The Vars ski area

Vars has 87 km of pistes, 19 lifts carrying 30,669 people an hour, 939 m of vertical, from 1,780 m to 2,719 m. 24 green runs, 55 blue, 25 red and 8 black.

Vars is a ski resort in the Southern Alps (Hautes-Alpes). The village sits at 1,860 m and the ski area rises to 2,719 m, a skiable vertical of 939 m.

Runs by level

112 runs over 87 km:

24 green 55 blue 25 red 8 black
Vertical drop
939 m — from 1,780 m to 2,719 m
Slope aspect
44 % east · 32 % north · 14 % south · 10 % west — computed from the fall line of 84 runs

As declared by the resort(ANMSM feed)

Ski area
Vars La Forêt Blanche
Linked area
La Forêt Blanche · 185 km
Pistes
69 pistes
By grade
10 green · 30 blue · 22 red · 7 black
Lifts
18 in total · 1 gondolas · 10 chairlifts · 2 conveyors
Altitude
1,650 m → 2,750 m (resort base 1,850 m)
Beginners
Beginner zone, free lifts
Fun & sledging
10 snowparks · 1 sledge run · fun zone
Passes (as declared)
Adulte 1 jour (forfait domaine relié) 58 € · Enfant 1 jour (forfait domaine relié) 49 € · Sénior 1 jour (forfait domaine relié) 49 € · Adulte 2 jours (forfait domaine relié) 110 € · Enfant 2 jours (forfait domaine relié) 94 € · Sénior 2 jours (forfait domaine relié) 94 € · Adulte 3 jours (forfait domaine relié) 160 € · Enfant 3 jours (forfait domaine relié) 136 € (official page)

Figures entered by the resort itself in the ANMSM feed. Our own survey (OpenStreetMap, STRMTG register) is shown above; when the two differ, the resort usually counts its whole linked area.

The ski area in figures

Measured on 9 September 2026
4 kmLongest piste — Les Chardons (green), 366 m of vertical
456 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,719 → 2,263 m, 1 km
2,732 mHighest lift top — Speed Master (detachable chairlift), national lift register
30,669Total lift capacity, people per hour — 19 installations: 10 chairlifts, 5 drag lifts, 4 magic carpets
21 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1964, newest 2024
3,600Biggest lift, people per hour — Claux (magic carpet, 2019)
28 kmTotal length of lifts — 28 lifts mapped
5,718 haSki area boundary (OSM)
588Inhabitants — Vars (INSEE 05177)

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 Vars only (“VARS”), magic carpets included.

The lifts

Register of 1 January 2025

19 lifts , carrying 30,669 people an hour in total , 21 years old on average (from 1964 to 2024).

Type (as registered, in French)CountCapacity (people/h)
Télésièges1020,154
Téléskis53,465
Tapis roulants47,050

Lift by lift

The 19 lifts whose capacity the register publishes, largest first.

LiftTypeCapacityLengthVerticalYearManufacturer
CLAUX Tapis roulant 3,600 143 m 9 m 2019 LST
MAYT Télésiège débrayable 2,800 2252 m 609 m 2022 LEITNER
CHABRIERES Télémix 2,600 1328 m 353 m 2019 LEITNER
PEYROL Télésiège débrayable 2,600 1414 m 391 m 2004 LEITNER
PEYNIER Télésiège 2,000 1345 m 478 m 2024 CCM
PLANS Télésiège 1,800 617 m 151 m 2023 CCM
SPEED MASTER Télésiège débrayable 1,800 1549 m 522 m 2022 LEITNER
CENTRE Tapis roulant 1,800 35 m 2 m 2019 LST
SIBIERES Télésiège débrayable 1,800 1529 m 361 m 2006 LEITNER
FONT BONNE Télésiège 1,754 234 m 86 m 2009 ALTIM
ZAKOPANE Tapis roulant 1,650 43 m 3 m 2018 EMMEGI
Ste MARIE Télésiège débrayable 1,500 1562 m 514 m 1999 LEITNER
ESCONDUS Télésiège débrayable 1,500 1426 m 367 m 1995 LEITNER
CREVOUX 1 Téléski à perche débrayable 900 1158 m 230 m 1964 POMAGALSKI
CREVOUX 2 Téléski à perche débrayable 865 1159 m 229 m 1975 POMAGALSKI
EYSSINA Téléski à perche débrayable 710 595 m 106 m 1972 POMAGALSKI
ECRINS Téléski à perche débrayable 670 360 m 67 m 1969 POMAGALSKI
JARDIN ENFANTS BABY G2 Téléski à perche fixe 320 123 m 14 m 1991 MONTAZ MAUTINO
ECRINS Tapis roulant 89 m 2 m 2020 LST

French national lift register (STRMTG / CAIRN database) — listed as “VARS” · 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.

Resort data: declared by Office du Tourisme and distributed by ANMSM · read on 18 September