Domaine de Balme (Le Tour & Vallorcine) Lifts

The Domaine de Balme area is situated at the top end of the Chamonix Valley where a gondola based in the village of Le Tour brings you to Charamillon at 1856 m and a new cable car from the Vallorcine side brings you up to the Tete de Balme at 2770m. 

The Charamillon area consists of rich alpine meadows in the summer and is transformed into wide and varied slopes in the winter, great for beginner/intermediates but with steeper slopes and some great off piste on the tree-lined Tete de Balme area.  Le Tour has a higher proportion of drag lifts than the other areas in the valley, but these can mostly be avoided by taking the Autannes or the Tete de Balme chairlifts.

As well as the two gondolas, the Autannes chairlift also runs in the summer, taking hikers and mountain bikers up above 2000m, just a short distance from the border with Switzerland.  All of the summer lifts accept bikes and in winter, it can sometimes be quicker to access this area by driving (or taking the train) to Vallorcine instead as the majority of skiers head to Le Tour.