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Fresh snow en route to the Col du Jaillet

Chilled Powder : Mellow Ski Tours above Megève

Cold snow, fun terrain and some of the biggest views in the Alps - welcome to the Megève backcountry.

Ski Touring Moderate

Also in Haute-Savoie, France

Fresh snow en route to the Col du Jaillet
Fresh snow en route to the Col du Jaillet Photo: Sophie Nicholson

Description

Long regarded as a destination for the rich and famous, Megève has a reputation for being expensive and - during peak season - busy. The town probably deserves that reputation, but it also deserves to be better known for its wonderful ski touring, which is (for some unknown reason) not as legendary as it ought to be.

The terrain above Megève is generally pretty mellow but feels wild, perhaps because leaving the busy pistes and entering the backcountry provides an almost shocking sense of solitude. Once you are out in the wilds above Megève you'll find gorgeous, open bowls and some of the best tree skiing in the Haute Savoie. The views of the nearby Mont Blanc range aren't too bad either...

The tours listed here make the most of this excellent and varied terrain, and 2 of them also make use of the Megève lift system too. The other 2 are car to car adventures, so whether you want to deal with the ski resort or not, we've got you covered here.

If you've ticked these 4 lines and are hungry for more, check out our guidebooks to the Aravis area - just to the north of Megève - /discover/guidebook/12900 - and Les Contamines, just to the south - /discover/guidebook/3847

Routes included

Related guidebooks