St Gervais
Ski Resort

In a snowy season, St Gervais is an excellent ski resort, which is rather ironic, because it’s not a ski resort at all. As its full name suggests, St-Gervais-les-Bains is an elegant 19th-century spa town with thermal baths, which just happens to be surrounded by two different ski areas.

The Evasion Mont Blanc or “EMB” ski area is to the southwest of the St Gervais but can be reached from its centre via a cable car that whisks you up the mountain to Le Bettex, a ski-in, ski-out suburb. Beyond this are the ski slopes coming down from Mont d’Arbois, Mont Joux and Mont Joly. Cross the ridgeline, and you can ski down to Combloux and Megeve. Alternatively, keep heading southwards along its flanks and you will eventually reach St Nicholas de Veroce, and then, via a short bus ride, Les Contamines.  In total, there are more than 200 runs and over 100 lifts, making the Evasion Mont Blanc one of the largest ski areas in France. Most of it is oriented towards beginners and less confident intermediates, but there are some off-piste challenges for experts.

But that’s not all, because St Gervais residents can also head out of town eastwards on a rack-and-pinion railway (a very St Gervais kind of ski-lift), called the Mont Blanc Tramway. This goes up to Prarion at the top of the Les Houches ski area in the Chamonix Valley. There is over 55km of piste skiing here, separated into more than 25 different runs. Most are gentle blues and reds meandering through the trees, but the black ‘La Verte des Houches’ is used for World Cup races and is more testing. Experts in good snow conditions with a guide can also ski off-piste back to St Gervais from Prarion, although the more usual way to return is via the tramway.

Les Houches is not covered by the EMB lift pass, however. Instead, you have to buy either a local Les Houches pass, or the pricey Mont Blanc Unlimited (MBU) pass which covers all the Evasion Mont Blanc ski area, all the Les Houches ski area, plus the rest of Chamonix, and even Courmayeur and Verbier as well – a truly mind-boggling amount of skiing.

Regardless of how many slopes you want to ski, St Gervais makes a very pleasant base. It has nice old buildings, a pretty riverside, a weekly market, lots of restaurants and bars, and a rather grand ice rink. There is accommodation to suit most budgets, and prices are lower than in nearby Megeve or Chamonix. St Gervais is also easy to get to: it’s only about an hour away from Geneva.

There is, however, a serious downside to the skiing around St Gervais. There are very few slopes above 2000m in the Evasion Mont Blanc ski area, and none at all in Les Houches. So snow reliability can be a problem.

Discounted Ski & Snowboard Rental in St Gervais

Ultimate-Ski partner ALPINRESORTS.com works with several ski and board shops in and around St Gervais and can secure big discounts if you book online here.

St Gervais Strengths & Weaknesses

+ Pleasant spa town
+ Access to the large Evasion Mont Blanc ski area
+ Additional link to Les Houches’ treelined runs
+ Good value accommodation
+ Easy to get to – good for weekends
+ Good base for exploring all the Mont Blanc Unlimited resorts.

– Low altitude / not snowsure
– Not enough steep runs for experts
– The EMB pass does not cover the Mont Blanc Tramway/ Les Houches ski area.