Col de Plainpalais
The Col de Plainpalais is a pass in France located in the massif des Bauges, in the Prealps.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?n/a
Not rated: “top of the ski area” is missing from this page.
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 34 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 34 km · Lifts: 16 · Balance between piste levels: 85%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?3 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 73% · Magic carpets: 3 · Sledging runs: 2 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 3 hr 59 · Nearest railway station: 25 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 40 min
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 0 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 933 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Right now at the FECLAZ_SAPC station (1,328 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 1,173 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Average snow depth by month
Good snow from December to February.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6 h · Dec 5.5 h · Jan 5.6 h · Feb 7.1 h · Mar 8.4 h · Apr 10 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November—no record
- December62 cmGood skiing · 81%
- January74 cmGood skiing · 91%
- February93 cmGood skiing · 86%
- March98 cmVariable · 78%
- April—no record
- May—no record
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Measured snow history: not available for this resort. No Météo-France station close enough (the 1 nearby station sits more than 300 m away from the altitude we aim for (1173 m)). We would rather show nothing than borrow a distant valley’s reading.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →52 pistes, by level — 34 km
- Lifts
- 2 chairlifts, 11 drag lifts, 3 magic carpets
- Cross-country skiing
- 70 km of nordic trails
- Snowpark
- Yes
- Without skis
- 0 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 2 sledging runs
- Piste aspect
- N 16% · E 76% · S 3% · W 5% (descent direction of 46 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- 1400 (1396 m) · Le Sapey (1346 m) · Le Baille à Berre (1332 m) · Le Saint-Jo (1328 m)
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
Staying and hiring gear in Col de Plainpalais
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (1) →Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 18 September 2026.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Col de Plainpalais
From Paris: 6 hr 16 (588 km) by road.
By road
- From Chambéry: 27 min · 19 km
- From Annecy: 46 min · 39 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 01 · 72 km
- From Genève: 1 hr 15 · 77 km
- From Lyon: 1 hr 39 · 118 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 2 hr 04 · 165 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 12 · 167 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 31 · 319 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 3 hr 32 · 287 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 35 · 250 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 11 · 369 km
- From Marseille: 4 hr 16 · 379 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 30 · 467 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 33 · 517 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 38 · 530 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 54 · 537 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 16 · 588 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 29 · 604 km
- From Bordeaux: 7 hr 30 · 673 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 23 · 794 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux station
main station, high-speed trains · then 25 min drive (18 km)
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 13 September 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 40 min by road · 27 km
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 1 hr 23 by road · 109 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Col de Plainpalais as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 September 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Col de Plainpalais — up to 880 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montagne de Lachat · Versant SE depuis Plainpalais | 1.1 · E1 | 250 m | 1,173 → 1,441 m | SE | 1 km |
| Mont Margeriaz · couloir N en Z | 4.2 · E2 · D | 600 m | 1,176 → 1,730 m | N · NE | 1.7 km |
| Mont Margeriaz · par les Crêtes | 1.2 · E1 · F | 445 m | 1,400 → 1,845 m | E | 1.7 km |
| Mont Margeriaz · Sentier des Tannes et Glacières | n/a · F | 450 m | 1,330 → 1,845 m | S | 2.4 km |
| Mont Margeriaz · Par les pistes | 1.2 · E2 · F | 430 m | 1,400 → 1,845 m | E | 2.4 km |
| L’Orionde · Par la piste de ski hors saison | 1.1 · E1 · F | 200 m | 1,330 → 1,530 m | n/a | 3.8 km |
| Mont de la Croix · Par la Combe de la Verne | n/a · F | 720 m | 894 → 1,614 m | NE | 4.1 km |
| Les Chalets du Sire · Depuis Le Sire | 1.2 · F+ | 93 m | 1,410 → 1,502 m | NW | 4.4 km |
| Le Revard · Versant E | 1.2 · E1 · F+ | 78 m | 1,460 → 1,538 m | E · SE | 4.8 km |
| Mont Revard · La crémaillere | n/a · F | 708 m | 830 → 1,538 m | NW | 5.1 km |
| Le Revard · couloir du téléphérique | 5.1 · E3 · D+ | 880 m | 680 → 1,562 m | W · SW | 5.4 km |
| Mont Revard · Couloir du Téléphérique | 5.1 · E3 · TD | 848 m | 690 → 1,538 m | W | 5.4 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at Col de Plainpalais
Toboggan runs
- Espace Luge au Revard - Luge en S · Les Déserts · 5 km away
Swimming pool
- Piscine municipale d'Aillons Margériaz · Aillon-le-Jeune · 7.9 km away
Dog sledding
- La Ferme des Chiens de Traîneaux des Aillons-Margériaz · Aillon-le-Jeune · 3.5 km away
Paragliding
- EPiC - L'École de Parapente de Chambéry · Bassens · 9.5 km away
- Aire de décollage de parapente du Mont-Morbié · Aillon-le-Jeune · 9.5 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
933 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 2 hotels · 45 rooms
- 2 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 933 bed spaces
Commune: Les Déserts · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Office de tourisme
Ski school
ESF La Feclaz
67 instructors
🇬🇧 63 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Col de Plainpalais?
Col de Plainpalais sits at 1,173 m at village level.
How many kilometres of pistes does Col de Plainpalais have?
Col de Plainpalais has 34 km of pistes served by 16 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
How do I get to Col de Plainpalais?
By road, Col de Plainpalais is 27 min from Chambéry (19 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux (main station, high-speed trains), 25 min by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Chambéry-Savoie, 40 min away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Col de Plainpalais?
6 hr 16 for 588 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Col de Plainpalais?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to twenty winters of Météo-France measurements; in season the daily report prevails.
Is Col de Plainpalais good for beginners and families?
73% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area.
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