Le Tour Ski Lift Info
Le Tour Webcams
The ski area of Le Tour (Balme) including Vallorcine, is situated at the top of the valley and is furthest away from Chamonix, but it's worth the journey. This area is best known for beginners, but also has lots to offer for the more advanced skier/boarder. Beginners will love La Vormaine, which is a separate mini area with drag lifts and a magic carpet lift, where they can gain confidence before heading up the main slopes.
Le Tour looks out over the Chamonix valley with all its different domains and is magical when the sun sets. From the top you can see the Emosson dam and look down into Switzerland, in fact the Les Esserts chair lift is on the border with Switzerland! If you can stop gawping at the views, the skiing is pretty good too.
The off-piste here is great and easy for those who don't know the area as it's easily accessible from the edge of the piste, but be warned as it's also some of the avalanche-prone areas of the whole valley! The back of Le tour is popular with more experienced skiers/boards for its steeper runs, great off-piste through trees and the possibility to find powder even a few days after a dump when other places are tracked out.
For freestylers, there are lots of small jumps, gullies and natural half pipes where you can learn some stylish tricks. New for the 2011/2012 winter season is a boardercross under Les Autannes lift, taking in the natural halfpipe of the terrain.
OUR VIEW: Le Tour often gets packed out during holidays, so miss the queues and the road rage and go round the Vallorcine, park up for free and get the lift straight up to the backside of Le Tour. You can't beat the views from here and the ski area boasts our favourite mountain restaurants too. A word of warning, wrap up well as it's often windy at this end of the valley and it is freezing on the chair lifts!
