Verbier Skiing at a Glance – Les 4 Vallées and Verbier Stats:
Summit Elevation: 10,925′
Verbier Village: 5,026
Vertical Drop: 5,889′
Lifts: 74
Prepared Runs: 250 miles, 400 km
Top 10 Reasons to Ski Verbier
Verbier has it all – extreme skiing, extraordinary scenery, sophisticated four and five star lodging, top dining, and tireless nightlife. This chic French-speaking Swiss ski town offers high-elevation high-end, terrain along with black-diamond rated boutique shopping, gourmet dining and a vibrant après ski scene in the village.
Verbier is the highest of Les 4 Vallées – among the largest ski resorts in world – spanning six ski areas/villages and four valleys, hence the region’s name 4 Vallées, with 74 lifts and 412 kilometers of prepared pistes on one ski pass. You can ski from Verbier, to La Tzoumaz, Bruson, Nendaz, Veysonnaz and Thyon.
Big mountain skiing is on Verbier’s Mont Fort and Mont Gelé. Mont Fort glacier is the highest elevation at 10,925′, reached by summit tram offering skiers and riders an amazing panorama of Switzerland’s big Alps – Mont Blanc (15,781′), The Matterhorn of Zermatt (14,690′), and The Dom (14,911′) from Mont Fort’s observation platform. You can ski, download, or zipline from the summit! Mont Gelé is the twin peak at Verbier reached by tram, offering 3,000′ vertical of steep un-prepared NFT (no fall terrain). Read: no easy way down, except downloading the tram back to town – which is always possible! Verbier hosts the Xtreme World Cup Finals and the World Speed Skiing Track …just sayin’.
La Tzoumaz, Bruson, Nendaz, Veysonnaz and Thyon offer skiers more mellow terrain, learn to ski areas, kids parks, and a quieter side of skiing. These interconnected ski villages stretch – to the western most village of Thyon, and Bruson to the east, with over 125 miles of trails. Verbier is on Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass for 5-days free skiing when you buy lodging from participating hotels. Latest ski news, Vail Resorts is interested in acquiring Verbier/Les 4 Vallees along with Laax Flims to add to their ski resort portfolio which already includes Crans Montana and Andermatt in the Alps. That would be huge!
Verbier’s on-mountain chalets are Swiss-French, a brilliant combo of alpine heritage and haute cuisine, fondue cheese and wine please! It doesn’t get any better for on mountain food than skiing into a chalet like Les Chottes in Veysonnez, a cow barn in summer, or CheersBar umbrella bar in Nendaz. Visit as many of 4 Vallees’ 3 dozen Swiss chalets, restaurants and bars dotted around the ski slopes as your adjustable waist ski pants will allow! Our review of on-mountain dining at 4 Vallees.
So many chic hotels in Verbier line the pretty alpine village streets.
Verbier’s shopping is as extreme as the skiing. Designer boutiques in beautiful chalets in the ski village could keep a non-skier entertained, and well-heeled. Verbier shopping rivals Gstaad and Aspen in the US. The chic French influence is obvious in Verbier’s stylish attire of shoppers parading the snowy streets. Ski shops, jewelry and art boutiques, interesting French wine and food shops, and delightful local cafes bring charm to the hilly streets on this mountain town.
Après ski at Verbier can be off the hook! As skiers pour off the slopes into the bars, wild après ski bars can ensue with shots skis and hot toddies. We witnessed crazy costumes, big dancing and drinking at The Farinet end of season party. The Fer à Cheval, Le Rouge and the Casbah are also notorious night clubs that rock in Verbier after the lifts stop until late night. For a more sublime culinary evening, Verbier has too many Michelin restaurants to count… top shelf dining in this ski town, bring your Swiss francs.
Verbier is French speaking, but a predominance of English skiers and chalet owners make it easy to communicate, in fact the area is quadri-linqual: French, German, English and Italian are all spoken.
Vail Resorts is considering acquiring Verbier and Skiing Les 4 Vallees, to add to their ski resort portfolio, which would make Verbier and Les 4 Vallees a full Epic Pass ski resort. Currently Epic Pass holders can receive a total of 5 days at Verbier 4 Vallées when they book lodging with their pre-ordained Epic Pass partner properties for each day of skiing. Also you must request the complimentary pass in advance of arrival, and bring a voucher to the ticket window for redemption. Vail Resorts has already acquired Andermatt Sedrun and Crans Montana in Switzerland, and is also eyeing Laax- Flims. As ski journalists, who’ve skied 300+ resorts, our hope is that Vail Resort doesn’t homogenize or over-crowd these unique and amazing Swiss ski resorts!
Verbier is part of the interconnected 4 Vallees with 5 ski areas from east to west include Thyon/Les Collons, Veysonnaz, Nendaz, La Tzoumaz, and the eastern most Verbier. For quieter less expensive lodging options you may want to check out charming Thyon les Collons, the slopeside Hotel La Cambuse offers classic Swiss ambiance with wonderful cuisine and stunning views of the slopes and valley. Nendaz, near the center, has a quiet slopeside smaller Hotel Les Etagnes and good dining, steps to the gondola.
Put Verbier and Les 4 Vallées on your must ski list!
Travel Tip: Verbier can be reached by Swiss train to Martigny, then LeChable, from Geneva or Zurich Airport, followed by a gondola or taxi to Verbier.
