Report from February 4, 2025

I had no idea, but Serre Chevalier is a world-class, massive ski resort with an insane alpine zone and tree skiing like I have never seen in Europe.

9,600 Skiable Acres
62 Lifts
5,250 Vertical Feet
250km of Trails
100 Trails
Longest Run = 8km
300 Days of Sun per Year

We started our day yesterday on the Pontillas Gondola right next to our Serra Neva (Sierra Nevada) hotel, which is incredibly nice.

It had snowed about 40 cm the previous day and the mountain was looking electric.

The day started in a snowstorm with very gradually increasing visibility and decreasing clouds throughout the day.

High (4/5) avalanche danger kept us in the trees and that was miles away from being a bad thing.

We dove into the forests off the Vallons chair and that first run blew my mind.

Long, forested, featured, convoluted terrain slathered in sumptuous powder snow.

Martin near the top of the booter. Image: SnowBrains

We skied and hooted and slashed and dodged trees and popped off pillows.

I was ecstatic.

I had just walked off the plane from Salt Lake City, UT, the night before, and to have things line up this well, this fast, was dizzying.

Nearly every peak in Europe has one of these. Image: SnowBrains

Janne, our Finnish buddy, had carefully studied the map and had a plan for us.

We slowly pushed farther and farther out across the forested mountainside and kept striking gold.

Run after run of pure powder.

Some of our tree runs were 2,600 vertical feet.

We used our inbounds setups and could not believe our luck of untracked powder run after untracked powder run.

On one of our bigger runs, I got a bit lost and ended up in a large canyon that skied great and popped back into the real world in a cross-country ski area that had a groomed trail for hikers and multi-use.

Jaane working the traverse. Image: SnowBrains

I encountered people riding horses, dog sled teams, fat bikers, and even a cadre of about 200 school kids.

Unreal…

After skiing, we rolled into town for some culture and got smashed in the face with it at “La Maison” (Boss) restaurant.

The owner/chef is a wild French guy with a strong Marseille accent who swears like a sailor directly into a microphone that pumps his stoke throughout the restaurant.

Hot pool right outside the window. Image: SnowBrains

Sometimes, he just kinda screams into the mic and walks away.

The boys ordered raclette, and they simply brought an uneatable amount of cheese and set it up next to a massive electric heater.

The cheese slowly dripped onto the plate and the boys slurped it up until it was nearly gone…

The boys in the distance. Image: SnowBrains

Everyone in the place was alight because of The Boss and his mischievous behavior.

I do not really know what else to say except that after just one day, I am so infatuated with this place that I want to move here and do a full season.

I am enraptured.

Merci, la France!