Ski-In Ski-Out Chalet Rentals in the Alps

No, and it is the commonest disappointment with this kind of property. A house set below a piste receives skiers by gravity: the evening run comes down to the terrace, effortlessly. In the morning that same gravity works against it. If it takes 100 m uphill on foot with the gear to reach the first departure, the house is ski-in but not ski-out. The question is put in exactly those terms: from the door, can you reach a lift or a piste without walking uphill? A shuttle every ten minutes is a good answer, it is simply not the same thing, and it changes a week with small children.

No, and the shape of the ski area explains it better than the size of the resort. Courchevel and Val d'Isère were built so that pistes run down into the built fabric: at Courchevel 85% of the area lies above 1,800 m and the returns arrive on the inhabited levels. Val d'Isère, at 1,850 m, works the same way. The Chamonix valley works otherwise: its five sectors all start from the valley floor, at 1,035 m, and none reaches the next on snow: skiing is reached by shuttle or car, which rules the formula out for most of the stock. Megève and Combloux hold an intermediate position, with houses bordered by pistes on the heights.

The rest of the day, once the lifts have closed. The edge of the pistes is seldom the edge of the village: shops, tables and collective life sit further down. In the evening you have to go down: car, shuttle or taxi, with the parking constraints of a resort in high season. Dinner in town is planned like a journey. Then there is aspect. Plots bordering pistes often face north, because that is where snow holds: excellent news for skiing, less good for afternoon terraces. It is the point to check for a late-season stay, where sun counts as much as snow.

It depends on one thing: how many beginner skiers are in the group. A family with two children learning makes four journeys a day between house and snow front, because they come back for lunch and go out again. Over a week the saving in time and tiredness is considerable, and it easily justifies the premium. A group of adults who ski all day and come back once in the evening makes two. For them the same budget spent elsewhere buys floor area, a better aspect or a village address. The formula is therefore not extra comfort in itself: it is an answer to a specific constraint.