
412km across 1,950m vertical. 68 lifts serving Mont Fort at 3,330m. Epic Pass access to Switzerland's largest interlinked domain.
The 4 Vallées network spans 412 kilometres of marked runs across elevations from 1,350 to 3,330 metres at Mont Fort, making it Switzerland's largest fully interlinked ski area. The domain records 1,950 metres of vertical drop and deploys 68 lifts serving 94 runs distributed across six connected villages. Terrain splits 26% beginner, 49% intermediate, 15% advanced and 10% expert, whilst high-altitude zones above 2,500 metres deliver reliable coverage throughout the five-and-a-half-month season.
Verbier anchors the western sector with celebrated off-piste terrain including Mont Gelé at 3,023 metres and the Bec des Rosses, venue for the annual Freeride World Tour finals each March. The Tortin lifts connect westward to the Printse sector encompassing Nendaz, Veysonnaz and Thyon, whilst Savoleyres and Bruson provide quieter, family-oriented alternatives. Intermediates favour the wide boulevards at Attelas and La Chaux, whilst beginners progress through dedicated nursery zones at Les Esserts and Les Moulins.
Verbier village sits at 1,500 metres with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and lively après-ski culture, contrasting with the traditional mountain character of Bruson and the family focus of La Tzoumaz. The Médran base area handles peak-season crowds, though regular lift investments have reduced bottlenecks outside February half-term. On-mountain dining spans 50 establishments from self-service canteens to white-tablecloth restaurants with Mont Blanc views.
Epic Pass holders receive five consecutive days of access for the 2025-26 season, with expanded eligibility now including Epic Local Pass. The 2025-26 winter runs 8 November to 26 April across the full network, with weekend openings at Lac des Vaux sometimes beginning late October. The resort suits confident intermediates through to extreme skiers, though beginners require patience navigating between sectors on predominantly red connector runs.
Verbier 4 Vallées spreads 94 runs across 412 km of piste of terrain. It leans intermediate at 49%, with 24 beginner runs to find your feet and 23 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025-26 season operates from 8 November 2025 through 26 April 2026 across the full 4 Vallées network, with possible weekend-only skiing at Lac des Vaux from late October depending on early snowfall. The season spans 24 weeks, amongst the longest in the Alps owing to elevations topping 3,300 metres and predominantly north-facing aspects above 2,500 metres. Lift operations run daily throughout Christmas, New Year and Easter periods.
Verbier receives average annual snowfall between 4.5 and 5.5 metres, with the summit accumulating significantly more than base elevations. High-altitude terrain above 2,700 metres maintains excellent coverage from December through April, whilst lower slopes benefit from snowmaking covering approximately 40% of marked runs. The glacier-adjacent zones on Mont Fort provide snow-sure skiing into late spring, though south-facing exposures can transition from ice to slush rapidly on sunny March afternoons.
January and February deliver peak powder conditions with the most consistent natural snowfall, whilst December offers quieter slopes as the network ramps up operations. March brings longer days and stable spring conditions, with the Xtreme Verbier Freeride World Tour finals scheduled 22-30 March attracting global audiences. April skiing remains viable on high-altitude terrain, though afternoon slush requires morning starts.
The resort hosts the Verbier Festival classical music programme in late July and early August, the Grand Raid Cristalp mountain biking race, and the Grand Concours Hippique equestrian competition during summer months. Selected lifts including Le Châble-Verbier, Mont Fort and Col des Gentianes operate for hikers and cyclists from late June through September, providing 10 months of annual lift access.
Verbier occupies the Val de Bagnes in Canton Valais, southwest Switzerland, with the village at 1,500 metres overlooking the Rhône Valley. The 4 Vallées network extends across Val de Bagnes and Val d'Hérens, bordered by the Grand Combin massif to the south and opening northward toward Sion. Mont Fort's 3,330-metre summit delivers panoramic views encompassing the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Dent Blanche and the Bernese Alps.
Le Châble serves as the valley town at 821 metres with rail connections and the principal gondola link to Verbier village four kilometres uphill. Martigny, 30 kilometres west, functions as the regional hub with onward train connections throughout Switzerland. Sion lies 50 kilometres northeast along the Rhône Valley corridor. The resort operates within French-speaking Valais, with mountain culture reflecting both Swiss precision and Latin conviviality.
Road access follows the A9 motorway along the Rhône Valley to Martigny, then Route 21 south through Sembrancher before climbing 10 kilometres via hairpin bends to Le Châble and continuing to Verbier. The Great St Bernard Tunnel provides a 90-minute connection to Aosta, Italy. Driving from Geneva requires two hours in clear conditions, from Zurich 3 hours 20 minutes, and from Chamonix 90 minutes via the Col de la Forclaz.
Geneva International Airport sits 160 kilometres distant with transfers via motorway or rail taking 2 to 2.5 hours. Weekend Verbier Express trains run direct from Geneva Airport to Le Châble on Saturdays and Sundays, requiring one change at Martigny on weekdays. Zürich Airport lies 290 kilometres northeast with four-hour transfers. Sion Airport, 50 kilometres away, handles private aviation and limited scheduled services. The Le Châble-Verbier gondola operates 18 hours daily, eliminating the need for resort driving.
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Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.

South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.

Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.

La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.

The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.

Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.

Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.

Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.
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