Good to know
Good to Know
- The Grand Couloir is technically an official marked (though ungroomed) black piste that is avalanche-controlled by the resort — it's extremely steep and serious, but not the same as unpatrolled backcountry.
- A standard Courchevel/Vallée pass covers only the local domain; you need the full Trois Vallées lift pass to reach linked off-piste classics like Col du Fruit and Vallée des Avals, and to ski across to Méribel or Val Thorens.
- Off-piste terrain in the Trois Vallées is not blanket avalanche-controlled the way inbounds terrain is at many North American resorts — even routes that start right at a lift can carry real avalanche risk, so hiring a guide or instructor for anything off the marked pistes is strongly advised.
- Courchevel's piste grading is often described by instructors and guides as running tougher than the French average, so a red run here can feel closer to a black elsewhere.
- North-facing slopes and heavy snowmaking coverage (over 50% of the ski area) make Courchevel relatively snow-sure from December into April, even in lean seasons.
- Courchevel is consistently one of the most expensive ski resorts in the Alps — both lift passes and accommodation carry a significant premium versus most other French resorts, especially in Courchevel 1850.
- Booking lift passes online in advance is typically cheaper than buying at the resort ticket offices, and prices rise noticeably during Christmas/New Year and February half-term peak weeks.
- Cross-country skiing on the valley's 67km of trails is completely free — no lift pass required.
- There is no dedicated coworking or coliving space in Courchevel itself; nomads wanting a built remote-work community in this part of the Alps would need to base in Chamonix or Briançon instead, both a meaningful drive away.
- Staying in a lower village (Le Praz, La Tania, Courchevel Moriond/Village) rather than ski-in/ski-out Courchevel 1850 is a straightforward way to cut accommodation costs substantially, at the expense of a short commute to the main lift network.
Resorts And Terrain
- Lifts
- Courchevel's local domain is served by roughly 55–58 lifts; the wider Trois Vallées network has around 155–200 lifts in total (sources vary on the exact count).
- Overview
- Courchevel is a single interlinked ski domain made up of five villages, and is one of the six main resorts making up Les Trois Vallées, marketed as the largest interconnected lift-served ski area in the world. All terrain described here has real, currently operating commercial lifts (gondolas, cable cars, chairlifts, drag lifts) — this is a full lift-served resort, not a touring-only area.
- Runs Count
- Around 100–150 named/numbered runs within Courchevel's own domain; the full Trois Vallées area has 328–500+ runs depending on how they're counted.
- Resort Name
- Courchevel (Courchevel 1850 / Moriond 1650 / Courchevel Village 1550 / Le Praz 1300 / La Tania) — part of Les Trois Vallées
- Altitude Range
- Base villages sit between about 1,300 m (Le Praz) and 1,850 m (Courchevel 1850), with lift-served terrain rising to the summit of La Saulire at roughly 2,738 m.
- Piste Km Trois Vallees Total
- Over 600 km of interlinked piste across the full Trois Vallées area (Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens, Les Menuires, La Tania, St Martin de Belleville, Orelle).
- Piste Km Courchevel Own Domain
- Approximately 150 km of marked/groomed piste within Courchevel's own local domain.
Advanced Terrain
- Note
- Le Praz and Courchevel 1550 sectors are generally the steepest/most technical parts of the linked domain.
Notable Black Runs
- Grand Couloir (at the top of the Saulire cable car — one of the steepest marked pistes in the Alps, roughly a 35-degree pitch; ungroomed but avalanche-controlled rather than true unpatrolled backcountry)
- Jean Blanc (long black through the trees down to Le Praz)
- Jockeys (black through the trees to Le Praz)
- Chanrossa (fast, technical black)
- Eclipse (former World Cup race piste dropping from Loze into the trees at Le Praz)
- Dou des Lanches (steep black in La Tania)
- Combe Saulire
Beginner Terrain
- Areas
- Dedicated nursery/beginner zones at Courchevel 1850 (via the Jardin Alpin bubble, alighting at the G3 mid-station), at Courchevel 1650/Moriond (top of the Ariondaz bubble), and at the base of La Tania.
Notable Green Runs
- Verdon (wide green with some steeper sections, runs into 1850)
- Bellecotte (very easy green, over 1 km, runs through 1850)
- Jardin Alpin (easy green path)
- Belvédère (easy green into 1650)
- Plan Fontaine (gentle green into La Tania)
Intermediate Terrain
- Note
- Sources note Courchevel's piste grading runs slightly tougher than some other French resorts, so a red here can feel more like a black elsewhere.
Notable Runs
- Chapelets (red)
- Creux (long red, described by some guides as an 'iconic blue')
- Marmottes (red)
- Suisses (red)
- Jean Pachod (long red suited to mixed-ability groups)
- Marquis (blue, landscaped for early intermediates)
- Gentianes (gentle blue with rollers, Courchevel 1650)
- Piste M (blue lead-in that steepens toward Verdons)
- Loze (red)
Terrain Difficulty Mix
- By Ability Percent Alt
- A separate current guide describes the same domain as roughly 25% beginner, 40% intermediate and 35% advanced terrain.
- By Piste Colour Percent
- One resort guide reports Courchevel's ~150 runs as roughly 23% green, 35% blue, 30% red and 12% black.
- Qualitative
- Courchevel is widely regarded as strong across all levels but is especially known as an excellent intermediate resort, with a large network of easy green progression runs directly above Courchevel 1850, plus challenging reds/blacks and serious off-piste higher up.
- Note On Sources
- Two slightly different breakdowns appear in current sources; both are included since they measure the mix slightly differently.
Lift Served Off Piste Within Ski Area
- Saulire Couloirs — a number of steep couloirs (up to around 40°) either side of the top of the La Saulire cable car, dropping toward Courchevel or Méribel; lift-served access, ungroomed terrain.
- Creux Noirs — a large, steep bowl reached via the Creux Noirs chairlift; popular lift-served off-piste powder area.
- Chanrossa Couloirs — accessed from the top of the Chanrossa chairlift.
- Roc Mugnier and Gravelles tree runs — sheltered lift-served off-piste, good in poor visibility.
- Roc Merlet face — advanced terrain reachable via a short hike/skin from the Saulire lift station.
- Freeride Lab — a secured, easy-graded zone specifically designed as a safe introduction to off-piste/freeride skiing.
Genuine Backcountry Beyond Lift Service
- Vallée des Avals (Les Avals) — reached via the Chanrossa chairlift/Col de Chanrossa (or a hike from Roc Merlet); a true backcountry-feel valley with no lift back out, requiring a walk or transfer to return to Courchevel 1650.
- Col du Fruit — reached by hiking along the ridge from the top of the Creux Noirs chairlift; descends outside the lift network toward Courchevel or, via a walk along Lac de Tueda, toward Méribel-Mottaret.
- Rocher de la Loze — reached from the Dou des Lanches chairlift via a roughly 30-minute skin or 45-minute bootpack; long north-facing backcountry couloirs, and the site of the Courchevel Freeride Competition.
- Ski touring routes into Vanoise National Park (e.g. toward Col du Biaul and Mont Jovet) — full backcountry ski-touring terrain adjoining the lift-served area, normally done with an IFMGA mountain guide.
Accommodation
- Overview
- Courchevel is split across several altitude-tiered villages: Courchevel 1850 (highest, most prestigious, mostly ski-in/ski-out), Courchevel Moriond (1650) and Courchevel Village (1550), then Le Praz (1300) and the separate satellite of La Tania — each progressively lower, less expensive, and a bit further (by lift, road, or short shuttle) from the 1850 core.
- Ski In Ski Out Note
- On-mountain lodging in Courchevel 1850 provides direct ski-in/ski-out convenience but is reported to typically cost 30-50% more than staying in a lower, town-based village in the same valley.
Tiers Per Month Estimates
EUR
EUR
Private Room in a Shared Chalet/house (Common Among Seasonal Workers)
- Private Room In A Shared Chalet/House (Common Among Seasonal Workers)
- €1,200
Per month; shared chalet accommodation is the most common route for anyone staying a full season rather than a short holiday
Remote Work Infrastructure
- On Site Status
- No dedicated coworking or coliving space was found operating inside Courchevel itself. The resort's remote-work infrastructure is essentially limited to hotel/chalet Wi-Fi rather than any purpose-built workspace.
- Practical Takeaway
- Anyone planning to work remotely from Courchevel itself should expect to rely on their accommodation's own Wi-Fi rather than a local coworking scene — treat this as a ski-holiday town first, not a nomad hub.
Nearest Alternatives
The Ski Locker
- Location
- Chamonix, France
- Note
- A dedicated 24/7-access coworking space and community aimed at skiers; well outside Courchevel's immediate area (different valley, well over an hour's drive).
Cloud Citadel
- Location
- Briançon, France (foot of Serre Chevalier)
- Note
- A coliving/coworking house for remote workers who ski, with dorm and private-room options; also well outside Courchevel's valley.
Lift Passes
- Free Categories
- Children under 5 and adults over 75 ski free in the Courchevel Valley on presentation of proof of age; the Trois Vallées pass is free for children under 5.
- Hands Free Card Fee
- €3.00
One-off fee for the reusable RFID card required to pass through lift turnstiles; reusable on future visits
- Day Pass 3 Vallees Adult
- €82
- Full Season Pass 3 Vallees Adult
- €1,580
- Season Flex Plan 2 Days Per Week
- €776
- Six Day Pass 3 Vallees Adult Promo
- €409
Advertised as a '6 days for the price of 5' style promotional package for the 2025-2026 season
- Season Flex Plan 10 Lift Rides Per Week
- €388
- Full Season Pass 3 Vallees Veteran 75 Plus
- €395
- Full Season Pass 3 Vallees Young Skier 5 To 30
- €1,106
- Ski Area Note
- Courchevel has its own local 'Courchevel Valley' pass (150km of pistes) plus access to the full Les 3 Vallées pass (600km, linking Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires, Val Thorens, St Martin de Belleville).
Season Length
- Typical Season
- Early December to mid/late April
- Daily Lift Hours
- Lifts generally run 09:00 to around 16:20, extending by roughly half an hour from February onward
- Snow Reliability Caveats
- Courchevel's ski area spans roughly 1,200m to 2,870m in altitude, which helps reliability at the upper mountain, and snowmaking covers about a third of the terrain. Early December and the back half of April (the very start/end of the official season) are the least snow-secure windows, with reduced terrain possible depending on natural snowfall that year.
- Confirmed 2025 2026 Dates
- Courchevel's lifts opened December 4-5, 2025 and the full Les 3 Vallées lift network is scheduled to close around April 19, 2026 (some individual sectors close slightly earlier, e.g. April 12 in Moriond/La Tania).
- Confirmed 2026 2027 Dates
- Courchevel is scheduled to open December 4, 2026, with the full Les 3 Vallées link opening December 5, 2026 and running until April 16, 2027.
Gear Rental And Storage
- Storage
- Ski lockers/storage are available at or near the main lift-pass pickup points (e.g., La Croisette, Maison de Moriond, Alpinium in Le Praz, and the Grangettes cable car base), letting skiers leave gear slope-side rather than hauling it back to accommodation each day.
- Availability
- Ski and snowboard rental shops are widespread across every Courchevel village level (1850, Moriond, Village, Le Praz, La Tania), typically clustered near the main lift stations and pickup kiosks for ski passes.
- Cross Country Note
- Cross-country (nordic) skiing on Courchevel's 67km of valley trails requires no lift pass; equipment (skis, poles, boots) can be hired from most sports shops in the valley.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
More About Courchevel
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.