Worldwide Ski Resorts • France • Saint Gervais

Low cost comprehensive insurance cover for winter sports enthusiasts in France

Overview

The small French Alpine town of Saint Gervais is a satellite of the smart and fashionable Megeve ski resort. The town is situated to the side of the Mont d’Abois sector and not only shares the extensive Megeve slopes but is linked to the mountain by a gondola that terminates just outside of the town’s centre. Saint Gervais is an attractive community that boasts an interesting range of smart shops, bars and restaurants and has an extensive choice of accommodation on offer that not only rivals some of Megeve’s hotels but is on average, much more affordable. It is an ideal base for those winter holiday makers who are not solely interested in ski-ing the local slopes but who wish to visit the surrounding resorts and take advantage of the regional lift pass. For those who wish to have a ‘day off’ from the slopes, the town has its own Olympic size skating rink and some renown thermal baths in which to relax.

Profile

The town stands at 850m and provides access to Megeve’s 300 km of pistes that extend over three separate mountain sectors which are served by 79 lifts. Most of the slopes here lie under 2000m and are of a generally sunny aspect. This of course means that the resort does not have a great snow record. The resort is probably not the best place for keen experts, although there are some surprisingly challenging runs up on the higher levels. Intermediates will find plenty to do here and cross country fans have a selection of a total of 75 km of trails at their disposal. Beginners have a choice of nursery slopes, combined with plenty of gentle green runs on which to progress. The local ski schools have a good reputation and child care facilities are of an equally good standard.

Mountain Information

The greater majority of the local runs are below the tree line and provide attractive and exhilarating sport down wooded slopes. On the upper levels, there are outstanding views of Mont Blanc across the surrounding peaks. Of the three sectors, Mont d’Arbois the highest and is reached by direct lift from St Gervais. This is the home of the Terrain Park on Mont Joux which together with Mont Joly, contain most of the steeper and testing slopes that will be of interest to the experts. Of particular note is the steep run down to the village of St Nicholas.

The better intermediates will also find the Arbois slopes an interesting challenge. The Rochebrune sector not only contains the resort’s famous downhill run, but is suitable for the less skilled intermediates who will find the runs easier, but very rewarding. Some of the best intermediate runs of the resort can be found here on Alpette and Cote 2000. Le Jaillet, also directly linked to St Gervais, has some excellent long runs down to the small village of Combloux, and is the third and least crowded of all the sectors. Excellent mountain restaurants are found all over the slopes.

Apres Ski

St Gervais does have some pleasant and comfortable small bars, but they are more suitable for a quiet post slope drink with friends than the scene of a riotous night out. If you are looking for action, Megeve is only a short trip away, but even then, it is more sophisticated than wild.

French Resort Guide

Resort Information • Saint Gervais

Resort Height Resort Height 850m
Top Station Top Station 2350m
Bottom Station Bottom Station 850m
Vertical Descent Vertical Descent 1500m
Drag Lifts Drag Lifts 46
Chair Lifts Chair Lifts 33
High Capacity High Capacity 4
Opening Dates Opening Dates Dec-April
Rating Expert Rating Expert 2
Rating Intermediate Rating Intermediate 4
Rating Beginner Rating Beginner 5
Apres Ski Rating Apres Ski Rating 2
Snow Reliability Snow Reliability 8

Travel Insurance

Wintersports Advice

Ski Resort Guides

Ski Resort Guides

Useful Information