Going off the Beaten Path in France

Jan 2022 – I’d always wanted to be able to take a snow trip into a place that not too many people think about, and I’d always wanted to be able to sleep in a big Swiss-style Chalet with a hot tub outside and right on the slopes. Socializing some online with fellow American and non-Americans living in Germany led me to learning about a relatively small ski area nestled in a high altitude corner of the French Auvergne-Rhône Alps. Additionally, my discussions helped me discover an amazing chalet booking company, as well.

Sainte-Foy is about two-and-a-half hours south of the French Alpine mecca, Chamonix. So, for those who live in the same region as we do, it’s a long drive by European standards. There is an enormous ski area near Sainte-Foy called Les Arcs that draws much larger crowds…but Sainte-Foy’s quality, more relaxed atmosphere, and smaller crowds proved to be very memorable to me. The tiny hamlet is situated very high above the Terantaise Valley and I think is considered a popular vacation spot to the Brits 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 due to its relatively easy access via the Eurostar train system from London to Bourg Saint Maurice.

This trip was a weird one as it was on the tail end of COVID-19 restrictions. We had to leave my daughter with some family friends for this trip because she was the only member of the family who hadn’t contracted and recovered-from the virus, at that point…and France was off limits for her as a result of this. While I really did hate leaving her (she ended up having a lot of fun without us), COVID had also reduced the crowds from the UK during our trip so the slopes were quiet and nowhere near crowded.

The lodging that we booked was a unique experience that didn’t involve the usual AirBnB or Booking.com reservations. A fellow slope enthusiast over at The Used Car Guys (thanks Dave!) turned me onto a company called Premiere Neige, a British company that specializes in the management and rental of large Chalet units in the village of Sainte-Foy. Several months prior to the trip, we’d gathered up a large group of friends who wanted to make the trip as well, so the cost per family for the massive unit was quite reasonable considering the length of our stay (6 nights from my memory…?). Also, to be quite honest, it was nice being able to speak to fellow native-English speakers for the first time in a while when it came to booking accomodation.

Happy to elaborate on this AWESOME lodging experience towards the end.

ESF Ski School was the first and obvious choice that I came across when searching for a program to enroll my kid in. Their office was conveniently located 20 meters away from the front door to our chalet and at a cost of €150 for 5 days of instruction, I couldn’t pass it up. Literally walking out the front door to the meeting spot just outside was such an amazing convenience that it really spoiled us, to a degree. I’d recommend it anytime but I’m aware that in bigger ski areas, that could come with a price 💶 premium.

Throughout the week’s ski school course, my kid had a great instructor and the lessons took them all over the mountain; however, the fact that all the Brits weren’t there and we were in a relatively small ski area meant that he was the only English and German speaker in his group amongst French-speaking children. I think this left him feeling a bit lonely but his instructor’s English was great and helped get him along the slopes when he was feeling linguistically isolated. That language isolation for our son was a first for us since first arriving in Europe. It would have been a big help if his sister had also been with him 🥺.

School quality was great as I saw them all over the mountain during our time there. They utilized nearly every single square meter that the slopes (and some off-piste) had to offer. I felt that the value was insanely good. Not to mention that, since the ski area wasn’t enormous, I actually had the opportunity everyday to go out and explore without feeling the pressure to hurry back to the meeting point.

The SLOPES!!! Oh man the slopes. We were in Sainte-Foy during a very fortuitous snowfall so naturally the slope quality was amplified big time.

The access to the mountain is provided by a single large capacity chair called Grand Plan with three other lifts giving you access to the rest of the mountain. From the first drop off, you can access some cool forest runs back into the village and repeat as much as you want. From the Grand Plan drop off, boy oh boy it gets good from there.

Sainte-Foy might be small, but its design makes it an absolute off-piste paradise. There is so much terrain to explore off the slopes that you could be hard pressed where to begin on a newly snow fallen day. I utilized most of my time in the massive untouched areas just below the La Marquise chair drop off point. Even when comparing to places like Scuol and Campiglio, Sainte-Foy’s relative quiet nature left so much snow untouched after a full day just for us to take advantage of. I was in heaven.

There were also beautiful slopes zig-zagging through forests leading directly back into the village for a perfect ski-in experience.

The village, as already stated, is quite small. Having said that, the village’s food, grocery, and ski shop options are relatively limited when comparing to most other places we’ve visited. If you need extensive repairs (or a BOA system replacement 🙄), you may be told to go further down the mountain for the services you need.

The single grocery shop in the village was limited in terms of produce and other quickly-perishable items…but one has to apply some common sense before really criticizing this. The wine and beer selection at the shop was good so, at the very least, consider bringing a lot of your own food to Sainte-Foy if you’ve got the space to do so.

The dining options are also a bit limited on the slopes as I think we only visited two locations. One was extraordinarily rustic in exterior design and the other had a view that was absolutely stunning from the western facing deck.

The place we stayed at was in an enormous multi-level Chalet style building which had 4 bedrooms, a huge kitchen/dining/common area, and a sauna coupled with an outdoor jacuzzi. Normally, there would never be any chance I could afford to stay in a place like this, but we had two other couples and a single friend staying with us…so the overall cost was so much more reasonable for everyone who stayed with us.

I mentioned it in the opening paragraph, but the company (Premiere Neige) is a UK-based business which means working with them is all accomplished in my native English. I love Europe and wouldn’t give it up for anything, but having the chance to conduct business in my mother tongue with others’ whose native language is also English is a real comforting thing from time-to-time.

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The company’s website is easy to use and allows you the chance to have ski passes already bought and sitting in the chalet entryway for you and even offers up fully catered chalet options if you really want to splurge. The house we had came with a very well-stocked kitchen and ski storage…the entire experience was extremely well executed and we didn’t have a single thing to worry about.

And being on the doorstep of ESF Skischool and the main lift was quite nice as well…

Sainte-Foy is an absolute gem if you’re up for the drive. This place was one of the locations that encouraged us to visit slope areas off the beaten path and away from the larger Alpine resorts.

You should do the same. Otherwise it’ll be difficult to find quiet little ski towns just like this one.

Bis zum näschtes mal!

-The Snowboard Dad In Europe