© Graham Pinkerton
Beginner Areas in Brevent & Flegere
Green & blue pistes for beginners higher up the mountain
Brevent and Flegere are the only two two ski areas in the Chamonix Valley joined together by a 'liaison' cable car. Brevent is the closest ski area to the centre of Chamonix, whilst Flegere is closest to the village of Les Praz.
At the foot of the Brevent gondola you'll find the Savoy nursery area, which has two drag lifts and a magic carpet lift which is free to use. Next to the drag lift is a practise area designated just for small children and the ESF snow-garden for toddlers.
The gradient at the Savoy is very gentle and the pistes are nice and wide, allowing you practise turns and build confidence before heading higher up the mountain. There's a small cafe near the lift for when you're ready to take a break, and the town centre of Chamonix is just a few paces away, making this nursery area one of the easiest to access.
If you're ready to progress, take the gondola up to the main Brevent ski area where you'll find two green pistes and 8 blue pistes. On the far side, in Flegere ski area are two more green pistes and three blue pistes.
Best beginner areas
If you're a complete beginner skier or snowboarder, head to the Savoy nursery area mentioned above, or if you've left ski school and are looking to practise on the main pistes, then there are a total of 4 green pistes and 11 blue pistes to explore, between Brevent and Flegere ski areas.
Brévent
A mini-funicular the 'Funi 2000' allows beginner skiers and snowboarders easy access from the main gondola straight to the green pistes. Here you'll find the highest altitude green run in Chamonix called 'Verte 2000'. This piste is fairly short (275m) and is served by its own drag lift, making it easy to do lots of practise laps.
The other green piste is the 'Retour Plan Praz', which takes you back to the Plan Praz gondola to get back down to resort or onto the blue piste that links back to the bottom of the Parsa chair lift.
Blue pistes 'Vioz' and 'Blanchots' are also access by the Parsa chair and are great for those who are able to link turns and would like more of a challenge, as they offer longer runs and slightly steeper slopes to practice on. The Sources and the Charnalon chairlifts link to the remaining blue pistes in this area.
Flégère
The Trappe chairlift at the top left of the Flegere cable car serves two gentle green pistes, the 'Trappe' and 'Libellules'. These pistes are a little longer than the ones at Brevent and being just at the top of the tree line, they have some pretty impressive views across the valley to the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. Libellules is also a fun-zone, with banked corners, arches to ski under and small snowpark features to play on.
If you feel you have progressed from skiing green pistes, you can try 'Chavanne' blue piste from the top of the Chavanne chair lift, or try the 'Retour Flegere' blue piste which will take you back to the Flegere cable car, where you can then take the lift down to get back to the valley floor. 'Evettes' blue piste takes you over the the liaison cable car with Brevent, or you can lap the Evettes chair lift and enjoy this wide, traversing piste.
Beginner ski lessons
If you're learning to ski for the first time, Chamonix has plenty of choice of ski schools who teach children's ski lessons and adult's ski lessons. Children's lessons are determined by their age and ability, whilst adult lessons are determined by ability and interests.
Beginner ski passes
If you're joining a ski school as a complete beginner, you will probably start off in the nursery areas where you can buy a beginner ski pass for a minimum of 4 hours or 1 day at a time. There are different prices for each of Chamonix's beginner ski areas which you can find via the link below.
If you're a skier looking to progress after having already learnt the basics, you can buy a ski pass for the mid to high mountain ski areas from as little as 4 hours. You should consider buying a 'Chamonix Le Pass' ski pass rather than the 'Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass.' The Chamonix Le Pass pass is valid for Brevent-Flegere, Grands Montets (but not the summit lift), Le Tour-Vallorcine, Vormaine, Chosalets, Savoy and Planards.
Beginner ski hire
Pre-booking your ski hire in advance allows the hire shop to prepare for your arrival and smooths the process. A key thing you should consider when booking your equipment is how close your accommodation is to the ski hire shop, or to the foot of the pistes for when lessons have finished. Even if there are several equipment options to choose from, we recommend you go for the most basic. Beginner skis are short, flexible skis that are easy to turn or, if you're snowboarding, you'll have a shorter stiffer snowboard that's easier to control and generally cheaper too. You won't need to know about the technical aspects of any of the equipment as ski hire shops will advise you to get the best model for your ability and size once you've booked.
What should I wear when skiing or snowboarding?
Buying all the gear before you go can be daunting if you’ve never set foot in a ski resort before. The key items to bring with you, along with the obvious ski jacket, ski trousers and sunglasses, are as follows:
- Layers - thermal tops and leggings, fleeces, hoodies, hats and a good pair of ski gloves and a helmet. Weather on the mountain can change pretty quickly, and you are much better off wearing layers of thinner items as opposed to a big, bulky jumper.
- Socks - a variety of socks ranging in thickness, it may sound weird but in our experience hire boots can be quite painful with the wrong socks.
- Sun cream - even when it’s cloudy the sun here can (and will) still get you, and don't forget the underneath of your chin as the sun reflects off the snow too. Don't forget a lip salve with an SPF.
- Piste map - make sure to always have one in your pocket while you're out on the mountain. You can pick up paper copies from the lift pass or tourist office once you've arrived in resort.
More inspiration...
Take a look at this year's Ski Pass Prices or, if you're not sure which pass to buy, read Ski Pass Options for more information. Find your way around with Piste Maps for Chamonix.
