Trip Report
Trip report from February 3-6, 2026
“This place is legendary, jeeeez,” a very sleepy, surprisingly un-jetlagged, powder-overdosed Miles Clark said from behind his laptop screen as he edited more video footage of powder skiing than he’s ever accumulated in 4 days worth of skiing.
The name Serre Chevalier literally translates to “Ridge of the Knight,” but with how the romantic French like to describe their places, it could mean several things, like “Legendary Ridge,” “Chivalrous Ridge,” Or “Noble Ridge.”
Whichever one you like, all the names are true.
Our 3 days at the French ski resort tucked away in a shadowy corner of the Alps near France’s highest city, Briançon, has been a ski trip of ski trips.
Serre Chevalier is an hour-and-a half’s drive from Turin, the nearest major international airport.
Lyon is 170 kilometers away and the Mediterranean Sea is only a 3 hours drive away.
Plus, La Grave is only 45 minutes away.
It’s hard to get bored here.
We arrived in the night and went straight to the La Maison de Gasquet restaurant which ended up being one of the most entertaining restaurant experiences of my life.
The owner and head Chef, a man from Marseille locally referred to as the “Boss,” would shout into a microphone to guests basically whatever he wanted or was thinking about as he cooked delicious French food, conversating with us through the mic as he did so.
Everyone loved it, myself included.
And the food—the steak and raclette and fondue—were damn good.
On our first day we showed up to 40 centimeters (16″) of new snow, and skied deep powder in the trees, fumbling around in the fog, doing our best to get a lay of this Knight’s Land.
Janne, our Finnish-Select Mountain Guide, top of his class, retired from the Game and now living in obscurity in the French Alps, had been here previously and had a photographic memory of some choice tree skiing areas.
Now, I had heard from other fellow powder junkies that Serre Che (how the cool people say it) had some of the finest tree skiing in Europe, which is why I decided to come here in the first place, but what Janne showed us and we later discovered through more headlong exploration totally blew my mind.
2,500-foot forest runs in steep larch trees, perfectly spaced, untracked with powder snow top to bottom that was just endless.
Janne told me not to tell everyone how good it was but I’m having a hard time with that.
The resort is 9,600 acres in American with 5,000 feet of drop and 61 lifts.
The American mind cannot comprehend what is going on here.
The town is cute and authentically French.
A church bell tower sits at the center of every little village, covered in snow, clock striking every 30 minutes.
The baguettes are hot and fresh.
The people are kind and stoked.
Romance is in the air…
On the second day the sun reared its head and shone down on steep, big mountain, powder-filled lines in and around menacing cliffs from the Yret Chair—one of the meanest chairs going up a steep avalanchy slope to some of the prettiest ski terrain in all of the Alps.
We got some of the first tracks to be had here in the new snow and then skied it until 11:00 when we decided to go adventure elsewhere.
Janne once again lead the way and delivered nice, untouched powder runs in the sun from the top of a bootpack that took you to an open powder bowl, down into steep, pillowy forest skiing.
On the top of the bootpack is a cross that, with the view around it, connects straight to the Creator.
The sky started to change and fast moving clouds were now streaming in.
The next storm was coming and it was about to get real again.
Back at the Pontillas Gondola where we started the day, we tiredly trudged back to our gorgeous apartment in the brand new Serra Neva hotel before going Les Grands Bains du Monêtier hot springs.
That was an experience.
Steam room, sauna, hot pool, warm pool, meditation pool, cold plunge, and heated outdoor waterfall pool all in a beautiful, clean facility in the charming little village of Monêtier.
We were now le relaxed.
The snow had started in full and was completely nuking on the pizza food truck near the hotel when we were grabbing dinner, about an inch of new snow on the car by the time we got our to-go pizzas.
Another big day inbound…
The next morning there was over 30 cm (12″) of new snow on our cars.
We hectically ate, packed, and got the hell to the gondola.
We were there before it opened and skiing deep, blower snow from the top by 9:20.
You could still see the tracks from the day before under the new snow meaning the powder fell without any wind.
It was light and cold and and classic French powder.
We even caught a rope drop from the Cote Chevalier lift that a stern but polite pister (ski patroller) made happen just for us and the other few people that were just so happening to get off the chair in that moment.
The run was deep and completely untouched, snow blowing overhead, floating snow crystals sparkling in the sunlight slicing through the clouds, teasing the blue sky that was soon to follow.
Then we saw some more untracked snow off-piste from Clot Gauthier and bulleted there, meeting an extremely blue-eyed Czech snowboarder girl named Sisa who we became fast friends with.
Janne said she could hang with us if she “could keep up” and that became apparent immediately, especially after she launched a cliff that Miles did but way bigger than he did.
We lapped until the snow was tracked and we wanted to get face shots somewhere else.
Then we went to Janne and Miles secret mythical steep forest skiing zone that they found the other day where the lines are so steep in between the trees that they sluff.
It was fresh and deep as ever–a little sketchy charging through here because we were getting so many face shots we couldn’t see where the trees were exactly.
I don’t think I’ve ever skied more fun trees or more well than that afternoon.
Smiles poked out from our powder-covered faces.
That was kind of the theme of our trip to Serre Chevalier.
We finished the day with après at Le Monetier Des Bains and grabbed a late lunch at Le Montagn’Art, a medieval looking inside with a friendly staff and the best crepes I’ve ever found (I got the duck ones).
Afterwards we sailed away from the setting sun toward the incredibly charming town of Briançon, a UNESCO world site for its beautiful, ancient castles.
We slammed double burgers called “Big Ben” at Le Kazdal and settled into our Air BNB.
Quietly outside the window of our little apartment hidden in the back corner of a courtyard with an orange glowing lantern on the footpath to the door, local French silently strolled past on the dreary street that was dressed in snowbanks and crowned with illuminated mosaics that hung from the street lamps.
I watched these shadows walk by, castle glowing bright on the hill above, as I settled into the warm of the room and just let the world keep spinning on, satisfied with a day I’ll never forget with people I’m honored to call my friends at a ski resort that humbled my perspective as to what is possible for a mountain with ski lifts.
And I slowly drifted off to sleep…
Serre Chevalier, France, Stats
- 9,600 Skiable Acres
- 62 Lifts
- 5,250 Vertical Feet
- 250km of Trails
- 100 Trails
- Longest Run = 8km
- 300 Days of Sun per Year
How To Get There
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Train to Briançon (most straightforward public transport option)
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Direct regional and overnight trains from Paris
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Connections via Grenoble or Valence
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Briançon station is right in the valley; local buses or taxis take you to Chantemerle, Villeneuve, or Le Monêtier
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Fly to Turin + car or train (often fastest from abroad)
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Fly into Turin Airport (Italy)
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~1.5–2 hours by car over the Montgenèvre Pass
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Or train from Turin to Oulx, then taxi or bus over the pass
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Fly to Grenoble + car (good balance of access and cost)
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Grenoble Airport has strong winter connections
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~2.5 hours’ drive via Lautaret Pass
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Reliable if roads are clear; winter tires or chains often required
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Fly to Milan + car (longer but flexible)
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Useful for international flights
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~3.5–4 hours’ drive
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Works well if combining Italy and France or renting a car anyway
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Drive from France or Italy (best for flexibility)
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Easy access via Col du Lautaret (France) or Montgenèvre (Italy)
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Ideal if you want freedom to move between villages or ski areas
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Check weather and pass conditions in winter
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Private transfer (most comfortable, least hassle)
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Door-to-door from Turin, Grenoble, or Milan
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Expensive, but great in heavy snow or with lots of gear
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Trail Map
Photos
