Off-piste ski touring

Mountains
OUTDOOR
Winter
Ski touring
Snow

Just 35 minutes from Grenoble, the “capital of the Alps”, and an hour and a half from Lyon, the family-friendly resort of Chamrousse has plenty of hidden, little-used trails, ideal for escaping into the heart of the wilderness. Explore these lesser-known routes on touring skis and enjoy complete freedom, with or without a guide.

Fancy escaping the grey skies, filling your lungs with fresh air and watching the Vercors glow beneath the setting sun? With 41 downhill runs and nine cross-country ski trails, graded from green to black and spread between 1,400 m and 2,250 m, Chamrousse has something for winter-sports fans of every level, and you won’t have to travel far to find it.

Wild nature

In the southern part of the crystalline Belledonne massif, the resort sits among picture-postcard forests of Swiss stone pine and mountain pine, an unspoilt wilderness which you can explore on touring skis at your own pace. Please respect the piste patrol’s work, and give the area’s fragile wildlife, which spends the winter in survival mode, the peace it needs by keeping to the marked trails and staying out of the downhill ski area.

Chamrousse resort

Two marked off-piste routes

Self-guided

Routes

As ski touring has grown in popularity in recent years, the resort has marked out two off-piste routes: one starts at Casserousse (1,400 m), the resort’s lowest point, while the other begins at Bachat-Bouloud (1,700 m).

Both routes quickly take you into unspoilt countryside, winding through stands of Swiss stone pine.

If you’d rather save your energy and head straight for the wide-open snowfields, the “randonneur” pass is a good option. For around €10, you get two return trips on the Casserousse chairlift, the Croix gondola or the Lacs Robert chairlift, which take you directly up to 2,250 m, ready to tackle the neighbouring summits.

Read our essential practical advice, developed with ANENA, to help you prepare as well as possible for your off-piste outings.

Prevention and safety

Going with a guide makes it even better

For a safe trip off the beaten track, your best option is to go with a guide. Book a full-day or half-day outing in a group of no more than four to six people, and you’ll pay a very reasonable price per head and enjoy the day all the more. Our guides are passionate about sport and the outdoors, and they love sharing their knowledge of the terrain.

To round off the day in style, relax on the terrace of the restaurant at the top of the resort at sunset before you head back down. And why not treat yourself to the full works with a spa session at the Bains de Chamrousse?

Ski schools