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Chamonix resort snow
Lat Long: 45.92° N 6.87° E
Ski France

Chamonix Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Chamonix at 2440 m altitude

Issued: 1 am 21 Apr 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Chamonix: 0.8 cm on Thu 30th  (after 8 PM)

Visitor reviews for Chamonix Ski Resort

Chamonix Ratings

Overall: 4.1. Based on 56 votes and 92 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.1

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Chamonix is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.4

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Chamonix has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.9

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.7

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.5

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Chamonix

Public Transport: 4.1

  • There are no buses or taxis to Chamonix
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.6

  • No places to stay in/near Chamonix
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.9

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.7

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Chamonix

Ski in/Ski out: 3.1

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 4.0

  • There are no child care facilities at Chamonix
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.4

  • Chamonix relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.8

  • There are no snow groomers at Chamonix
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Chamonix are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.4

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Chamonix is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 4.0

  • If snow conditions are poor at Chamonix, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.0

  • Chamonix usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.9

  • The staff at Chamonix are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Chamonix are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.3

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.3

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.7

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.2

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.1

  • No intermediate terrain at Chamonix
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.7

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.4

  • Not even a kicker at Chamonix
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 4.0

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Chamonix
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 3.2

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Chamonix has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.5

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 4.6

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 4.5

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 4.6

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 4.5

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 4.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.6

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.7

  • Overall, Chamonix is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.7

  • Overall, Chamonix is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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January 20, 2010
oliver from Ski France France
I have been to Chamonix 4 times and I love it. The off-piste in Grand Montet is excellent. Loads of powder bowls to ski in and out of very near the piste. Brevent also has some good runs. The views from everywhere are spectacular. The buses are awkward (just get early and you'll be fine). The nightlife is ok but has anybody else noticed it's mostly blokes who go skiing.
January 12, 2010
J from Ski France France
Been to Chamonix a few times & heading again this year. Some great skiing/boarding available but not suitable for rookies, kids, or anyone not willing to tackle some steep, tough slopes. Make sure you stay in Cham itself in order to have any sort of night life and car hire is a must (or else face needless queues for buses, gondolas etc). Also Vallee Blanche is well worth doing. Do hire a guide - it's pricey but will keep you from falling off the Arete or into a Crevasse on the way down, so money well spent in my book. Grand Montets is also good, especially when there's plenty of powder.
January 05, 2010
Martin from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Put simply, Chamonix is not great for: * Novices, families with small children etc. There are plenty of places to ski, but there are better resorts for this, which are more convenient and better set up. * "Beautiful people" apres-ski. Apres-ski is great in Cham, just a bit more grungey. It is a top resort, but does not have the same "scene" as say Verbier or St Anton. * Endless blue and red groomed pistes - go elsewhere for this, say 3 Vallees or La Plagne. * Endless linked pistes - you need a car or be prepared to put up with the buses. It is 8 miles from Cham up to La Tour and 5 to Grands Montets. So if you want a trip with lots of cruising around and ski-in ski-out, Chamonix is not the place for you. Certainly I took two kids under 5 once, and it was a poor choice. BUT BUT BUT... Chamonix is unique. It has the biggest vertical drops, a huge variety of difficult, challenging runs, fantastic off-piste, unique views. La Vallee Blanche - 13 miles down a glacier and the highest vertical of any run in the world. Les Grands Montets is a skiing Mecca. Some of those runs from the top lift are simply incomparable - leg burning, lung bursting drops of 1500m in 4.5km of trail. For decent skiers who fancy a challenge, Chamonix is fantastic. It also has the Midnight Express late night snack bar, with the Super Double Midnight Burger - unique, amazing, challenging, incomparable. Sums up Chamonix really.
December 22, 2009
dusan from Ski USA - California USA - California
"if you want to ski then go elsewhere. No ski areas are linked and you spend most of the day doing the same runs. " Tim, UK. If you want to ski "groomers" go elsewhere. Chamonix is by far THE BEST free-ski resort in the world. Nothing could compare to it aside from heliski in Alaska. Even Whistler B.C. doesn't compare to it. In the same day you could ski a Rectiligne or Poubelle or Pas de Chevre to a Cosmic and a Rond. That's 7000 vertical meters of insane untracked terrain. All lift accessible . No other resort can give that. That's without counting the Brevant ensa and all the couloirs next to it. + all the short hikes you can do to even more insane lines an infinity of them. The 3 valley is great for piste skiing and posing. VERY VERY flat otherwise. Chamonix IS the free-ski capital of the world....
November 06, 2009
tim from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Went to Chamonix this year and if you're looking for great nights out and plenty of places to eat than you will love it. If you want to ski then go elsewhere. No ski areas are linked and you spend most of the day doing the same runs. People say the off-piste at Chamonix is "the best ever" but I do not agree. Try the 3 valleys. So, a round up: go if you like food, dont go if you like skiing, or unless you like doing the same run time after time.
November 05, 2009
JK from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Chamonix has the best off-piste in Europe and the town has got real character with the best views around up in the mountains. Only downside is the resort link up. If you are just interested in groomers or posing then you should look elsewhere. When there is lots of snow it's unbelievable.
March 07, 2009
Clare from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I went to Chamonix for the skiing and wasn't disappointed. Fabulous pistes - unsurpassed views - breathtaking glaciers. We had fresh snow and blues skies. Getting between areas needs planning - but I went to Chamonix in the half-term week and although it was busy I had no problems with queues. Lifts are dated but they still get you up the mountain. I have been skiing for 30 years and can easily say one of my best weeks skiing. Not really a beginners resort, but Chamonix has plenty for improvers and the more daring skiier.
March 06, 2009
SAN from Ski S. Africa S. Africa
The real issue here at Chamonix is the same as in the Med:too many lager louts misbehaving, drinking, urinating and vomiting. The town is fun otherwise; friendly restaurants and not too pricey. Slopes are pretty but the area is small. Would recommend Megeve as it is not busy.
February 02, 2009
dawn white from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Chamonix does not have such bad weather, crap buses and expensive restaurants. With regard to the snow quality, I could go on. Can anyone can tell me about a ski resort that has blue-bird powder days, a lift system which has no one on it and I can get a beer and a burger for under a fiver? It just doesn't happen. The ski areas at Chamonix are not linked and this was a bit of a shock, so do be prepared to spend a little time travelling and, to be fair, it isn't bad at all. The buses run all the time and if you do have a car you can park in a huge car park next to the base lifts in all ski areas. All the ski areas have some great wide runs with breathtaking scenery. I was lucky enough to have nearly a meter of fresh snow, so the off-piste was amazing and the pistes where simple perfect. One day we were limited to only 3 or 4 runs because of the heavy snow fall but were making fresh tracks over and over again; I didn't care one bit. Pros and cons: -need a car or be ready to use public transport -buses run all the time, wasn't busy at all when I went but that was January -loads of restaurants to suit all prices and cuisine -if you're a good skier/boarder and want different runs day in and day out go to the 3 valleys, unless you don't mind jumping to another ski area. This can be a bit of a pain though -if you want chilled relaxing days, lovely wide runs and some breathtaking scenery Chamonix is the place. -off-piste is amazing (depending on snow of course) -if you have none skiers in your party, Chamonix town is ideal.
January 28, 2009
AP
I can thoroughly recommend Chamonix to anyone who is contemplating a visit. I have been skiing for 30 odd years and this was my first trip to Cham (Chamonix) and loved it. If anyone goes and needs a good/excellent guide to ski the Vallee Blanche or anywhere else for that matter make sure you do yourself a favour and hook up with Kenton Cool, AKA Coolman, from Dream Guides based in Chamonix. He is passionate about climbing and the mountains, and his positive attitude to his job as a guide is infectious. He certainly knows the mountains; then again I suppose you would after climbing Everest 6 times. Get on board with him; you'll love it. Make sure you head to the the Neuf...Chambre Neuf for a good apres session at Chamonix. It is located opposite the bus station. Happy Crankin...AP