SNOWBOARDING IN GRAND MASSIF | FRENCH ALPS

Very recently we went on an early season snowboarding trip on the French Alps in mid-December.  In previous years, we had visited La Plagne (a part of Paradiski ski domain) and snowboarded down “Aiguille Rouge” one of the longest runs on the French Alps.  We also stayed in Vaujany and went over to Alpe D’Huez for “La Sarenne” (also one of the longest runs in the Alps).

This time, we went for somewhere a little less well-known: Grand Massif ski domain.

WHERE IS Grand Massif Ski Domain?

Located in France, Grand Massif is less than 80km or about 1.10 hour drive from Geneva (the closet airport).  It is in pretty much the same region as Chamonix and the majestic Mont Blanc.

This ski domain currently comprises of 4 resorts namely Les Carroz, Samöens, Merillon and Flaine.  Originally Sixt Fer à Cheval was also a part of it, but it closed down permanently as of December 2018 due to insufficient amount of snow.

Here are some info about Grand Massif:

Top elevation	2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Flaine
Base elevation	700 m (2,300 ft)
Skiable area	265 km (165 mi) of runs
Runs	146 (20 green, 64 blue, 49 red, 13 black) [1]
Longest run	14 km (8.7 mi)[2]
Lift system	71 lifts [3]
Terrain parks	16 [4]

WHAT WE’VE GOT TO SAY ABOUT GRAND MASSIF

First of all, we were there for only 4 days and got there very early in the season.  Our first 3 days we didn’t have much luck with powder, but we still had a great time carving our way down the pistes as there had been an unusually good early season snowfall.  There were a few long red-pistes which had good snow, especially at the top.  Quite a few of the black runs were still closed when we were there however… just needing a bit more snow.

The off-piste area didn’t really have enough snow (yet) on our first few days.  However, the groomed runs were not crowded at all.  This is one of the benefits of going to a lesser known ski domain 😉

And of course the view was AMAZING–especially in Flaine which has a higher elevation than the surrounding ski villages.

The Best Part Of Grand Massif: FLAINE

Flaine is home to Grand Massif’s top skiable elevation.  We stayed at Club Med Grand Massif Samöens Morillon (in Samöens), and it took us just a bit over an hour to get across from Samöens to the top of Flaine (2,500m elevation).

At the very top of Flaine, the view is INCREDIBLE…

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There is also a restaurant there where you can have lunch with a breath-taking view of the French Alps, or get hammered on Wissen Beer and slide your way back down to your resort…though this is not recommended.

We spent most of our time in Flaine on all of our days.  Luckily there was a big overnight snowfall before our last day, so we had 1 full day of amazing powder.  This was when we could fully enjoy Grand Massif and its fantastic off-piste areas! 

Special thanks to our awesome friend Owen our backcountry snowboarding leader who made sure all of us were safe and sound (and hydrated).

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In short, the runs in Samöens where we were based were OK and are great for warming up, however we really recommend heading straight to Flaine first thing in the morning and make the most of your day there!

As Grand Massif isn’t as well-known as other major ski resorts in France, and we were there in the first week of the season.. the runs were never flooded with people, and there was NEVER a queue for any ski-lifts or gondola! (OK that’s a lie.  We once had 8 people in front of us for the gondola on our last day–a powder day!).

WHERE DID WE STAY?

We stayed at Club Med Grand Massif Samöens Morillon  an all-inclusive ski-in ski-out resort in Samöens at 1,600m elevation.

This is a very new resort so everything was spotless clean!  We got ourselves a basic superior balcony room with a bath tub–which helped us battle muscle aches after long days of boarding!  What we loved about this room was that there were so many storage space (closets, cabinets, drawers, etc.) for our big and bulky winter wears.  This enabled us to keep our 25 sq.m. room tidy and feel spacious throughout our entire stay there.

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Here is our video on Club Med and a mini tour of the Superior Balcony room, ski shop & rental, bar & theatre, snacks and buffet and ending with a bit of powder.

Stay tuned to LOL STAY full review on Club med Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon!

Thanks for reading our article and we hope this has been useful!  Please let us know if you have any questions we may be able to help with!

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RECOMMENDED LINKS

• LOL full-length article: Snowboarding in La Plagne in French Alps
• LOL DO Experience: Aiguille Rouge – One of the Longest Runs on the French Alps
• LOL full-length article: Snowboarding in Tomamu | Hokkaido – Japan
• LOL STAY Experience: Club Med Tomamu Resort | Hokkaido – Japan

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