Flaine / Les Carroz / Morillon / Samoëns, France (Grand Massif): February 7, 2023

ChrisC

Well-known member
As drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel from La Thuile, Italy to Chamonix, France the clouds went from sunny to foggy, snowy, and overcast. It has been snowing in French Alps while Italy continued to bask in the sun. The storm was enough to about 10 cm in most spots. Would have stopped to snap pics on the Chamonix side of the tunnel but missed the rest station turn-off. A remarkable change of weather - from the sun to cold, snow, and fog.

I decided to head to Flaine since I've skied Chamonix and Megeve areas on prior tips - and booked an inexpensive inn in Morillon. Was not sure what to expect skiing-wise, but bases were in the 200-250 cm range, with a couple of inches of new snow - so why not?

Also, Fraser has some nice write-ups on Flaine's skiing and snowfall:

Overall, I was worried that Flaine might resemble a bad La Plagne, but that could not be further from the truth. It's definitely one of the top areas from Geneva and enjoyed it more than Megeve, Les Contamines, Les Houches, Le Tour, etc. It likely skis better than Bervent/Fleger most days due to its primarily north exposure.

I started the day from the lower Morillon base gondola. (Interesting fact: I was charged 1 Euro for a requested trail map. Last year, Snowmass Guest Services just said they ran out by March. Me: I'm paying how much for a lift ticket and no map?) I thought these outer villages (Les Carroz / Morillon / Samoëns) around Flaine were just going to be unexceptional - basically, just transit lifts to Flaine. Not true. Each of the bases has some good skiing.


1679455575561.png



I decided to include a FATMAP to show the size of the Grand Massif. The Samoens/Morillon/Les Caroz sectors are perhaps larger than Flaine and offer both bowl and tree-lined pistes. (Bright blue are off-piste routes).
flaine.jpg


The snow and weather were phenomenal, so I skied a lot. Grand Massif is also a large area, so there is a ton of terrain to cover. Stats:


IMG_6422.jpg
IMG_6423.jpg



After riding lifts up from the lower Morillon base, I made my way over to the Coulouvrier HS 6-pack. Massive vertical and due north facing. Nice skiing at the top.
IMG_5182.jpg



Decided to check out the Samoens sector early - Samoens 1600.
IMG_5184.jpg



Chariande 6-pack from Samoens 1600. Again due north facing with excellent off-piste at the top. This area actually formed some moguls in places - a European rarity.
IMG_5188.jpg
IMG_5189.jpg
IMG_5195.jpg



From the Grands Vans Summit - Looking into the Combe de Gers. The Gers bowl is the best freeride sector in the Grand Massif. Massive bowl. It's serviced by a single surface lift located in the middle of the photo. Note some slides. This did open later in the day.
IMG_5198.jpg

IMG_5197.jpg


Making my way over to Flaine / Flaine bowl (above). These runs from Samoens/Morillon to Flaine get swamped with humanity by mid-morning.
IMG_5201.jpg



The beautiful canyon below Flaine
IMG_5203.jpg




Flaine Summit - Les Grandes Platieres 2480m. Top of the Grandes Platieres S Gondola (which has a fast singles line!) Looking over to the north side of Mont Blanc.
IMG_5205.jpg

Panorama of Mont Blanc massif. Assume one of the mountains in the foreground might be Brevent.
IMG_5209.jpg



Some couloirs below the Grandes Platieres lift.
IMG_5220.jpg



The Flaine bowl has some great wide-open cruising. Big GS turns country.
IMG_5221.jpg



Flaine base village. Although the architecture is controversial, I kinda like it. I felt the buildings blend into the cliffs of the mountainside - similar to the buildings at Snowbird. Appreciated it more than La Plagne's eyesores (Plagne Center is easily the worst), Les Arcs' aging infrastructure, and most of Val Thorens.

"Impressed by his time in America, and particularly the school of Modernist architecture that successfully blended the old with the new, Éric Boissonnas asked Bauhaus founder Marcel Breuer to help him create not just a ski station but “a masterpiece” that would draw the most talented architects and artists of the era.
Boissonnas apparently saw the construction of Flaine as a cultural adventure and Breuer was asked to create what would be an open-air museum. He succeeded. Flaine is the only ski resort built in the 1960’s to be listed in the French Historical Monuments Survey."

IMG_5224.jpg
IMG_5231.jpg
IMG_5245.jpg
IMG_5248.jpg



Some view of Flaine while making my way over to the Gers Bowl.
IMG_5257.jpg



Big empty mountain at mid-morning. The scale of the Flaine bowl and the width of the pistes swallows skier crowds.
IMG_5263.jpg



Gers Bowl - so much terrain. It can be accessed from many points. I just stuck to visible areas from the surface lift, but if you were local or had a guide, there are a lot of entrances that likely go unskied for days.
IMG_5264.jpg
IMG_5267.jpg
IMG_5271.jpg
IMG_5273.jpg
IMG_5275.jpg

James - The Gers poma gets my award for the worst surface lift in Europe. It is long, incredibly steep, sports a terrible ski path, requires dodging of avy debris, changes direction, and slings shots you over many rollovers.
IMG_5282.jpg

FATMAPS too agrees with the awfulness of the Gers lift.
gers.jpg


Lunch with a view from Tete Polouse 2474m - Gers summit
IMG_5287.jpg
IMG_5290.jpg



Back to the Flaine Summit - Les Grandes Platieres. This is another beautiful spot for a picnic/drink on a beautiful day.
(Finally, a Euro sign serving a purpose besides Instagram/Tik-Tok "Creators" and 'Influencers" taking selfies. In fact, I enjoyed all the ski equipment ruining their pristine pictures - try editing all of that out.)
IMG_5308.jpg

I did not see any tracks off the backside of Flaine. I think there are cliffs.
IMG_5315.jpg
IMG_5316.jpg
IMG_5317.jpg



There is an amazing blue run off the summit called Piste de Cascades that descends 14km to Sixt village (2474m to 760m). However, Sixt is not lift-served, but there is a sign at the piste entrance with the bus schedule to get back to either Samoens or Morillon lift bases. Another reason why you could do 2 days at Flaine.

To be continued...
 
Last edited:
Some more afternoon Grand Massif photos

Scoping the couloirs for later
IMG_5350.jpg



Another freeride zone in the Flaine Bowl - Lindars Nord lift to Tete de Lindars 2561m. Lots of fu terrain - rollovers, small cliffs, chutes, etc. Good snow up this high.
IMG_5352.jpg
IMG_5355.jpg
IMG_5366.jpg
IMG_5368.jpg
IMG_5378.jpg



The backside of Tete de Lindars. More Mont Blanc.
IMG_5385.jpg
IMG_5389.jpg



Lots of fun skiing off the upper mountain lift - Diamant Noir. The afternoon sun illuminates the terrain nicely and softens things a bit.
IMG_5394.jpg



Again, lots of off-piste at the Gand Massif. This is the Corbalanche lift to the Tete Des Saix summit. You would have no idea the both lifts from the low point service an extensive bowl with north-to-south exposures.
IMG_5402.jpg


Heading into some late day off-piste into the Airon Bowl to Les Carroz.
IMG_5406.jpg



Overall, I was really impressed with Grand Massif and would return. You could easily spend 2 days here. Hopefully, the Gers bowl/lift are open - they seem to be very selective with access due to potential avalanche conditions.
 
Last edited:
Excellent report and confirms that it was not the right choice for my arrival day (and the following overcast day). As you note, with full coverage it needs at least two, maybe three days.
 
Great report and photos. Not sure if you were aware but one very serious point. The off-piste in the main bowl is riddled with cliff-bands and pot holes that has claimed a number of victims over the years, often very close to the pistes. Most famously a 7 year old child, a few years ago, who got lost (in good weather) and went over a cliff just yards from the piste. This rutted/potted/rocky/cliffy terrain is all very micro-scale and not at all obvious but can be deadly.
 
Excellent report and confirms that it was not the right choice for my arrival day (and the following overcast day). As you note, with full coverage it needs at least two, maybe three days.

It skied bigger than I thought it would. you would probably want to base yourself in one of the villages: Morillon, Samoens, or Sixt. I did not get to check out the latter two but found Morillon to be decently charming, but Samoens is supposedly the best.


Not sure if you were aware but one very serious point. The off-piste in the main bowl is riddled with cliff-bands and pot holes that has claimed a number of victims over the years, often very close to the pistes. Most famously a 7 year old child, a few years ago, who got lost (in good weather) and went over a cliff just yards from the piste. This rutted/potted/rocky/cliffy terrain is all very micro-scale and not at all obvious but can be deadly.

Yes, I was aware. I either read about it from you or Where to Ski/Snowboard. There are massive signs about these 'holes' on the exit from the S3/Gondola.....but they are all in French. They show some of the 'hole' zones. And municipal tickets if you ski in these zones.

They really need to translate the warning signs into English. I skied the piste and a well-skied skied off-piste area through couloirs. But did not other areas in the Flaine bowl.


I believe the 7 yo was just ignorant and fell and taken over a 300 ft cliff. Not a Flaine Bowl accident, but more off the backcountry. I think there is a big cliff out there. But if a 7 yo cannot understand the front 300 ft cliffs in Flaine Bowl - Darwin? I think there are backside cliffs....

 
Last edited:
What kind of signage is there to alert people?
I seem to remember a few signs, similar to road signs, with someone tumbling over a cliff, but not much I don't think! If have skied in the main bowl, especially top half, then revisited in summer (walking) you would be shocked!
 
The off-piste in the main bowl is riddled with cliff-bands and pot holes that has claimed a number of victims over the years, often very close to the pistes.
This was recently posted from exactly a year ago at La Grave but a good reminder that I don't want to fall into one of those things:

 
The one interesting GM thing I did not know about was the 10+km semi-off-piste/on-piste route to Sixt. And the Gers Bowl area. There is a lot of skiing there.
Here's the scanned-in Grand Massif/Flaine report from my 2013 Where To Ski/Snowboard Worldwide book. It doesn't appear that there have been any big terrain additions in the past ten years. Back then, I noted that 14km run to Sixt. I've driven past GM enough times; hopefully, I'll be able to spend a couple days there on this upcoming trip.

Flaine 1.jpg

Flaine 2.jpg
 
Lol. I have the same book WTS 2014. It's still very relevant - most mountains don't change significantly. And a good business typically remains in business.

I purchased Chris Gill's updates: WTS Austria, Italy, and France. They are even more detailed. Web Store
Unfortunately, WTS Switzerland was aborted due to COVID-19 interrupting research in 2020. I asked him if he would finish it - no, retirement.

However, he is releasing updates to other countries like Austria. Link

I thought the French villages of Morillon and Samoens were quite attractive and the skiing near them worthwhile. However, there is definitely a migration of skiers from these villages to Flaine every day, and ski schools can choke the access lifts around 10am+.


1704374562565.png
 
Last edited:
Back
Top