Skiing by Private Jet and Helicopter: The Top 3 French Resorts for Guaranteed Snow
Private jets and goggle tans never go out of style, everybody knows this. But not everybody knows that booking an early or late season private jet ski trip doesn’t mean trading the good snow for less crowded slopes and bluer skies.
Charter a private jet to go skiing to head for the higher resorts offering snow-sure conditions until the very end of ski season and you’re unlikely to be disappointed. Flying private ensures you'll be able to hit the slopes sooner which means more time on the slopes and less time travelling to them. Helicopter transfers from the private jet to your resort are the ultimate way to go. After all if you’re going to be a bear you may as well be a grizzly!
Experienced early or end-of-season skiers know that resort altitude isn’t the only factor that matters. Good snow-making services, high-altitude lifts, north-facing slopes, glacier skiing, and historically reliable cover are all key to finding the perfect adrenaline-powdered pistes.
Here are superFLY’s Top 3 French resorts where you’re almost guaranteed to find good powder whether you’re flying to an early or late-season private jet ski break.
Val d'Isère, Tignes, and Val Thorens
Val d'Isère and Tignes are two linked but contrastingly different resorts that share a giant ski area that forms the world famous Espace Killy area, named after France’s best known Olympic Skier – Jean-Claude Killy. Together they offer 300km of pistes. Aside from the Pissaillas glacier above Val and the Grande Motte glacier on the Tignes side, the stellar altitude of the slopes in general ensures this is a snow-sure destination.
Val Thorens is not only the highest resort in the giant Trois Vallées ski area, which also includes Courchevel, Méribel, La Tania, Brides Les Bains, and Les Menuires, but also the highest in Europe. Its position and altitude ensures doorstep skiing and snowboarding with guaranteed snow cover from November to May.
Altitude: Slopes up to 3,456m
Val D'Isère
One of Europe’s top ski destinations and a favourite with the British, Val d'Isère has a chic and vibrant culture. It also has the largest artificial snowmaking plant in Europe called, rather appropriately, Le Snow Factory. It could cover Wembley Stadium to a depth of half a metre of snow in just one hour. All this and with over 300 individual pistes, easy access to Tignes ski resort and a lively après-ski culture, it’s clear to see why Val d'Isère is considered one of the world’s top resorts.
Tignes
Val d'Isère’s sister resort, Tignes is another iconic resort that makes up part of the Espace Killy area. The high altitude means the snow in Tignes is almost always good, especially up on the Grande Motte glacier, where the cover will be decent right up until the spring thaw.
The highest slopes here are also open for summer skiing and snowboarding. By the middle of November you can tackle a thigh-burning 1,350m vertical red all the way back down to the funicular station in Val Claret – a greater drop than many North American resorts can offer at their peak in midwinter.
Altitude Slopes up to 3,230m - Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe Resort
Val Thorens
Located in the Tarentaise Valley and with an altitude of 2300m, Val Thorens is the Europe's highest ski resort and forms part of the Trois Vallées linked ski area which, with over 600 km of piste, is the largest linked ski area in the world. It's worth noting what isn't often mentioned in the brochures however, and that is that access to the other areas is weather dependant and not always possible.
The resort has been designed to offer doorstep skiing from practically wherever you stay and the altitude ensures long hours of sunshine, an unrivalled snow record and great skiing for all grades.
The highest lift goes to 3,230m which is the highest point of Trois Vallées, and ensures decent snow conditions prevail from late November until early May.
Best Private Jet Airports for Val d'Isère, Tignes and Val Thorens
CHAMBÉRY SAVOIE AIRPORT - For Val d'IsèrE and Tignes
Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Chambéry Savoie Airport is the closest airport to some of the best French ski resorts. Its road and motorway network gives good access to the most popular resorts such as Val d’Isère, Tignes, Courchevel, Chamonix and Megève.
Map of Chambéry Savoie Airport in realtion to nearby Ski Resorts
Helicopter Transfers to Val d’Isère and Tignes from Chambéry Airport
• Val d’Isère: 30 min
• Tignes: 30 min
Driving to Val d’Isère and Tignes from Chambéry Airport
• Val d’Isère: 140 km, 1h45
• Tignes: 145 km, 1h50
AEROPORTO DELLA VALLE D'AOSTA (AOSTA AIRPORT) FOR VAL THORENS
Aeroporto della Valle d'Aosta (Aosta Airport)
Aosta Valley Airport (formerly Corrado Gex Airport) is a quiet airport located in Saint-Christophe and serving the Aosta Valley region of Italy.
The Italian airport has a runway length of 4,916 feet (1,499 metres) and is suitable only for small propeller planes or aircraft with high altitude-short runway performance capabilities.
Helicopter Transfers to Val d’Isère and Tignes from Aosta Airport in Italy
• Val d’Isère: 15 min
• Tignes 15 min
Driving to Val d’Isère and Tignes from Aosta Airport
• Tignes: 99 km, 2h
• Val d’Isère: 101 km, 2h
How to book a private jet or helicopter ski break
Let superFLY organise your next ski trip in our top 3 French locations for guaranteed snow or any resort and country of your choice. Speak to an adviser now by calling +44 (0)208 242 4992 (24 hrs) or find your nearest international office. You can also get an easy online quote.
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