New Ski Lifts in Haute Savoie!
If you’re coming to Haute Savoie to ski this forthcoming winter, there are quite a few new ski lifts taking you (literally!) to new heights. Here’s our little rundown of the new lifts you could be sitting on this winter season in this area!
St Gervais les Bains – new lifts to access the resort
Le Valléen is a two-stage bubble lift linking the SNCF train station and coach station on the valley floor in Le Fayet, with the intermediate station at St Gervais and then on up to the snow front for direct access to the slopes of St Gervais and Megeve. (Pic: @StGervaisMairie)
It’s classed as public transport, so will run all year round. So as well as being super convenient for skiers to get to the slopes of St Gervais, it’s perfect for pedestrians and bikers too!
The Ascenseur des Termes is another St Gervais innovation. Linking the lovely grounds of the Thermal Parc in Le Fayet with St Gervais centre, the lift (which uses water and works like a funicular) is free and is open every day from 6am to 11pm and boasts quite a view as up go, as well as being hugely practical for tourists and residents alike!
On the Tramway Mont Blanc, the old trains have taken their well-earned retirement. The funky new trains depart from a new station at Le Fayet, winding up the steep route through the forest to arrive at Col de Voza and Bellevue on the Les Houches slopes.
Work is continuing on the rails to construct a station right at the end of the line at Nid d’Aigle, which will mean a much more secure access for all users.
Chamonix – Renzo’s vision & more!
It’s all change at Montenvers! A brand new bubble lift to and from the glacier has been built and it’s part of a huge overhaul of the high altitude arrival station of the historic rack and pinion railway.
At Les Bossons a brand new, four seater chairlift will be replacing the very rickety old two-seater, which gives access up towards the Bossons and Taconnaz glaciers for hikers in the summer months – and although the glacier is receding, it’s still a very lovely spot!
The new Grands Montets lift set for December 2026 opening
After the devastating fire that destroyed both sections of the Grands Montets cable car and the Lognan mid-station buildings in 2018, work is finally progressing. (Pic:RPW Architects)
Celebrated architect Renzo Piano (of London’s Shard and Paris’s Pompidou Centre fame) is still at the heart of the project, with his cubist vision for the Lognan mid-station and the very top station at Les Grands Montets.
Budget constraints mean that the lift departure station at the Argentiere car park will be a more classic affair, with a 10-place bubble lift up to Lognan from a newly built departure station.
Renzo’s cubist vision is realised when you arrive at Lognan. And the ride from Lognan to the very top of Les Grands Montets is set to be spectacular, in a very funky 3S cable car (like Funispace in Verbier, Prodains in Morzine etc), with several 26-seater pods running on the line at once.
Renzo’s new vision for Grands Montets is scheduled to open for December 2026, but if you ski at GM this winter, you’ll be able to see how the works are progressing and there’s even a temporary bubble lift you may see running that gives workers access to the site.
We can’t wait to see it and ski it – and why not come and join us? We offer private and shared transfers to Chamonix and resorts all over Haute Savoie year round.
