The Bessans ski area

Bessans has 1 km of pistes, 3 lifts carrying 2,000 people an hour, 149 m of vertical, from 1,710 m to 1,859 m. 2 green runs, 2 blue, 0 red and 0 black.

Bessans is a ski resort in the Northern Alps (Savoie). The village sits at 1,707 m and the ski area rises to 1,859 m, a skiable vertical of 149 m.

Runs by level

4 runs over 1 km:

2 green 2 blue 0 red 0 black
Vertical drop
149 m — from 1,710 m to 1,859 m
Slope aspect
100 % south — computed from the fall line of 3 runs

The ski area in figures

Measured on 9 September 2026
1 kmLongest piste — unnamed on the map (blue), 136 m of vertical
136 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 1,842 → 1,706 m, 1 km
1,842 mHighest lift top — Claret (drag lift), national lift register
2,000Total lift capacity, people per hour — 3 installations: 3 drag lifts
22 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1985, newest 2018
800Biggest lift, people per hour — Claret (drag lift, 2006)
1 kmTotal length of lifts — 2 lifts mapped
531 haSki area boundary (OSM)
341Inhabitants — Bessans (INSEE 73040)

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 Bessans only (“BESSANS”), magic carpets included.

The lifts

Register of 1 January 2025

3 lifts , carrying 2,000 people an hour in total , 22 years old on average (from 1985 to 2018).

Type (as registered, in French)CountCapacity (people/h)
Téléskis32,000

Lift by lift

The 3 lifts whose capacity the register publishes, largest first.

LiftTypeCapacityLengthVerticalYearManufacturer
CLARET Téléski à enrouleur 800 588 m 136 m 2006 POMAGALSKI
LES DIABLOTINS Téléski à corde 600 50 m 3 m 2018 LST
ECOLE du BABY Téléski à perche fixe 600 187 m 20 m 1985 POMAGALSKI

French national lift register (STRMTG / CAIRN database) — listed as “BESSANS” · open the database. Safety register: it also counts lifts that do not run every day.

Official piste map

No downloadable piste map published by the resort.