Crans Montana
Mountain stats
Lift count :
2 x Cable-cars
7 x Gondolas
10 x Chairlifts
13 x Drag-lifts
1 Funicular
100miles (160km) of pistes
Russian menus and Rolex watches are the go here. Many people visit Crans Montana to shop, and boy can they do that. As you stroll past the jewelers you will be dodging many a fur coat and Porsche 4X4. All of this snobbery does lead to some great all in ones ski suits on the piste, but as anyone who’s boarded amongst our all in one brothers will tell you, they stick to the pistes leaving some good accessible off piste just for you.
These two towns fuse together to provide over 100 miles (160km) of linked all-level and all-rider style terrain. There’s good instruction on offer and a good lift system, if a little disjointed. These’s also many a mountain café which surprisingly aren’t as expensive as you might think. While the resorts do boast a high point of the 3000m, on the Glacier Plaine Morte, most of the pistes are well below this with the lower ones allowing for some tree action. Its south facing slopes do lead to some good sunshine boarding, but late in the season it can lead to some mud patches.
While Crans Montana will entertain the intermediate and beginner for a week, without any trouble, expert freeriders will want to head to some of the areas more extreme resorts. Hardcore freestylers will be best catered for elsewhere and boarders whose partners like to shop best hide their credit card.