont-Blanc area of the Megève ski resort spans 235 slopes from 1113m (3,600 feet) to 2350m (7,700 feet) in elevation. Megève ski resort is divided into 3 main areas or mountains: Rochebrune, Mont D’Arbois and Le Jaillet. It’s also connected to the neighboring resorts of St. Gervais and St. Nicolas de Veroce. Each of the three Megève areas is large enough to provide at least one full day of entertainment. But Pat and I felt that some could’ve been 2.

Best Time of Year to Ski in Megève

To avoid the crowds, start after Christmas and New Year. That’s when the best snow is anyway. Skiing anytime from first week of January to mid-April is acceptable in Megève, depending on snow conditions that year. My favorite time is February and March personally. I love that Spring skiing, although it’s accompanied by a lot of sunscreen. April can get dicey so I only go to high altitude during that time of year.

Ski Passes

The price is about 60€ for a half-day or weekday pass, 113€ for a two-day pass, and 166.50€ for a 3-day pass. Not that bad compared to US prices, but it is considered “average” for European prices. They used to be cheaper pre-COVID, like 40€, but COVID hiked up all the prices. You can purchase them 1) at the ticket office in town, which is where you have to go anyway to get on the mountain 2) online or 3) your hotel will purchase them for you if it’s high-end like Les Fermes de Marie!

1. Rochebrune

The closest mountain peak in Megève is Rochebrune. It’s connected by the first-ever purpose built skiing gondola in France, the Rochebrune cablecar. You can’t miss it. It’s vibrant red and very vintage looking. It rides back and forth between Rochebrune and Mont D’Arbois mountain and is present all over town on bags, glasses, beers, stickers and the list goes on.

Hop on the Rochebrune cablecar and make your way over to Rochebrune mountain. Take the Caboche lift to the top where your journey begins. The views here on a sunny day are incredible.

~ Green: Rosier ~

The first few runs we did were long. We went down a blue and a green that took us all the way down the bowl essentially. These were quite busy and slippery towards the bottom due to all the ski run off. But they were fun and easy to handle.

~ Red: L’Alpette Scion ~

Next we went down a red that was calling my name. The views on the way down are what made me want to do it. I thought it would be the same for Pat, but while filming him he took off to the right and went for the powder. I see where our priorities lie…very different!

~ Black: Descente ~

After lunch at L’Alpage Pré Rosset we took what seemed like a pretty simple black down towards Côte 2000, the highest skiing point in Rochebrune. The black wasn’t steep by any means, it was just very narrow so you needed to be able to maintain control. As we skied around the inside of the bowl the 360 views were amazing.

~ Red: Chamois ~

Once in Côte 2000, we definitely felt a bit trapped. We must’ve skied this area over 6 times because we couldn’t figure out how to get back. If you stay at the bottom there is a shuttle bus that will drive you back to town, but we wanted to ski back. We eventually found that the exit was hidden behind a restaurant/bar mid-way through the mountain called Le Radaz completely off to the side. It’s tricky to find so keep it in mind. A lot of skiers at Côte 2000 like to go off-piste and into the powder because it’s like a bowl. It can get very clumpy as you can see from the conditions, so wasn’t my favorite of all the ares. I also felt pretty limited in the skiing since the views weren’t the best.

2. Mont D’Arbois

Mont D’Arbois is the largest ski area in all of Megève ski resort. You can access it by taking the horizontal cablecar from Rochebrune station. That’s the easiest way to reach Mont D’Arbois. The alternative is to drive 3km outside the main town or go by bus and take the Princess Gondola (not worth it). Stick to just taking the Rochebrune cablecar and transferring to Mont D’Arbois.

~ Green: Idéal ~

The first piste you have to take no matter what to get to any point of the mountain is the beautiful Idéal green piste. It was one of my favorites by far in terms of it’s majesty. The way you slowly wrap around the mountain…I could’ve just done that back and forth for hours…but there is more of the mountain to see!

~ Black: Rosay Variante ~

Honestly, on this pow day it snowed about a foot and half of snow, so I couldn’t tell if I was on a blue a black or a red at any point during the day. It was just soft, slushy, and fun. We went down this lift a few times, which turned out to be a black. I could feel the steepness was much heavier on the knees – especially with the piles of snow. It isn’t super easy. It requires a lot of breaking if you’re not one for speed, which strains the knees a bit.

~ Blue: Ravière ~

The pow day continues. This blue was fairly easy, but with the heavy snow breaking through our skis, it was heftier then it looks. I’ll say the incline for Ravière is ok compared to it’s neighboring Rolles which is a bit harder.

~ Red: Rolles ~

I’ll say the incline is fairly steep on Rolles and requires some breakage toward the end, but it is a fun time. As you can see from Pat skiing, he was deep in snow and picked up a good amount of speed towards the end.

~ Blue: Argent ~

Argent was by far one of my favorite runs alongside green Idéal on Mont d’Arbois in terms of views. It’s a docile blue and when you look up, you find yourself whizzing through the trees with this beautiful majestic mountain in the distance. Magnifique.

~ Green: Chateluy ~

Argent combines into the very very long and flat Chateluy. From here, Mont D’Arbois mountain gives you the option to ski down to the other side and connect to the smaller, neighboring resorts of St. Gervais and St. Nicolas de Veroce. Pat and I didn’t take advantage of that during our time here, but would’ve been worth trying out had we had a couple of extra days.

~ Red: Blanchots ~

Following lunch we made our way up to the highest lift in Mont D’Arbois – Mont Joly. From here there are several reds and blacks you can take. The blacks wind around the otherside of the mountain. The day we were there the wind was very strong and there wasn’t much coverage on the black. Not our vibe. So instead, we went down the red and stopped by La Folie Douce Saint-Gervais for some après.

~ Green: Idéal to Mandarin ~

When La Folie Douce’s clock struck 4, it was time to head back down the mountain. This was the day before the nice snow storm brought down 1.5 ft of snow, so as you can see, the conditions were quite scarce. It was spring skiing at it’s finest. As we got lower and lower in elevation, this green called Mandarin that essentially took us straight into town turned into just a narrow strip on snow with green pastures around us. Hysterical! But this is the reality of skiing in Megève on an off-day at lower elevations. Stay high and you’ll be fine.

3. Le Jaillet

Le Jaillet is a bit out of the way from the rest of Megève village. It is on the other side of town. There is the opportunity to access it from town using a horse-drawn caleche, a sleigh that Megève is famous for. The caleche takes skiers from the ice rink in the center of Megève town to Le Jaillet instead of having to take the bus or drive. Honestly, taking a horse-drawn carriage with my skis and boots doesn’t seem very practical, but I guess you can do it! We didn’t make it over to Le Jaillet during our time in Megève because locals time and time again told me the conditions weren’t as nice on that side of the mountain while we were there. Le Jaillet is good for “certain days” – always ask the locals, they’ll tell you when it’s best to visit certain areas over others.

The Tréffléannaise is the longest run in Megève ski resort, at 5.5km or 3.4mi, and is located in Le Jaillet.

Top Lunch Spots

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