Les Brasses
1,320 mVillage altitude
1,495 mTop of the ski area
20 kmAlpine pistes
14Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
The Massif des Brasses is a mid-sized alpine ski area in the Haute-Savoie department of France. The ski area is located in the commune of Saint-Jeoire, at the head of the Giffre valley. It is marketed as a close ski destination to Geneva, with a claimed transfer time of 20 minutes from the Genevan basin.
Live webcams
All webcams (1) →Each player is the camera operator’s own, loaded only when you ask for it — it may set its own trackers.
Official players of the resort, live image.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →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.
Avalanche danger
Good snow from mid-January to late March. 115 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 11 winters at the Météo-France “LE GRAND-BORNAND” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 11 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,320 m · top 1,495 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.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 315 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?2.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 1,495 m · Bottom of the pistes: 880 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 115 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 38%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 20 km · Lifts: 14 · Balance between piste levels: 87%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: no official price list could be found.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 54% · Magic carpets: 2 · Sledging runs: 1 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 1
- AccessIs it easy to get to?3 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 31 · Nearest railway station: 37 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 14
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 4 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — 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 declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), STRMTG register, OpenStreetMap; snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (figures declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), national lift register (STRMTG), OpenStreetMap) ; 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).
28 pistes, by level
3 green12 blue10 red3 black
- Skiable vertical
- 615 m
- Cross-country skiing
- 25 km of nordic trails
Ski-area figures — bottom, km of pistes, pistes by level: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct); top, lifts: STRMTG — French national lift register (1 Jan) .
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20262 kmLongest piste — La Mt Blanc (blue), 302 m of vertical
302 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 1,429 → 1,128 m, 2 km
1,495 mHighest lift top — TK Pointe Brasses (platter lift), national lift register
12,498Total lift capacity, people per hour — 14 installations: 2 chairlifts, 10 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets
41 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1972, newest 2021
1,530Biggest lift, people per hour — TS de Mont Méton (chairlift, 1982)
8 kmTotal length of lifts — 12 lifts mapped
870 haSki area boundary (OSM)
3,457Inhabitants — Saint-Jeoire (INSEE 74241)
Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Les Brasses only (“BRASSES (LES)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Les Brasses
The partners covering this resort, shown side by side, and the shop to kit out before you leave. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Collective accommodation
- 1 hotel · 9 rooms (1 × 2★)
Commune: Saint-Jeoire · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Stay & accommodation
Holidu
Holiday-rental comparison site.
Ski hire
Skiset UK
Skiset’s UK site: ski hire in the resort shops, booked in English, paid in pounds.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Beyond skiing at Les Brasses
Without skis on — 1 sledging run
Paragliding
- Vol en parapente · Viuz-en-Sallaz · 4.4 km away
- Ecole de parapente les Choucas · Mieussy · 6.9 km away
Museum
- Le Musée Paysan, un site de PAYSALP Culture & Patrimoine · Viuz-en-Sallaz · 4 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma La Trace · Villard · 5.5 km away
- Les Chavannes · 2.4 km away · OpenStreetMap
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. Lines marked OpenStreetMap come from the map, within 3 km — opening times on site. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Ski schools and practical information
Ski school
ESF Les Brasses
42 instructors
🇬🇧 51 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Tourist office
Point information touristique
📍 93 Route de Chaîne d'Or, 74250 Bogève
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.
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing → 9 Marked off-piste itineraries · 6 km
— Ski touring routes
Named itineraries: Jonction · La Joux · Freeride la Mouille · Les Poses (hiver) · Les Poses (Hiver) · Mur de la Noire
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
12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Les Brasses — up to 1,221 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pointe des Brasses · Depuis les Chenevières | 1.3 · E1 | 625 m | 875 → 1,503 m | NE | 0.4 km |
| Pointe des Brasses · Depuis Ville-en-Sallaz | n/a · PD | 800 m | 700 → 1,503 m | W | 0.7 km |
| Pointe des Brasses · depuis Chaîne d'or | 1.2 · E1 · F | 300 m | 1,200 → 1,503 m | N | 0.7 km |
| Pointe des Brasses · Depuis Les Places | 1.1 · E1 · F | 406 m | 1,097 → 1,503 m | N | 0.8 km |
The other 8 routes, with grades and vertical →
Not a piste. Neither marked, nor patrolled, nor secured: transceiver, shovel, probe, the day’s avalanche bulletin and, better still, a guide. Ski grade (1.1–5.6) = steepness and commitment; exposure (E1–E4) = consequence of a fall.
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 October 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Official piste map
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 Les Brasses
From Paris: 6 hr 15 (572 km) by road.
By road
- From Genève: 49 min · 37 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 05 · 66 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 32 · 108 km
- From Grenoble: 2 hr 06 · 164 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 23 · 180 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Valence: 3 hr 04 · 266 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 3 hr 05 · 244 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 17 · 211 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 24 · 293 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 06 · 348 km
- From Montpellier: 5 hr 11 · 470 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 12 · 428 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 17 · 480 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 27 · 496 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 15 · 572 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 33 · 618 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 34 · 540 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 29 · 704 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 04 · 737 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 24 · 894 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Marignier station
regional station · then 37 min drive (24 km)
Nearest main station: Annecy, 1 hr 03 by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 11 October 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
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 14 by road · 45 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 36 by road · 107 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Les Brasses 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 October 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 October 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.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Frequently asked questions
How high is Les Brasses?
Les Brasses sits at 1,320 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,495 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Les Brasses have?
Les Brasses has 20 km of slopes, 14 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Les Brasses?
The longest piste is La Mt Blanc: 2 km (blue run), for 302 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Les Brasses?
The highest lift, TK Pointe Brasses (platter lift), tops out at 1,495 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Les Brasses have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 14 installations at Les Brasses (2 chairlifts, 10 drag lifts, 2 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 12,498 people per hour, of which 1,530 for TS de Mont Méton alone. The fleet spans 1972 to 2021, an average age of 41 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How do I get to Les Brasses?
By road, Les Brasses is 49 min from Genève (37 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Marignier, 37 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 Genève, 1 hr 14 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Les Brasses?
6 hr 15 for 572 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 Les Brasses?
Good snow from mid-January to late March. 115 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 11 winters at the Météo-France “LE GRAND-BORNAND” station. This verdict rests on 11 winters of Météo-France measurements (2015-2026); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Les Brasses good for beginners and families?
54% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
Nearby resorts
Full page in French. The French page carries the editorial guides and a few extra readings; every figure, webcam and price on this page is the same one. Les Brasses in French →
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