Like Courmayeur, but in France: the lunch travels, the off piste stays
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
Courmayeur regulars know exactly what they go for, and it is not mileage. It is an old stone town under Mont Blanc, lunch treated as the main event, and off piste that strong skiers come back to for years. Our read on it is chic and welcoming, upmarket and expert, and it is snow sure on our measure: 72 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, up to 2,715 metres.
The pistes themselves are a small part of the story. Courmayeur publishes 100 kilometres, but its own wording is groomed slopes and off piste. An independent measurement of the pisted runs makes it 41.5, and around the village we measure 42 kilometres, the least of the 55 resorts we cover. What is there is steep: 32 percent of it is steeper than one in four.
The honest headline: none of the three French resorts our matching puts closest keeps Courmayeur's two defining traits. All three lose the gloss and the expert terrain. What France can match is the lunch, the old village and, in one case, the snow, and every pick gives you more piste. Saint-Martin-de-Belleville keeps the most of it.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Linked area | Steeper than one in four | At or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkCourmayeur | 1,224 m | 2,715 m | 42 km | Its own, 41.5 km of piste; the official 100 km includes off piste | 32% | 72% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Belleville | 1,450 m | 2,691 m | 75 km | The Three Valleys, quoted at 600 km | 20% | 75% |
| Châtel | 1,200 m | 2,084 m | 82 km | The Portes du Soleil, 580 km measured | 26% | 23% |
| Les Gets | 1,172 m | 1,965 m | 99 km | The Portes du Soleil, 580 km measured | 23% | 1% |
One name is missing on purpose. Chamonix, the French side of the same mountain, is through the Mont Blanc tunnel, and our guide treats a day there as part of a Courmayeur week. It is not among the three French resorts our matching puts closest, so it is not a pick here.
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: the closest on snow and lunch
- VillageVillage
- 1,450 m 226 m higher
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: 75 km of piste we measure. 50 km green and blue 67%19 km red 25%6 km black 8%
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is an old Savoyard village, traditional and quiet, and food is one of the reasons people choose it. If the long lunch is the heart of your Courmayeur week, it travels here. So does the snow, almost to the metre. The skiing tops out at 2,691 metres, measured, 24 below Courmayeur's top, and 75 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 72. It is snow sure on our measure, and the village sits higher, at 1,450 metres, 226 above Courmayeur's.
What changes for the better is the size. Around the village we measure 75 kilometres of piste against Courmayeur's 42, with 50 kilometres of green and blue against 16 of blue and easier. And it sits inside the Three Valleys, an area quoted at 600 kilometres and genuinely linked by lift. If the one thing you have ever wished Courmayeur had is more piste, this is it.
What you give up is the edge and the gloss. Only 20 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 32, and the reds average 21.9 percent against 24.3. There is no marked off piste itinerary, and nothing like the guided glacier skiing under Mont Blanc. And our read is quiet and traditional, not chic: the evenings are a good dinner in an old village, not an aperitivo crowd on the Via Roma.
Châtel: the closest underfoot
- VillageVillage
- 1,200 m 24 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,200 m 555 m lower
Châtel: 82 km of piste we measure. 45 km green and blue 55%31 km red 38%5 km black 7%
Our matching puts Châtel nearer to Courmayeur than any other French resort we cover, and you can feel why on the reds. They average 24.3 percent, exactly Courmayeur's figure, 35 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, the same share, and 26 percent is steeper than one in four, against 32. The village is at 1,200 metres, 24 below Courmayeur's. Our read on it is rustic and friendly, with farm village character, and it suits families who want a traditional base.
It lives on a border, as Courmayeur does, but crosses it on skis. Châtel sits in the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one linked circuit, and its own corner is shared with Torgon and Morgins. The official figure for the whole circuit is 600 kilometres; we measure 580, and one independent measurement puts it nearer 426, so read it as big rather than exact. Around Châtel we measure 82 kilometres, with 45 of green and blue.
The trade is the snow. The skiing tops out at 2,084 metres, measured, 631 below Courmayeur's top, and only 23 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 72. It is not snow sure on our test. Nor is there much to stand in for the off piste: no marked itinerary, and 5.4 kilometres of black, the least of the 17 French resorts we cover, though more than Courmayeur's 4.6.
Les Gets: the closest on the village
- VillageVillage
- 1,172 m 52 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,466 m 289 m lower
Les Gets: 99 km of piste we measure. 55 km green and blue 56%35 km red 35%10 km black 10%
Les Gets, on the same circuit, is the same answer with a prettier village. Our read is warm and traditional, a charming village that does well by families, with tree skiing among its strengths. The village is at 1,172 metres, 52 below Courmayeur's, and the mix is close: 34 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 35. We measure 99 kilometres around the village, with 55 of green and blue, and the strong skier gets more black than at home, 9.6 kilometres against 4.6, about twice as much.
The snow is the problem, more so than at Châtel. The skiing tops out at 1,965 metres, measured, the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover and 750 below Courmayeur's top. Only 1 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres. In a good winter it is a lovely week. In a thin one, you will miss Courmayeur's height first.
Beyond the mountain and the stone town, what keeps Courmayeur regulars coming back is snow they can trust, a lunch worth the whole afternoon and a place with some age to it. Saint-Martin keeps all three: snow sure on our measure with almost the same top, an old village with food at its heart, and a far bigger linked area on the doorstep. Go knowing it is quiet rather than chic, gentler underfoot, and that the off piste you love stays in Italy. If it is the feel of the reds you would miss, Châtel, in a snowy winter.