Alpine skiing is the premier discipline of winter sports. Its practice around Annecy is easy. Many winter sports resorts offer numerous slopes and large ski areas often connected to each other. Haute-Savoie has more than fifty resorts, multiple alpine ski areas, high enough to have an ideal snow depth for the winter season. You can also enjoy the charm of traditional mountain villages after your descents. From Annecy or Chambéry, vacationers can reach more than 150 ski resorts within a maximum of 2 hours by car.
Equipment and precautions for alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is a discipline that requires certain precautions to practice it safely. You must first choose good ski equipment. We advise you to take the following elements into account.
- Check that your insurance covers you in case of an accident for yourself and for others.
- Check your bindings to avoid frequent knee sprains.
- Resume sports a month prior, to loosen your body before skiing.
- Wearing a helmet is essential to protect yourself in case of a collision.
- Eat and hydrate before an effort lasting several hours.
- Check the weather on the same day, as mountain weather changes quickly and you must consider avalanche risks.
- Adapt your pace to the traffic on the slopes and your skiing level.
- Do not ignore the signage present on the slopes; these are not suggestions but obligations to respect.
- For off-piste: do not go alone, inform someone of your departure and arrival times, carry a search device in case of an avalanche.
Alpine ski clubs in Annecy
- French Alpine Club of Annecy: 17 Rue du Mont Blanc, 74000 Annecy
- Annecy Ski Club: 12 Rue Louis Boch, 74000 Annecy
- Ski Leisure Annecy-le-Vieux: 65 Avenue du Petit Port, 74940 Annecy
- Annecy Semnoz Sports Club: 19 rue des Edelweiss, 74 000 Annecy
- AS PTT: 1, Allée des Cyclades Cran Gevrier, 74960 ANNECY
Where to rent skis in Annecy?
Before heading to the resorts, you can rent: downhill skis, snowboard, poles, gloves, hat, goggles, and helmet. By choosing a ski rental in Annecy, you avoid often significant waits at the resort.
- Ski Loc Shop: 78 bis route des Creuses at 74960 Cran-Gevrier
- Intersport: Rue de la Tuilerie, 74330 Epagny Metz-Tessy
Of course, all resorts have many sports shops that allow you to rent all the equipment on-site.
Cheap ski pass
Unlike cross-country skiing, there is no annual pass valid across multiple departments or all of France. Before purchasing your pass, it is important to compare offers. Promotions on passes are frequently available online. Price comparison websites for downhill ski passes are very useful for finding the best price.
To change your skiing terrain while benefiting from discounts, you can choose the multi-resort pass. The multi-resort ski pass allows you to vary your pleasures by multiplying the resorts. In the Alps, the SkiPower pass, which is entirely digital, offers discounts ranging from 4 to 41% off the public price on alpine ski passes for 48 resorts in Savoie Mont-Blanc. Additionally, it provides discounts in certain resorts in Isère, the Southern Alps, and the Pyrenees. Price: €10 valid for 2 years.
The ski resorts around Annecy
On average, most ski resorts in Haute-Savoie are less than an hour’s drive from Annecy.
- Semnoz: the closest resort to Annecy, family-friendly with about fifteen slopes. No accommodation on-site. In 30 minutes by car, you can access 20 km of slopes at 1,600 m altitude in the Bauges massif, with an accessible pass of €14 for 6 hours of skiing.
- Grand-Bornand: 40 minutes from Annecy, a resort for everyone with a wide choice of ski slopes in the Aravis massif.
- Manigod: a small family resort not far from Annecy.
- Montmin: this paragliding hotspot also offers some inexpensive slopes.
- Sambuy: quite technical skiing for this small resort at the end of Lake Annecy.
- La Clusaz: the slopes finish in the streets of this beautiful Haute-Savoie village in the Aravis, located 45 minutes from Annecy.
Other resorts in Haute-Savoie are located in the Bornes, Chablais, Mont-Blanc, and Grand-Massif massifs. They also offer magnificent ski areas, but it takes more than an hour’s drive to reach them from Annecy. They allow skiing on a domain of 223 slopes with 400 kilometers to descend. The 3 Valleys area is the largest in the world.
Also discover: Cross-country skiing near Annecy
How to learn to ski
You can learn alpine skiing at any age by taking lessons from an instructor. To make the right choice between group or private lessons, and to know how to equip yourself, we offer our guide to learning to ski.
