Skiing & Snowboarding in La Clusaz

La Clusaz Ski & Snowboard Guide

La Clusaz is a beautiful, more French-than-French village nestled among the huge expanse of the Aravis mountain range. La Clusaz itself offers 125 km of pisted boarding (La Clusaz–Manigod), ample off-piste and nowt but a short leap (free with most ski passes) to the neighbouring resorts. A little lower than some resorts, it can sometimes suffer with the weather, but when the snow is good it’s a great all-rounder of a resort (maybe lacking a little oomph for the thrill-seekers amongst us).

The Snowboarding

Beginner boarders are particularly well-catered for at La Clusaz with lots of easy, yet varied, interesting and picturesque terrain to face-plant into. The resort gets plenty of sun so it’s a genuinely lovely place to ride. As you improve there are tons of blues and reds to hone your skills. On the other end of the spectrum there is, in fact, plenty of gnarly terrain for the advanced boarder to get his teeth into, notably the steep Northern pistes at L’etale (where the snow is generally the best in the whole resort. If you’re looking for big drops check out Grand Cret. Also La Balme offers an advanced playground with a delicious powder bowl and plenty of on and off piste.

La Clusaz has always been, and continues to be, boarder friendly, and to this end they have equipped the resort with a boarder cross area and a quality snowpark. The thing is that while you can have plenty of fun on the boxes, pipes and quarter pipe, they just aren’t as good as other resorts in the French Alps. Don’t get me wrong, you will have great time playing, but there are better facilities elsewhere. Weirdly, for a boarder-friendly resort, pistes are often left ungroomed leading to boarder-unfriendly moguls.

Where La Clusaz excels is in its varied terrain and its hospitality. The quality of hospitality is reflected in the local’s manner, the excellent and varied food choices and the events that the resort hosts (this year, for example the full moon party is returning for its 12 year and a snow rugby tournament). It’s a great resort for a laid-back and fun ski holiday.

Where to stay

There are accommodation options for every budget and preference from luxurious ski-in ski-out chalets, to friendly budget hotels like Hotel Floralp. Recently opened is the five star Au Coeur du Village featuring high end luxury and including a spa.

Where to eat

You will be spoilt for choice for restaurants, from L’Outa a family favourite serving all the heart-warming staples to Le Vieux Chalet, a Michelin starred oasis of gastronomy.

Après shred

Similarly the village is teeming with nightlife for every age. Le Bonnet d’Ane is worth a particular mention for its relaxed and sophisticated vibes. For late night dancing head over to l’Ecluse which features a glass dancing floor suspended over the river.

In a nutshell La Clusaz is beautiful, has excellent boarding for all levels and styles, and has great amenities for all kinds of groups. It kind of falls between two stables as there are other resorts that ‘do’ every individual desirable element of a boarding holiday better. But in terms of the overall experience, there are few resorts that come close to La Clusaz.