Chatel france
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Chatel France.
Chatel Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1947 the French ski resort Chatel lies at 2200 metres altitude in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps / Alpes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes below 2500m Chatel ski area is not snow sure. Over 30 snow cannons ensure artificial Chatel snow making covers 3km of ski trails, which equates to around 2 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Chatel (France) is Geneva / Geneve at a distance of 72km or approximately ? minutes driving time. Chatel ski season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
An old Savoyard village with a long farming tradition and today a strong tourism infrastructure. Well placed on the Portes du Soleil circuit, arguably the world's biggest lift-linked ski area offering 650km of piste.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Chatel France
Beginner Trails
 17 runs ?km |
23% |
Intermediate Trails
 22 runs ?km |
30% |
Advanced Trails
 28 runs ?km |
38% |
Expert Trails
 6 runs 6km |
8% |
Chatel Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €136 - €151 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2011 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Apr 2012 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Chatel Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 130km |
| total length of Chatel trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 6km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | N S E W |
| direction Chatel ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 2200m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1100m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 1200m |
| centre of Chatel ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1100m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1000m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Chatel
Skiing Chatel you'll enjoy 73 pistes and trails and that means approximately 130km of ski runs. Chatel lifts number 58 with the capacity to uplift 47927 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the French ski resort of Chatel is over 6km long.
Chatel Ski Area
Chatel ski area has 23% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 30% intermediate, 38% advanced ski slopes and 8% for expert skiers - the most difficult Chatel piste is the ?km ? run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can ski Chatel after dark as there is night skiing on ?km of illuminated piste.
Chatel for skiing gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Chatel
If you snowboard Chatel you'll want to know that, of the 58 ski lifts in total, 37 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Chatel snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Chatel snowboard facilities include 1 terrain parks and 1 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 1 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
Chatel for snowboarding gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Chatel Apres Ski
The apres ski Chatel scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
20 apres ski bars 30 restaurants 1 bowling 2 night club 2 cinema 0 billiards / pool 0 games room 0 concert 2 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 1 saunas 1 hot tubs 1 solariums 0 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 1 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 0 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 0 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Beauty Farm.
SNO-man says
In common with most French ski areas, there are few things to do besides ski, drink and eat, although Châtel does have better shopping than average. There is a natural ice rink, bowling alley and cinema. You can also go snowshoeing, paragliding or take a sleigh ride. Massage and physiotherapy services are available in the village, and there are two hairdressers and a beauty parlour.
It's relatively easy to make excursions to Geneva, Thonon and Evian, of the bottled water fame.
Chatel for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
More Chatel Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Chatel resort - ski Chatel by any other name
The French ski resort of Chatel ski resort is also known as Chatel and has the following common misspellings:
Chatel ski area has ski slopes which face N S E W
The direction which the various Chatel ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Chatel ski resort has ski slopes facing N S E W.
Chatel for snow gets 3 stars out of 5 overall