Ski Pass Price Comparison

This is a guest blog by Tim at The Tasty Ski Company

Tim has taken time out of the kitchen and been crunching his calculater!

The start of the ski season is fast approaching and already we are all scrambling to book our favourite resort for this winter. But what exactly makes a ski area a great ski area? 

Value for money certainly comes into it, and the cost of the lift pass can sometimes be the deciding factor. 

Below is a table comparing the price of an adult lift pass in some of France’s major ski areas relative to the amount of pisted slopes:

• Resort  /  Km of piste  /  Adult 6 day pass   /Price per km
• Portes du Soleil  650km  €237.50  €0.36
• Three Valleys  600km   €277   €0.46
• Paradiski   425km   €277   €0.65
• Four Valleys  412km  €288  €0.69
• Grand Massif  265km €225  €0.84
• Espace Killy  300km  €252.50  €0.84
• Chamonix Le Pass  113km   €230   €2.03

But of course this doesn’t tell the whole doesn’t look like great value until you realise that you can spend a little bit more on the excellent ‘Mont-Blanc Unlimited’ pass. This pass gives you access to some additional skiing in not only Chamonix but also in Courmayeur (Italy) and Verbier (Switzerland).

The table does not take into account how well the ski areas are connected - in particular whether or not you can ski from one side of the piste map to the other. The Portes du Soleil tops the above list, but to enjoy the whole area you will have to get a bus at various points. This is in contrast to the Grand Massif and Espace Killy, where you can ski from one side of the map to the other without once taking off your skis.

And of course the sheer quantity of pisted slopes does not in itself equate to good skiing. If you are an experienced skier looking for the black mogul runs then you are probably not that interested in a 10km green run. Not to mention that the above table does not comment on the quality of off-piste skiing, which is often the No.1 factor in deciding certain people’s ski holidays. 

Tim runs The Tasty Ski Company with catered chalets in Morzine and the Grand Massif.