The magazine
30 articles written from the site’s own data — no opinions, figures that were read and dated, and the resorts that go with them. Rankings are computed live: they move when the data moves.
Safety Ski insurance, Carré Neige, piste rescue: who pays what when you fall A sled rescue on piste costs between €300 and €600, a helicopter evacuation €1,500 to €4,000, and the skier gets the bill — rescue on a ski area is charged in France, unlike mountain rescue outside the area. Carré Neige, at €3 a day, covers the essentials. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and what your bank card already does. 15 September 2026
Safety Ski helmets and back protectors: what the standards guarantee, and how to choose Helmets are compulsory nowhere on French pistes, and nine skiers in ten wear one. It protects from an impact against an obstacle or another skier, not from a high-speed fall. A back protector shields the spine from a direct blow, not a twist. Knowing what each does — and does not do — helps choose them, and helps you not ski faster because you wear them. 15 September 2026
Technique Choosing ski boots: size, flex, width — and why the boot matters more than the ski Skiing is steered by the foot: a boot that is too big, too soft or too wide makes you ski a size off, whatever the ski underneath. Here are the three numbers that decide a boot — the Mondopoint size, the flex, the last width — and how to try them on in the shop. 15 September 2026
Technique Choosing skis: length, waist width, turn radius — the three numbers that decide A ski is read on three numbers printed on its tip or in its spec sheet: length, waist width and turn radius. They say where it is made to ski — hard piste, soft snow, all terrain — better than any sales pitch. Here is how to read them, and which ski to take for what you actually ski. 15 September 2026
Technique Understanding mountain weather: the freezing level, wind, the rain-snow line — reading a forecast like a patroller A forecast of “snow at 1,800 m” does not say it will snow in the resort: it says where rain turns to snow, and that line moves by several hundred metres in a day. Our resort pages give the seven-day forecast at the village and at the summit, with the freezing level and the wind. Here is how to read those figures — and why wind closes more lifts than snow. 15 September 2026
Technique Ski maintenance: waxing, edge sharpening, and what you can do yourself A ski that no longer grips on hard piste rarely needs replacing: its edges are dull. A ski that sticks in spring snow lacks wax. Both are fixed in an hour at the workshop — or in your garage with three tools. Here is what to do, when, and what to leave to the professional. 15 September 2026
Budget The season pass: from how many days it pays off, resort by resort A season pass costs between 15 and 20 day passes depending on the resort — €1,200 against €78 a day at Tignes, €200 against €18.50 at the Semnoz. The sum is simple on the lists we read: we do it for every resort that publishes both prices, and say who it suits. 15 September 2026
Budget Renting or buying ski gear: the sum, item by item A pair of skis with bindings rents for €100 to €200 a week and costs €500 to €900 to buy. The break-even point is around five weeks — but it is not the same for boots, which pay off in two, nor for children, who grow. Here is the sum item by item, and what renting does better than buying. 15 September 2026
Technique Ski goggles and sunglasses: filter categories, lenses by weather, and why fog needs the opposite of sun At 2,500 m, snow reflects up to 80 % of ultraviolet and the air filters less of it: without protection, the cornea burns in a day. But a full-sun lens leaves you blind in fog. A lens is chosen by its category, 0 to 4, and many skiers need two. Here is how to read the label and what to put in the bag. 15 September 2026
Technique Dressing for skiing: the three layers, and what you really need to buy A ski day goes from −15 °C on a windy chairlift to +5 °C on a sunny terrace, with sweat in between. A single thick jacket cannot handle that; three thin layers can. Here is the principle, what each layer must do, and where to put the money — gloves and goggles before the jacket. 15 September 2026
Budget How much does a ski pass cost in 2026-2027? The prices read from the official lists From €15 a day in a small Massif Central resort to €78 at Tignes and Val-d'Isère: across the 59 price lists already published for this winter, an adult day pass costs €45.60 on average. Here is what the prices say, resort by resort, and what you get for your money. 14 September 2026
Ranking The highest ski resorts in France: where the snow lasts longest Val Thorens, at 2,300 m, is still Europe's highest resort village, and the 3 Vallées ski area climbs to 3,001 m. But the altitude that matters for your week is not the summit's: it is where you will actually ski, and where you will sleep. 14 September 2026
Ranking How much snow really falls on French ski resorts? What the measurements say At Lognan, above Argentière, 660 cm of snow falls a winter on average, over 54 days of snowfall, across twenty measured winters. In the Pyrenees, the Piau station counts 536. For the first time, our resort pages give the cumulative snowfall measured on the ground by Météo-France — not the brochure figure — for 187 resorts. 13 September 2026
Budget Skiing for under €30 a day: the cheapest resorts in France Twelve resorts sell the adult day pass for under €26 this season, from the Massif Central to the Vosges by way of the Pyrenees. Small, often less than an hour from a city, they are where you learn, where you take the children, and where you ski on a Sunday without spending the holiday budget. 13 September 2026
Ranking The longest ski runs in France, measured on the map The Cascades, at Flaine, descends 10.5 km and 1,594 m of vertical without changing its name. The Tabuc, at Serre Chevalier, 10 km. This ranking does not repeat the brochures: it measures each run on its mapped course, sections joined up, altitudes read from the national terrain model. 12 September 2026
Technique How to set your ski bindings: the DIN value explained, and why you have it checked A binding that does not release breaks a knee; one that releases too early throws you onto a groomed run at 40 km/h. Between the two is one value — the DIN — that the shop works out from your weight, height, age, level and boot sole length. Here is how to read it, and what you can check yourself. 11 September 2026
Choosing a resort 3 Vallées, Paradiski, Portes du Soleil, Grand Massif: which big ski area to choose? The 3 Vallées claim 600 km of pistes, Paradiski 425, the Portes du Soleil 600 on both sides of the border. But nobody skis 600 km in a week. What counts is what you can reach from your bed, in how many lifts, and what it costs. Here are the big French areas, measured rather than declared. 10 September 2026
Practical Skiing by train: the resorts where you step off the carriage onto the snow Fourteen French resorts are less than ten minutes' drive from a railway station — and four are one minute away: Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Aime-La Plagne, Le Lioran, Vallorcine. With the official shuttles read from public timetables, here is where the train really replaces the car. 9 September 2026
Choosing a resort Where to learn to ski? The resorts made for beginners A beginner does not need 400 km of pistes. They need wide green runs, a flat snow front, a pass that does not cost €78, and an area where two thirds of the runs are theirs by the third day. Our resort pages measure each resort's share of easy runs: here are the ones that come out on top. 8 September 2026
Safety Reading the avalanche bulletin: the five levels, and what they change about your day Danger level 3 is not “medium”: it is the level at which the most fatal accidents happen. The avalanche danger bulletin, published every day by Météo-France for 35 mountain ranges, reads in three minutes once you know where to look. Our resort pages show it for 272 resorts — here is how to read it. 7 September 2026
Choosing a resort Spring skiing: where the snow still lies in April April is the month of sunshine skiing — and of slush. Our Météo-France records, fortnight by fortnight over dozens of winters, say where the snowpack keeps 30 cm on the ground until closing: the stations above 2,000 m, the north-facing slopes, and a few surprises. 6 September 2026
Technique Getting started in ski touring: the gear, the grades, and where to make your first climbs Climbing on skins requires neither being a mountaineer nor going far: 323 French resorts have routes described within ten kilometres, and many mark out ascent tracks beside the pistes for learning. Here is what to know before the first outing — and where to do it. 5 September 2026
Choosing a resort What to do in a ski resort without skiing? Snowshoes, sledging, ice rinks, spas: the resorts with the most to offer A mountain holiday always includes someone who does not ski — or no longer does, or not yet. Our resort pages list for each resort the named, mapped non-ski activities: sledge runs, snowshoe trails, ice rinks, pools, thermal centres. Here are the resorts where you do not get bored without skis. 4 September 2026
Choosing a resort Choosing a ski resort for a family: what the Famille Plus label guarantees, and what the figures add Seventy resorts on our pages carry the Famille Plus label. It guarantees services — childcare, children's lessons, family rates — but not the gradient of the runs nor the price of the pass. To choose, you cross the label with three measured figures: the share of easy runs, the child pass and ski-in ski-out access. 3 September 2026
Ranking France's ski lifts: the highest, the oldest, the most powerful, from the national register La Plagne moves 149,594 people an hour on 109 lifts. Megève runs a lift commissioned in 1933. The Grande Motte cable car arrives at 3,451 m. These figures do not come from the resorts: they come from the safety register kept by the State, which our resort pages reproduce lift by lift. 2 September 2026
Practical Snow chains, winter tyres, the Mountain Law: what you need in the boot to drive up to a resort From 1 November to 31 March, in most mountain municipalities, you need either winter tyres or chains or snow socks in the boot. What the law says, what the passes impose, and what our resort pages know about each resort's roads — closed passes avoided, charging points, live road conditions. 1 September 2026
Technique North or south? Slope aspect, the figure that decides the snow in spring Gourette skis 89 % north-facing and keeps its snow well beyond what its altitude promises. La Rosière skis 55 % due south and sells sunshine. Our resort pages measure, from the fall line of each run, the share of north-, east-, south- and west-facing slopes of 335 resorts. Here is how to use it. 31 August 2026
Practical When to go skiing? School holidays, zones and crowds, week by week Two of the four February weeks are busy, two are quiet; Christmas week is empty, New Year week full; March is the best month for anyone without school-age children. Our calendar crosses zones A, B and C with expected crowds — and the pass price, which does not move, unlike accommodation. 30 August 2026
Technique The skier's glossary: green run, itinerary, marked off-piste, glacier… what the words mean on the piste map A black run is not the same gradient in the Alps and in the Vosges. An “itinerary” is not a piste. A “marked” off-piste route is not secured. Resort vocabulary is coded, and the code has holes — here is what each word guarantees, and what it does not. 29 August 2026
Choosing a resort Skiing at Christmas: the resorts where December really has snow One resort in two has no guaranteed snow at Christmas. Our Météo-France records, over twenty winters and more, say which had 30 cm on the ground more than four years in five in the fortnight of 16 to 31 December: the stations above 2,000 m without exception, and a few north-facing mid-altitude areas. 28 August 2026