Find the Perfect Resort-Based Ski Tours

It is well known that ski touring is a complete sport often rightly compared to jogging or trail running. Ski touring uses many muscles, tones up all parts of your body and develops your cardio-respiratory capacities.

However, it can be difficult to find the right spot to practice ski touring in training mode. Distance, altitude difference, duration of the effort are all factors to be taken into account in addition to the safety aspect. If you are looking to exert yourself, off-piste practice is to be avoided. The practice at the edge of the slopes is also to be forgotten as it exposes you to other skiers who go down the slope from the front. Fortunately, the resorts have understood this phenomenon by developing marked out itineraries that will allow you to do a series of heel lifts in complete safety.

For your daily jogging, we can only advise you to go to Combloux. If you are looking for an intense effort over a moderate distance, the itinerary of La Crève Coeur should amply meet your expectations. With its 784m of vertical drop, the itinerary is a succession of dry climbs and more rolling parts in the forest. As a bonus, a magnificent view of the Mont-Blanc all along the route. As much to say that there are worse spots to spend some time on ski touring...

On the Savoyard side, the signposted path from Champagny to La Plagne should also offer you a lot of thrills. The 6 km of the trail alternates between the edge of the piste, snow-covered road and forest passage. The perfect mix that makes this route a must in the valley with the bonus of a breathtaking view of the Grand Bec and the Vanoise Glaciers.

If you are passing through the Arêches Beaufort and you are not afraid of physical challenge, we recommend you the marked route of La Trace Pro. You may find there the future practitioners of the Pierra Menta who come to prepare the race by rubbing shoulders with the steep gradients (900 D+) spread over the 2.2 km. As much to say that it goes up strong!

In the nice kind of climb on a short gradient, the secure route from La Scia to Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse also has something to say. With a vertical drop of 800m over 3.8km, this classic of the Grenoble valley will allow you to make a series of conversions through the woods to reach the top of the resort. The setting is splendid and will reward you with a magnificent view of the Dome de Bellefont.

In the Pyrenees massif, how not to recommend you the resort of Gourette and its so peaceful setting. If you are looking for a playground to chain the slopes you will find in l'Intégrale de Cotch the perfect ally. Divided into several sections, the integral itinerary offers you 5 km of ascent for 750m of positive difference in level. The setting is sumptuous and will certainly allow you to compensate for the excesses of the day before in one of the many restaurants of the resort.

Finally, on the Swiss side, the mythical resort of Verbier offers with the signposted Sarreyer - La Chaux route a sporty climb and 1000m of positive difference in altitude that should satisfy the most committed hikers.

If after all that you feel like getting off your feet, you will probably find what you are looking for among the 200 other marked ski touring itineraries to fully practice the historical sport of our mountains.