Les Houches (Chamonix)
The birthplace of alpinism, where skiing is still an adventure sport.
Difficulty mix
On the mountain
- 5 snowparks / fun zones
Bonvo Score breakdown
Computed from mapped terrain data — no editorial opinion, no pay-to-rank. How the score works
Skiing Chamonix Mont-Blanc, told properly
Chamonix is not a ski resort; it's a mountain town that happens to have lifts. Sprawled beneath Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest peak, it staged the very first Winter Olympics in 1924 and has been the world capital of alpinism since the Compagnie des Guides — the oldest mountain-guiding company on Earth — was founded here in 1821. The valley's separate ski areas (Brévent-Flégère, Grands Montets, Balme, Les Houches) each face the Mont Blanc massif like balconies at a theatre.
What Chamonix sells is vertical and wildness. The Aiguille du Midi cable car hoists you to 3,842 m, where the Vallée Blanche begins: twenty-odd kilometres of glacier descent past seracs and crevasse fields down to the Mer de Glace — the most famous off-piste run in the world, and one you do with a guide. Even the pisted skiing feels big: Grands Montets' north faces hold cold snow for weeks, and steep-skiing history has been written on the slopes in every direction.
The town matches the terrain: gritty, international, and buzzing year-round with climbers, wingsuit pilots and skiers comparing lines over cheap pasta and good beer.
Signature runs
Vallée Blanche
The world's most famous glacier run — about 20 km from the Aiguille du Midi to the valley, guided, wild, unforgettable.
Grands Montets north faces
High, cold, and serious: the Pointe de Vue and Bochard descents deliver some of the biggest lift-served verticals in the Alps.
Kandahar (Les Houches)
France's classic World Cup downhill, weaving through forest with Mont Blanc filling the sky ahead.
Local tips
- Book a guide for the Vallée Blanche and take the early bin — the arête descent at the top is calmer before crowds.
- The valley areas aren't lift-linked; use the (free with lift pass) valley bus or train and pick your area by aspect and weather.
- Brévent-Flégère is the sunny side with the Mont Blanc view; Grands Montets keeps the coldest snow.
- On bad-weather days, Les Houches' tree skiing saves the day — or take the Montenvers train to see the Mer de Glace ice caves.
Good to know
- Chamonix hosted the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924.
- The Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix, founded 1821, is the world's oldest mountain-guiding organization.
- When it opened in 1955, the Aiguille du Midi cable car was the highest in the world — and its top station still hangs at 3,842 m.
Slope-by-slope analysis
Every run measured from elevation-aware map geometry: true length, vertical drop, average gradient and a 0–10 slope score that rewards long, sustained descents.
| Run | Difficulty | Length | Vertical | Avg grade | Slope score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbaye | Easy | 2.4 km | 386 m | 15.8% | 4.5 |
| Les Aillouds Supérieur Col de Voza | Easy | 2.0 km | 275 m | 13.9% | 3.5 |
| Aillouds | Easy | 1.5 km | 145 m | 9.4% | 2.4 |
| Kandahar Intermédiaire | Advanced | 1.5 km | 349 m | 23.8% | 4.1 |
| La Cha | Easy | 1.4 km | 241 m | 16.7% | 3.2 |
| Les Aillouds Intermédiaire La Carbotte | Easy | 1.4 km | 348 m | 24.4% | 4.1 |
| Melezes | Easy | 1.4 km | 197 m | 13.9% | 2.8 |
| Fontaines | Intermediate | 1.3 km | 336 m | 25% | 4.0 |
| Plancerts | Intermediate | 1.3 km | 369 m | 29% | 4.3 |
| Les Aillouds Retour Télécabine | Easy | 1.2 km | 249 m | 20.1% | 3.3 |
| Kandahar Inférieur Schuss Battendier | Advanced | 1.2 km | 313 m | 25.5% | 3.9 |
| Plan du Crêt | Intermediate | 1.2 km | 227 m | 19% | 3.1 |
| Mur des Épines | Intermediate | 1.2 km | 325 m | 27.4% | 4.0 |
| Col de Voza | Intermediate | 1.0 km | 253 m | 24.3% | 3.4 |
| Stade F.I.S. | Intermediate | 972 m | 255 m | 26.2% | 3.5 |
| Table d'Orientation | Intermediate | 878 m | 280 m | 31.9% | 3.9 |
| Bellevue | Intermediate | 833 m | 134 m | 16.1% | 2.2 |
| Jorland retour Téléphérique | Easy | 820 m | 114 m | 13.9% | 2.0 |
| Variante | Intermediate | 750 m | 207 m | 27.6% | 3.2 |
| Les Aillouds Supérieur Col de Voza | Easy | 714 m | 156 m | 21.9% | 2.6 |
| Mur des Épines | Intermediate | 668 m | 144 m | 21.5% | 2.5 |
| Kandahar Supérieur La Cassure | Advanced | 601 m | 180 m | 30% | 3.2 |
| Kandahar Intermédiaire | Advanced | 555 m | 177 m | 31.9% | 3.2 |
| Grands Bois | Intermediate | 543 m | 155 m | 28.5% | 2.9 |
| Chamois | Easy | 514 m | 77 m | 15% | 1.7 |
| Stade | Intermediate | 488 m | 134 m | 27.5% | 2.7 |
| Friaz | Easy | 486 m | 35 m | 7.2% | 1.0 |
| Maison Neuve | Intermediate | 481 m | 167 m | 34.7% | 3.3 |
| Stade | Intermediate | 444 m | 69 m | 15.5% | 1.6 |
| Mont Blanc | Beginner | 373 m | 34 m | 9.1% | 1.0 |
| Chamois | Easy | 373 m | 37 m | 9.9% | 1.1 |
| École | Beginner | 357 m | 35 m | 9.8% | 1.1 |
| Stade F.I.S. | Intermediate | 331 m | 86 m | 26% | 2.3 |
| Kandahar Inférieur Schuss Battendier | Advanced | 323 m | 55 m | 17% | 1.6 |
| Schuss des Dames | Advanced | 320 m | 111 m | 34.6% | 3.0 |
| Chamois | Easy | 311 m | 31 m | 10% | 1.0 |
| Bellevue | Intermediate | 230 m | 35 m | 15.2% | 1.3 |
| Les Aillouds Intermédiaire La Carbotte | Easy | 228 m | 42 m | 18.4% | 1.6 |
| Aillouds | Easy | 207 m | 25 m | 12.1% | 1.1 |
| Aillouds | Easy | 198 m | 43 m | 21.7% | 1.8 |
+ 26 more mapped runs and connectors — all of them in the free 3D map in the Bonvo Ski app.
Lift network
15 mapped lifts, moving up to 16,506 skiers per hour.
| Lift | Type | Capacity/h | Ride time | Length | Vertical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mélèzes | Chairlift | 2,000 | — | 1.2 km | 215 m |
| Kandahar | Chairlift | 1,880 | — | 929 m | 302 m |
| Prarion | Gondola | 1,800 | — | 2.4 km | 832 m |
| Maison Neuve | Chairlift | 1,700 | — | 1.1 km | 342 m |
| Voza-Prarion | Chairlift | 1,500 | — | 958 m | 254 m |
| École | Chairlift | 1,500 | — | 301 m | 35 m |
| Col de Voza | Rope tow | 1,200 | — | 137 m | 12 m |
| Schuss des Dames | Chairlift | 1,010 | — | 467 m | 148 m |
| Coupe du Monde | Chairlift | 947 | — | 867 m | 205 m |
| Grands Bois | Platter lift | 900 | — | 538 m | 161 m |
| Plancerts | Platter lift | 785 | — | 1.3 km | 368 m |
| Mont Blanc | Platter lift | 784 | — | 356 m | 33 m |
| Bellevue | Cable car | 500 | — | 1.9 km | 799 m |
| Crozat | Chairlift | — | — | 1.3 km | 383 m |
| École | Magic carpet | — | — | 62 m | 3 m |
Les Houches (Chamonix) — quick answers
How many ski runs does Les Houches (Chamonix) have?
Les Houches (Chamonix) has 66 mapped downhill runs totalling about 35 km of pistes, with the longest single run measuring 2.4 km.
What is the vertical drop at Les Houches (Chamonix)?
The mapped skiable terrain spans 908 m of vertical, from 982 m at the base to 1890 m at the top.
How many lifts does Les Houches (Chamonix) have?
Les Houches (Chamonix) operates 15 mapped lifts moving up to 16,506 skiers per hour.
Ski Les Houches (Chamonix) with the map in your pocket
Every run and lift on this page, rendered in interactive 3D — and it keeps working in airplane mode at the top of the mountain. Free on the App Store.
More ski resorts in France
826.8 km pistes · 1339 runs · 170 lifts
539.9 km pistes · 924 runs · 163 lifts
175.4 km pistes · 300 runs · 74 lifts
303.1 km pistes · 421 runs · 91 lifts
299.7 km pistes · 440 runs · 107 lifts
267.7 km pistes · 488 runs · 80 lifts