Pipay
1,550 mVillage altitude
2,236 mTop of the ski area
120 kmLinked pistes · Les Sept Laux
€43Adult day pass
Not retained (conflicting sources): ski lifts.
Pipay is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Isère), in the commune of Theys. The village sits at 1,550 m and the ski area rises to 2,236 m.
Live webcams
All webcams (4) →Prapoutel · SommetdesbouquetinsSkaping
Pleynet · OursiereSkaping
Pleynet · Les LoupsSkaping
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.
Right now at the AIGLETON-NIVOSE station (2,240 m)
Source: Météo-France, AIGLETON-NIVOSE weather station, 4.1 km away. Hourly measurement — not the resort’s own snow report.
Avalanche danger
Natural snow is low on average: skiing depends on snowmaking and good years. 30 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 19 winters at the Météo-France “ST HILAIRE-NIVOSE” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 19 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,550 m · top 2,236 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: 2,236 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,550 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 30 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 82%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km skiable from the resort, linked area included: 120 km
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?4 / 5
Adult day pass: €43 · Adult 6-day pass: €218
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?1.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 46% · 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: 4 hr 07 · Nearest railway station: 23 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 01
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?1.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 10 · 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 · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 · Adult day pass: €43 — 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).
Lift passes
All prices (child, family, season) →€218 6 days
Price declared by the resort to ANMSM (the French ski resorts’ mayors association) — not the official price list, which prevails. Season not stated by the resort. ANMSM ↗
- Skiable vertical
- 686 m
- Cross-country skiing
- 1 named trail — 0.6 km of marked loops, 2.9 km from the resort
- Snowpark
- Yes
Ski-area figures — top: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct); km of the linked area: ANMSM — figures declared by the resort (16 Oct) . In a linked ski area the map cannot tell where the resort ends: its own km stay “n/a” until the resort declares them.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20265 kmLongest piste — Chanterelle (green), 620 m of vertical
918 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,372 → 1,454 m, 4 km
2,372 mHighest lift top — Gypaète (chairlift)
17 kmTotal length of lifts — 22 lifts mapped
n/aSki area boundary (OSM)
2,011Inhabitants — Theys (INSEE 38504)
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.
Staying and hiring gear in Pipay
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 campsite · 61 pitches
Commune: Theys · 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.
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 Pipay
Without skis on — 5 km of snowshoe and walking trails
Spa and thermal baths
- O d'là de l'O · Lumbin · 9.4 km away
Paragliding
- Aérobase, air bulle parapente · Lumbin · 9.6 km away
Museum
- Maison du bouquetin - Espace York Mallory · Allemond · 7.2 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.
Ski schools and practical information
Ski school
ESF Des Sept Laux
110 instructors
🇬🇧 47 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
Source: esf.net
Resort contacts and documents
- Tourist office
- Office de Tourisme des 7 Laux · 40 Allée des Terrasses, Centre les Cortillets - Prapoutel Les 7 Laux, 38190 · 04 76 08 17 86 · office.les7laux@les7laux.info (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
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.
Resort data: declared by Office de Tourisme des 7 Laux and distributed by ANMSM · read on 16 October
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing → 10 Marked off-piste itineraries · 7 km
— Ski touring routes
Named itineraries: L'Évêque · Les Plagnes · Combe de Bédina · Faucons · Lagopède · Le Pas du Chien
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 Pipay — up to 2,080 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dôme des Oudis · Versant NW direct | 3.2 · E1 · AD- | 580 m | 1,550 → 2,124 m | NW | 0.7 km |
| Dôme des Oudis · Versant NW par les pistes | 1.3 · E1 · PD- | 550 m | 1,572 → 2,124 m | NW | 1.4 km |
| Cime de la Jasse · Face W | 3.2 · E2 · AD+ | 1,140 m | 1,340 → 2,478 m | W | 1.7 km |
| Dents de Bédina · Couloir W de la Brèche de Bédina | 4.2 · E2 · D | 1,100 m | 1,340 → 2,430 m | W | 2 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 Pipay
From Paris: 6 hr 37 (622 km) by road.
By road
- From Grenoble: 43 min · 40 km
- From Chambéry: 50 min · 54 km
- From Annecy: 1 hr 19 · 101 km
- From Valence: 1 hr 46 · 133 km
- From Genève: 1 hr 49 · 138 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Lyon: 2 hr 00 · 152 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 34 · 201 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 52 · 353 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 53 · 337 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 3 hr 53 · 318 km
- From Marseille: 3 hr 58 · 347 km
- From Besançon: 4 hr 08 · 311 km
- From Perpignan: 5 hr 15 · 485 km
- From Nice: 5 hr 36 · 505 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 59 · 564 km
- From Strasbourg: 6 hr 04 · 528 km
- From Toulouse: 6 hr 11 · 572 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 37 · 622 km
- From Bordeaux: 7 hr 51 · 707 km
- From Pau: 8 hr 05 · 762 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Goncelin station
regional station · then 23 min drive (20 km)
Nearest main station: Grenoble, 45 min 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
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 01 by road · 61 km
- Grenoble-Alpes-Isère (GNB): 1 hr 16 by road · 86 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Pipay as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
1 charging station within 2 km
5 charging points · up to 22 kW
- LES 7 LAUX - Parking journée - Station de Prapoutel · EASYCHARGE · 5 points · 22 kW · 1.7 km
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.
The area offers 120 km of alpine pistes across Les Sept Laux, plus a snowpark.
Pipay belongs to the linked Les Sept Laux area: one lift pass covers the neighbouring resorts.
Measured on the OpenStreetMap map: the longest piste runs 5 km (Chanterelle) and the highest lift tops out at 2,372 m.
Access: 43 min by road from Grenoble and 23 min from Goncelin railway station.
4 official webcams show the pistes live (on the French page).
Frequently asked questions
How high is Pipay?
Pipay sits at 1,550 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,236 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Pipay have?
From Pipay you can ski 120 km of slopes across Les Sept Laux.
What is the longest piste in Pipay?
The longest piste is Chanterelle: 5 km (green run), for 620 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 Pipay?
The highest lift, Gypaète, tops out at 2,372 m (IGN RGE ALTI terrain model). The 22 lifts mapped on OpenStreetMap total 17 km.
How much is a lift pass in Pipay?
The adult day pass costs €43 and the 6-day pass €218 (season not stated by the resort, declared by the resort to ANMSM (the French ski resorts’ mayors association)).
How do I get to Pipay?
By road, Pipay is 43 min from Grenoble (40 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Goncelin, 23 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, 1 hr 01 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Pipay?
6 hr 37 for 622 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 Pipay?
Natural snow is low on average: skiing depends on snowmaking and good years. 30 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 19 winters at the Météo-France “ST HILAIRE-NIVOSE” station. This verdict rests on 19 winters of Météo-France measurements (1997-2026); in season the daily report prevails.
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. Pipay in French →
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