Les Carroz
Cruising down a long quiet green run in glorious sunshine in beautiful surroundings is the dream of every beginner skier. Doing so in the Grand Massif, one of the most stunning areas in the French Alps with an authentic French village waiting for you at the end is enough to make you feel like you're experiencing beginner ski heaven.
Les Carroz is a gem of a resort situated in the Grand Massif area just one hour by car from Geneva airport. Getting to Geneva from Ireland is a short 1 hour 45 minute flight so it's the ideal distance for families or groups travelling from here.
Marie at the tourist board helped us to organise our short three day trip and we managed to pack some great skiing into a short time.
The local taxi firm Mont Blanc taxis can be booked to collect your group from the airport for a very reasonable fee and their excellent service means that your holiday begins the moment you step off the plane. Francesco our driver pointed out some of the sights of Geneva as we went through and it seemed like no time at all until we had our first glimpse of the extensive ski area.
First stop for us was SkiSet, an excellent equipment hire shop in town where Alain and his team take great care in fitting you with high quality equipment to match your standard and then it was back to the apartment for a quick change before hitting the slopes.
As beginners we were very happy to find two large practice slopes with three drag lifts servicing them. These areas are completely free to use and you don't need a ski pass for access. A couple of hours here blew the cobwebs away and got the confidence up in preparation for our ski the next morning with Giorgios from ESF.
ESF is one one of the oldest and biggest ski schools in France with ski schools in nearly 200 resorts and our experience of them on this trip proves again just why that is. Giorgios quickly established our ski level and ability and even though we're a long way from hitting the black slopes he developed a route for us that took us right to the top of the mountain with blue slope skiing all the way down. The blue slopes here vary between very beginner friendly and some parts which are more challenging and may be better classified as red but this makes it the ideal range for a beginner looking to progress. What makes up for the parts when you have to push yourself are those long easy green runs which are perfect for when you need to relax a little and feel fully in control again.
After a couple of hours exploring the mountains with Georgios and getting some very helpful advice and tips on our skiing along the way we settled in for lunch and a vin chaud at one of the many mountain restaurants. The atmosphere throughout the resort is very relaxed and family friendly with a good mix of locals making the most of any opportunity to escape to the mountains for a few hours. The region clearly prides itself in its excellent faciilities, and the expertise of the lift operators, crew and local instructors, as well as pisting and snowmaking, was very high.
With Les Carroz as your base it is possible to explore most areas of the Grand Massif on skis even if you're not an expert. The ski area is well planned with constant investment in new lifts and piste development that a combination of lifts and blue runs will let you visit Flaine, Samoen and Morillon and we tried to cover as much of this as we could in our remaining time. Boredom is not something that will set in in this resort.
By the start of day three we were feeling achieved and thought nothing of skiing from the run outside our apartment to the amazing boulangerie down the hill for some pain au chocolat for breakfast. The Front de Neige apartments are perfectly positioned for just this kind of trip with a quick spin back up the drag lift dropping us a short forest ski from our front door. A pretty good way to start the day, it has to be said.
Les Carroz is a proper working town and not just a resort town and this bustle of day to day activity definitely adds to the vibe of the village. There are lot's of nice places to eat in the main town square with Marlow's bar / bistro deserving special mention for a tasty ranges of breakfast, lunch and dinner options at reasonable prices, nice service and rustic French surroundings.
The area has it's fair share of red, black and off piste runs too so if your group has a mixed level of abilities there really is something for everyone. At a total of 3 hours travel time from Dublin airport to pulling on your ski boots travelpod.ie highly recommends Les Carroz for your 2010 snow break.
Les Carroz is a gem of a resort situated in the Grand Massif area just one hour by car from Geneva airport. Getting to Geneva from Ireland is a short 1 hour 45 minute flight so it's the ideal distance for families or groups travelling from here.
Marie at the tourist board
The local taxi firm Mont Blanc taxis
First stop for us was SkiSet, an excellent equipment hire shop in town where Alain and his team take great care in fitting you with high quality equipment to match your standard and then it was back to the apartment for a quick change before hitting the slopes.
As beginners we were very happy to find two large practice slopes with three drag lifts servicing them. These areas are completely free to use and you don't need a ski pass for access. A couple of hours here blew the cobwebs away and got the confidence up in preparation for our ski the next morning with Giorgios from ESF.
ESF is one one of the oldest and biggest ski schools in France with ski schools in nearly 200 resorts and our experience of them on this trip proves again just why that is. Giorgios quickly established our ski level and ability and even though we're a long way from hitting the black slopes he developed a route for us that took us right to the top of the mountain with blue slope skiing all the way down. The blue slopes here vary between very beginner friendly and some parts which are more challenging and may be better classified as red but this makes it the ideal range for a beginner looking to progress. What makes up for the parts when you have to push yourself are those long easy green runs which are perfect for when you need to relax a little and feel fully in control again.
After a couple of hours exploring the mountains with Georgios and getting some very helpful advice and tips on our skiing along the way we settled in for lunch and a vin chaud at one of the many mountain restaurants. The atmosphere throughout the resort is very relaxed and family friendly with a good mix of locals making the most of any opportunity to escape to the mountains for a few hours. The region clearly prides itself in its excellent faciilities, and the expertise of the lift operators, crew and local instructors, as well as pisting and snowmaking, was very high.
With Les Carroz as your base it is possible to explore most areas of the Grand Massif on skis even if you're not an expert. The ski area is well planned with constant investment in new lifts and piste development that a combination of lifts and blue runs will let you visit Flaine, Samoen and Morillon and we tried to cover as much of this as we could in our remaining time. Boredom is not something that will set in in this resort.
By the start of day three we were feeling achieved and thought nothing of skiing from the run outside our apartment to the amazing boulangerie down the hill for some pain au chocolat for breakfast. The Front de Neige apartments are perfectly positioned for just this kind of trip with a quick spin back up the drag lift dropping us a short forest ski from our front door. A pretty good way to start the day, it has to be said.
Les Carroz is a proper working town and not just a resort town and this bustle of day to day activity definitely adds to the vibe of the village. There are lot's of nice places to eat in the main town square with Marlow's bar / bistro deserving special mention for a tasty ranges of breakfast, lunch and dinner options at reasonable prices, nice service and rustic French surroundings.
The area has it's fair share of red, black and off piste runs too so if your group has a mixed level of abilities there really is something for everyone. At a total of 3 hours travel time from Dublin airport to pulling on your ski boots travelpod.ie highly recommends Les Carroz for your 2010 snow break.
Les Carroz
Essential Information
Vertical Drop 975 m
Top Elevation 2120 m
Trails 32
Terrain 43% green 45% blue 12% black
Lifts 15
Cable Cars 5
Total X Country 8 km
Restaurants 25