” Des forfaits à la carte, des pistes pour tous les niveaux avec un ensoleillement et un panorama exceptionnel face à la chaîne du Mont Blanc avec une altitude de 1358 à 1740 mètres ” – the Passy Mont-Blanc Tourisme website says it all !

This is why we LOVED this station when our boys were small and learning to ski !

In fact, 🗻 Plaine-Joux remains one of MBFF’s favourite play areas, whether that be for ⛷ skiing, ❄️ snowshoeing, 🛷 sledging or just playing in the snow!

Both of the MBFF boys had their early ⛷ ski lessons here, and it was the perfectly-sized ski resort for this. I felt more confident, as there are no chairlifts, and I always worried about them being on a chairlift when they were tiny!

In addition, while the boys had their ski lesson, there were plenty of activities to keep us parents active (or not so active!), with showshoe and ski rando routes, sunny terraces for ☕️ a hot chocolate . . .

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A family ski resort

While the children are young and learning how to ski, or if you have beginner skiers in your group, then ⛷ Plaine-Joux in Passy is the ideal ski station 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc for multiple reasons:

• ⛷ it’s a small, family-oriented ski resort (between 1358m and 1740 m);
• ⛷ there are 12km of wide, gentle, sunny pistes (green, blue and red) with 🗻 stunning views of the Mont Blanc Massif;
• ⛷ this is an affordable ski resort, with different ski passes available for your different needs (2 hours, 4 hours, day pass, multi-day pass, family pass, seasonal pass . . . ) / you can now charge up or buy your forfait online;
• ⛷ there are 4 drag-lifts (no cable-cars, bubble-lifts or chair-lifts) and a magic carpet Le Gypaète;
• ⛄️ there is l‘Espace Lutins play area for small children;
• 🛷 there is a designated sledging / snow-tubing area;
• ❄️ there are TWO great snow-shoe trails through the woods for non-skiers to enjoy while the little ones have their ski lessons / see here;
•  🚲 you can try out FAT-BIKING (rental at Lou Pachran restaurant);
• ☕️ there are lovely restaurants with sunny terraces and 🗻 a view of the Mont Blanc Massif for a hot chocolate, snack or lunch;
• 🍏 there is a Salle Hors-Sacs for indoor picnics, for when it starts snowing or gets too cold to be al fresco;
• ⛷ there is a ski shop at hand (Skifiz Ski Skimium), for when you leave gloves / sunglasses / snowboots at home (yes, we have done this on several occasions!) or to rent out 🛷 sledges and snow-tubes;
• 🅿️ there is easy and FREE parking; ideal when you need to make a hasty exit for toddler naps!
• 🦌 there is the Maison de la Réserve Naturelle de Passy;
• 🌈 there are lots of animations for the children, throughout the ski season: Santa’s arrival (24th December), the yearly Fête des Lutins in January, weekly themed walks . . . see the Passy Tourisme website for more details;

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When is Plaine-Joux open for skiing?

⛷ Plaine-Joux Ski Station is normally open from mid-December to mid-March, depending on the snow conditions. It has a shorter season than some of the higher ski stations in our area.

2022 – 2023 leaflet

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⛄️ L’Espace Lutins – a play area for small children

[ NB – you will need either your forfait or a special pass to access this area! ]

⛄️ L’Espace Lutins is a play area for small children and their families. It is open every day (except Mondays) until mid March, from 11h to 16h45. It consists of :

• ⛄️ La Maison des Lutins – a wooden house, ideal to warm up, to have a snack or to play games / there is also a baby changing area;
• ⛷ ski zone – a designated ski area for children and accompanying adults, with a magic carpet and rope-tow;

• 🌈 snow play area, piste de luge & terrace – to play in the snow, make snowmen, play on the soft-play toys etc . . . (once our littlest saw this, it was hard impossible to get him to resume skiing!);

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NEW for 2023 !

A constantly evolving family ski station, last year saw the inauguration of ⛷ la piste ludique Rocket – Rocket is the gypaète mascot of Passy Mont-Blanc, and he has created a fun piste for young skiers!

Wednesday promotion – ski en famille at a discount:

• 17€ (instead of 21€) for adults;
• 14€ (instead of 17€) for children;

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⛷ Beginner and Nursery Skiing

Even when there are poor snow conditions, Plaine-Joux makes a huge effort to keep the Beginner & Nursery slopes operational, with the help of snow cannons.

There is one drag-lift (Beudeix 1) and the useful covered magic carpet (Le Gypaète) servicing the Bambi and Oursons pistes.

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⛷ Intermediate & Advanced Skiing 

Plaine-Joux is very much a small, friendly family resort; you will find red pistes, but advanced skiiers and thrill seekers might need to go further afield!

⛷ NEW in 2020 – Boarder Cross on the Martre piste, leading down from téléski de Barmus ! Prepared by the dameurs and the entraîneurs du Ski-Club Passy-Varan, twists and jumps . . .

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⛷ Ski Lessons 

⛷ Ecole de Ski Français (ESF Passy) – private or group lessons can be booked for children and adults alike (skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, télémarking);

🌈 Club Piou Piou – lessons are available for children from 3 to 5 years, in the designated Piou Piou area and on the nursery slopes.

website

tel: +33(0)4 50 58 83 89

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⛷ Ski rando (ski touring)

🗻 Passy Plaine-Joux has 🎿 2 itinéraires ski de rando, available from 9h until 16h30, and these are both FREE:

• 🎿 Grimpée du Chamois Blanc – ideal for beginners / distance: 2,3 km; dénivelé: 360m; time: 1h to 1h30 / see here for more information;
• 🎿 Grimpée des Lapins – for intermediate level / distance: 5 km; dénivelé: 460m; time: 2h30 to 3h / see here for more information;

Check out 🗺 the NEW MAP above to see the exact location of the routes!

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🎿 Ski de Fond (cross country skiing)

There is a FREE cross country skiing loop at 🗻 Plaine-Joux, the 2km blue Lac Gris boucle, located at the bottom of the Barmus drag-lift, and also a route along the old route du Chatelet d’Ayères. You can rent out gear from Skifiz Newfiz Sport (tel: +33(0)4 50 58 87 21 / +33(0)6 07 05 04 49);

This is also where you’ll find 🐺 the chiens de traîneaux (see below).

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🛷 Pistes de Luge & Snow-Tubing 

There is a designated sledging zone at Plaine-Joux, with a snow-tubing piste (snow-tubes for hire at Skifiz).

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❄️ Hiking & raquettes (showshoe) routes 

If sitting at one of the sunny terraces doesn’t appeal, why not go for a ❄️ short snow-shoe hike while the little ones are having their ski lessons? There are various snow-shoe circuits up at Plaine-Joux, as well as the walking trail (usually well-trodden and hence no need for raquettes!) that begins towards Chatelet d’Ayères (for which you don’t normally require raquettes) / note: you cannot walk all the way along this trail anymore; at a certain point it is SHUT due to rockfall) . . .

There are ❄️ two marked snow-shoe trails leaving from Plaine-Joux:

• ❄️ Boucle du Lac Vert (4km / 1h30) – this is suitable for beginners or a good option if you need a quick hike / in addition, you’ll have wonderful views of Mont-Blanc (on a clear day) and you’ll visit the beautiful Lac Vert protected site;

• ❄️ Boucle du Barmus (8km / 3h30) – this is also suitable for beginners, just a bit longer / you’ll head up towards the Châtelet d’Ayères and les Mollays, and you’ll have superb views of 🗻 the Mont-Blanc massif and 🗻 Les Aravis;

A picnic en-route on the Boucle du Barmus, with a magnificent view . . . or stop for a crêpe at the Refuge du Barmus?

You’ll find these snowshoe routes, and many more au Pays du Mont-Blanc in this booklet available for FREE from any tourist office!

[ note: remember, if you head of the snowshoe routes, you may find yourself in dangerous avalanche risk territory, for which you should have the proper safety equipment and knowledge (and not be alone!) ]

Another option for a hike (and you probably won’t need snowshoes, as the path gets tracked pretty quickly after snow), is the chemin piéton from the 🌁 NEW Passerelle Himalayenne in Plateau d’Assy to Lac Vert. This is not a boucle, it is an aller-retour, but it is fabulous! For more information about this hike, which I have done several times with winter snow, see separate MBFF article here (you’ll need to park in Plateau d’Assy, Place Tobé);

[ ⇒ see Passy Mont-Blanc’s new leaflet about 🌁 the Passerelle Himalayenne in Plateau d’Assy here ]

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🦌 Maison de la Réserve Naturelle de Passy 

Right behind the ticket and ESF offices is the 🦌 Maison de la Réserve Naturelle de Passy , an area to learn about the area, its history, flora and fauna and our Alpine mountains. Throughout the year, the Réserve Naturelle de Passy puts on lots of activities for children and families & themed outings during the school holidays . . . you’ll find the latest flyer on their FB page;

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🚵‍♂️ Fat Biking

🚵‍♂️ Fat biking is one of the new sensations of the winter season: you get to bike on SNOW, thanks to a tyre with a traction suitable for the terrain, and electric help! There are some suitable (and relatively flat!) routes available at Plaine-Joux, and the chemin piéton to 🌁 the Himalayan bridge is popular.

At 🗻 Plaine-Joux, you can rent out a fat bike at Lou Pachran;

website

more information Lou Pachran: price: 50€ for a half day / tel: +33(0)4 50 58 82 47;

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🐶 Chiens de Traîneaux / Dog-sledding

You’ll sometimes find the 🐶 Granges de Heidi chiens de traîneaux at Plaine-Joux. They mainly do their loops around the Lac Gris. A baptême (a 1 hour introduction), costs from 45€ for children or 65€ for adults, and there are plenty of other options.

[ ⇒ for more information, see here ]

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PLAYING in the SNOW – snowball fights, snowmen, igloos and more

🗻 Plaine-Joux has always been a favourite spot of ours to to simply head for ❄️ a play in the snow! Usually, we head there with 🛷 sledges, but often the boys prefer to dig, dig, dig (an avalanche spade is good for this!), build igloos, have snowball fights, make snow angels, do acrobatics in the snow, make ⛄️ a snowman or snow creature . . .

Have you come across snowball makers? These are plastic gadgets (some of you might be horrified!), which scoop up the snow to make snowballs that look like baubles to hang on a Christmas tree. They make perfect snowball fight balls, and dogs also seem to love them! I am glad with my investement this winter!

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Poulettes Altitude

Up at 🗻 Plaine-Joux, you’ll find 🐔 chickens and geese! / FB page;

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🪂 Aerofiz Parapente Mont Blanc

This 🪂 parapente (paragliding) school offers flights from 70€. Alternatively, it is fun just to watch the parapentes taking off from the designated spot!

more information: FB page / website / tel: +33 (0)6 07 13 59 31;

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☕️ Restaurants & Cafés 

There are ☕️ plenty of lovely places to eat at Plaine-Joux and sitting at one of the sunny terraces – relaxing and admiring the view – is surely one of the reasons that parents sign up their children for ski lessons here! There is:

• ☕️ a small refuge on the pistes called the Refuge Barmus, serving small snacks; great for a break or to keep an eye on the little ones!

• ☕️ restaurants at Plaine-Joux:  La Bergerie (lovely, family-run restaurant, with toys and books) / Lou Pachran (la bougnetterie) and Chalet Lilly;

• ☕️ . . . a short walk or snow-shoe away: the Restaurant du Lac Vert, which is on the Lac Vert snowshoe trail (now open in WINTER!) and Le Chatelet d’Ayères;

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🗻 Mont-Blanc massif & mountain views

🗻 Plaine-Joux is one of my favourite spots to head for superb views of the 🗻 Massif du Mont-Blanc and 🗻 les Aravis. You’ll also get a marvellous view of 🗻 Mont-Joly.

If you manage to be up there at the end of the day, the light can be just wonderful . . . and extra beauty if you up up there with a mer de nuages (sea of clouds).

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Artwork

If you take the main road up to Plaine-Joux, via Plateau d’Assy you’ll find yourselves on the Route de la sculpture contemporain Passy; in fact 🎨 Passy abounds with sculptures! In 1973, Passy was part of a huge exhibition: Sculptures en Montagne – Poème dans l’Espace. Inspired by the places and their history, and conceived by the poet Jean-Pierre Lemesle, the project brought together several well-known contemporary artists; from this exhibition, Passy kept 5 sculptures and acquired new ones – in the 1980s, these sculptures were placed at the exit of the A40 motorway and at the contreforts of the Fiz mountain chain. Today, across 12km, you can admire the open air museum of the Passy hillside up to Plaine-Joux /

[ ⇒ for more information and guided tours, see here ]

This is the sculpture that you’ll see in the snow up at Plaine-Joux: « La Porte Bleue » by Joan Gardy Artigas, 1973 / ⇒ more information here;

And the newer addition to 🌉 the Passerelle Himalayenne: « Les Regardeurs », by the duo OPJ Cyganek and Julie Poulain! This new artwork has been placed at either end of the bridge, and remember – it will be watching you as you cross the bridge! / more information here. The idea is to incorporate this new artwork into a trail being developed from Plateau d’Assy up to Lac Vert, a « rando-culture », uniting culture, sport and nature!

⛪️ Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Grâce (Plateau d’Assy) – a visit to this beautiful church is well worth a visit. It was made famous by the work of several renowned artists: the façade’s mosaic was created by painter and ceramist Fernand Léger; Georges Braque added a bronze tabernacle and Marc Chagall a baptistery;

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Winter events for children & families up at Plaine-Joux

• ❄️Fête des lutins – an annual event / lots of free events for families! / FREE!

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Practical Information

new leaflet: see 2022 – 2023 leaflet;

webcams: to check out the weather and snow cover, see here;

address: 321, chemin des Parchets, Passy Plaine Joux, 74190, Passy / tel: +33(0)4 50 58 83 89;