Les Houches Ski Pass: Coverage and Buying Decisions

What the Les Houches and Saint-Gervais Pass Covers

The local pass is the one sold for the Les Houches and Saint-Gervais ski area, the hillside reached by the Bellevue and Prarion cable cars and sitting between roughly 1,000 and 1,900 metres. Coverage for the Saint-Gervais side of that same hill is documented more loosely than the official rate table for Les Houches itself, so check the current piste map and sales page rather than assuming the two sides are identical products. If your week is based in the village and never leaves this mountain, the local pass is the simpler and cheaper purchase.

What it does not cover matters just as much. A Les Houches-only purchase does not carry the Chamonix valley sectors, so a day at Grands Montets or Brévent-Flégère is a separate lift product. The same logic runs the other way: a Chamonix valley pass is not interchangeable with the local ticket. Decide which mountain you will actually ski most days, then buy the product that covers it.

Les Houches Pass vs Chamonix Le Pass vs Mont Blanc Unlimited

Chamonix Le Pass covers the valley's own sectors and the beginner areas, but it does not include Les Houches, the Aiguille du Midi or the Montenvers train. Mont Blanc Unlimited is the product positioned to cover both ends of the valley plus the high-mountain lifts and excursions. If there is a chance your group will ski Les Houches and the Chamonix sectors in the same week, that cross-valley product is the one to price before you arrive, not something to arrange on a spare afternoon. If you are also weighing a multi-day product for the neighbouring resort, our Alpe d'Huez Ski Pass guide walks through the same coverage-versus-duration trade-off.

The sectors in the valley are separate mountains rather than one linked area, so a cross-valley day means travel by road or rail as well as the right ticket. Budget for the higher-tier product from the start if you want that flexibility, and keep the week simple with a local pass if you will only ski one end. Neither choice is wrong; buying the wrong one and discovering it on the mountain is the avoidable part.

Ticket Durations and Age Bands

The official rate table lists four-hour, day, six-day and family tickets for the Les Houches and Saint-Gervais area, which means you can match the ticket to your actual travel days rather than defaulting to a weekly pass. The four-hour product suits a late arrival, a departure morning or a short first day when you are still collecting kit. A six-day ticket only pays off if you genuinely expect six skiing days on this mountain.

Age bands are documented rather than implied: child rates apply to ages 5 to 13, children under 5 are free, and there is a senior day rate for skiers aged 80 and over. Age-based prices are normally issued against proof of age at the ticket office, so carry passports or ID for anyone claiming a child or senior rate. Confirm the current bands and any documentation requirement on the Les Houches ski lift company's own sales page before relying on them.

Validity Windows and Daily Opening Hours

The scheduled Les Houches and Saint-Gervais window runs from 19 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, split into a peak pricing period to 26 March 2027 and a late-season period from 27 March to 4 April 2027. The published rate table shows lower prices in the later window, which is useful if your dates are flexible at the end of the season. Treat that window as the currently scheduled season rather than a guarantee: opening is subject to snow conditions and lift-company decisions.

Daily hours are published in phases across the same season, with earlier starts and a later close during the core weeks and shorter days at the start and end of the window. Those phases matter if you are planning a four-hour ticket around a lesson or a travel day, because a short afternoon at the edge of the season leaves little margin. Check the live hours for your exact dates against the published phase schedule.

Keycard, Proof of Age and Buying Channels

A rechargeable hands-free keycard is required, and the official table lists it as a small one-off charge that is neither refundable nor transferable between people. If you already own a compatible card from a previous trip, the sensible step is to ask the lift company whether it can be reloaded before paying for a new one. Card cost sits on top of the ticket price, so include it when you compare a local pass with a cross-valley product.

Tickets can be bought online in advance or at the ticket office, and the ski lift company also publishes email and phone contact routes for questions. Buying ahead is mainly about avoiding the morning queue and locking in the ticket type you want, not about accessing a different price for the same product. Promotional online day rates that appear on separate marketing pages belong to specific products and purchase windows, so they should not be assumed to match the standard table.

Adding Chamonix Sectors Without Buying Twice

Les Houches and the Chamonix valley sectors are not lift-linked, so a cross-valley day is a journey rather than a ski traverse. They sit roughly 8 km apart, about fifteen minutes by road, with the Mont Blanc Express train and valley buses connecting them through the day; guests staying in the valley can use those services without paying a fare. Factor that travel into your morning and pick the ticket that matches both ends of the trip.

The cross-valley product is the clean way to ski both ends without buying twice, and it is a decision to make before you arrive rather than at the lift base. The lift company's wording on what the local pass opens up elsewhere, including the Tramway du Mont-Blanc, should be read as stated rather than extended to every train segment or onward connection. If a specific inclusion is the reason for your purchase, check the details with the lift company directly before booking.

Plan Your Visit

Buy coverage first: if your week stays on the Les Houches and Saint-Gervais hillside, the local pass with a four-hour, day or six-day ticket is the straightforward choice, and a cross-valley product only earns its higher tier if you will genuinely ski both ends. Add the keycard cost, check the proof-of-age requirement for child and senior rates, and confirm the scheduled dates and daily hours for your own week before you pay.