Châtel or La Clusaz: the big circuit, or the steep reds?
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20266 min read
Châtel and La Clusaz are the kind of French village people book for a family week within reach of Geneva. We class both traditional and family, both have families and tradition on their list of what they do best, the villages are 100 metres apart in height, and both run from December to April. Our matching puts Châtel closer to La Clusaz than any other resort we cover.
They are on different lift passes, though, and the mountains are not the same. Châtel sits on the Portes du Soleil, a linked circuit of twelve villages in two countries, on a mountain without surprises. La Clusaz has more skiing at the door, and the steepest reds of the 55 resorts we cover. So the question is how far your group wants to roam, and how hard it likes its reds. The numbers first.
The numbers, side by side
| Figure | Châtel | La Clusaz |
|---|---|---|
| Village altitude | 1,200 m | 1,100 m |
| Top of the skiing, measured | 2,084 m | 2,458 m |
| Linked ski area | Portes du Soleil, officially 600 km, measured at 580 km, across twelve villages | The Aravis, shared with Le Grand-Bornand, not yet classified in our data |
| Piste we measure around the village | 82 km | 97 km |
| Green and blue | 45 km, 55% of the piste | 56 km, 58% of the piste |
| Black | 5.4 km | 8.9 km |
| Piste steeper than one in four | 26% | 39% |
| Piste gentler than 15% | 35% | 38% |
| Piste at or above 1,800 m | 23% | 18% |
| Season | December to April | December to April |
| Nearest airport | Geneva | Geneva |
La Clusaz takes most rows around the village: more piste, more green and blue, more black, a higher top. Châtel takes the linked area, and a little more of its piste sits up the hill. The steep row is the one that tells you what each mountain feels like.
Size: La Clusaz has more at the door, Châtel far more to roam
Around the village, La Clusaz is the bigger. We measure 96.6 kilometres of piste there against 81.8 around Châtel, 14.8 more. The Aravis, which La Clusaz shares with Le Grand-Bornand, is not yet classified in our data, so we quote no total for it.
Châtel's advantage is the circuit. Its own sector, the Espace Liberté, is 120 kilometres, shared with Torgon and Morgins, and beyond it the Portes du Soleil links twelve villages in two countries. It is sold as 600 kilometres and measured at 580, and an independent measurement puts it nearer 426. Whichever figure you take, a confident skier at Châtel has far more country to explore than one at La Clusaz. It only shows if your group skis far.
Altitude: both low, with the height in different places
The villages are close, Châtel at 1,200 metres and La Clusaz at 1,100. On the hill, La Clusaz goes higher: the top of the skiing we measure is 2,458 metres, 374 above Châtel's 2,084, the second lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover.
But more of Châtel's piste sits up the hill. Seventy seven percent of it is above 1,500 metres, against 56 at La Clusaz, and 23 percent is at or above 1,800, against 18. Half of Châtel's piste is above 1,661 metres, where half of La Clusaz's is below 1,528. La Clusaz has the higher top and more skiing near the valley floor. Châtel's sits in a narrower band in the middle.
Neither is snow sure on our measure, which asks for more than half the piste at or above 1,800 metres and skiing that reaches 2,500. Both miss on both counts. Nobody can promise snow, and on these figures neither has much margin, so the heart of the winter is the time to book either.
The skiing: Châtel is the typical French mountain, La Clusaz has two faces
Châtel holds no surprises. Its reds average 24.3 percent, the same figure as a typical French red, its blues 15.6 against a French 16.2, and its blacks 29.2 against 29.6. Twenty six percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the same as at a typical resort we cover. These gradients are averages per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, so read them as how the week feels rather than a verdict on any one run.
La Clusaz is both gentler and steeper. Its blues average 14.6 percent, the second gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover, and 38 percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 35 at Châtel. Then its reds average 29.0 percent, the steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, and its blacks 37.3, the second steepest of the 55 we cover. Thirty nine percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, joint sixth of the 55 resorts we cover.
It has more at both ends in kilometres too: 56 of green and blue against 45, with 8.1 of green against 5.5, and 8.9 of black against Châtel's 5.4, the least of the 17 French resorts we cover. Neither has any marked off piste itinerary in our data. The longest piste at each is an easy cruise: the Tovassière at Châtel, a 3 kilometre blue with only 220 metres of drop, and the Coverie at La Clusaz, a 2.5 kilometre blue with 234.
Who each one actually suits
Châtel suits families and mixed groups who want good value and a farm village feel. Our read is rustic and friendly, with farm village character on the Swiss border, and value, tradition and families make up its list. The mountain is even tempered, so an improver can move from blue to red without a shock, and the Portes du Soleil gives the confident members of the group somewhere to go. It is less for a strong skier who wants steep ground near the door.
La Clusaz suits families who want a bit more going on. Our read is lively and local, a weekend feel heads its list, and we class it lively as well as traditional and family. It suits a family whose children are on the blues and whose parents want reds that make them work, and a group that would rather have more skiing at the door than a circuit to cross. Our terrain scores put the two level for first timers, improvers and intermediates.
The bit nobody tells you
The step that matters most in a family week is the one from blue to red. At Châtel the blues average 15.6 percent and the reds 24.3, a step of 8.7 points. At La Clusaz the blues average 14.6 and the reds 29.0, a step of 14.4. A La Clusaz red is, on average, close to a Châtel black, which averages 29.2.
That shows up midweek, when someone in the group is ready for a first red. At Châtel it will feel like the next step. At La Clusaz the blues will have felt easy and the first red will not. For a confident skier that is the point of La Clusaz. For an improver, it is a reason to pick Châtel.
So, which one
your group has improvers who will move up through the week, you want the Portes du Soleil to roam once the home runs are done, and value and a farm village matter more than a lively one.
you want more skiing at the door, gentle blues for the children and the steepest reds of the 55 resorts we cover for the adults, a livelier village and a higher top.
For a mixed family group its reds are the reds a typical French resort gives you, so nobody hits a wall halfway through the week, and the circuit means the confident skiers never run short. La Clusaz is the right answer when the adults want reds that bite, and a lively village matters as much as the mountain.