Ski Praz de Lys Sommand

11/02/2025

As we approached the alps the scenery started to rise up around us as rocky cliffs and forested hills. A little bubble of excitement grew each time we saw something resembling a mountain. Finally we saw snow covered peaks rising over the horizon and we knew we were nearly there.

Getting those first mountain views

Arriving at Praz de Lys

We left the motorway at Cluses, the entry point for many ski resorts. We’ve taken this exit before when we’ve been to Samoens and Flaine. This time we were heading in a different direction out of Cluses towards the village of Taninges and the ski resort of Praz de Lys Sommand.

When our route separated from the ‘main’ road up to Les Gets we started to ascend switchbacks. The banks to the side of the road were crusty with snow, the temperature about zero centigrade in the shade. A few patches of ice lined the road but mostly the road was dry and made for a nice safe ascent to the resort.

The aire here is fairly large, 70 places, but doesn’t have electric hookup for everyone. We wondered how busy it would be, but weren’t too worried. Many people won’t take their motorhomes skiing without the comfort of guaranteed EHU so it was unlikely to be full.

We’ve been motorhome skiing off grid in previous years and are happy to survive on our batteries and solar panel. But it does mean we often need to move to recharge. The sun isn’t high enough in the sky to keep us topped up for days and the fan for the blown aire diesel heater consumes a fair amount of power. But this year we have a secret weapon. A generator, loaned by a good friend.

When we arrived there cant have been more than 15 vans in the aire, which was good news for us as we parked up by a EHU bollard and laid claim to one of the outlets. The aire got a little busier but we didnt see more than 25 vans in total and there were EHU spaces available throughout our stay.

Parked at Praz de Lys aire

Days in Praz de Lys

After arriving we popped out to get our bearings. I immediately slipped over on the ice and came a cropper on my backside in a car park. Not only was my coccyx extremely painful but the embarrassment factor was high as I was helped up by a French youth like I was a granny. Luckily it didn’t stop me skiing but did need some night time hot water bottle therapy and a lot of stretching.

Falling seemed to be a theme as both Paul and I wiped out on our first day skiing. But it didn’t take long to get our ski legs back and enjoy a good explore of the area. We love these smaller French resorts and enjoy the social interaction that comes with picnic areas. One couple were asking us where we were going next. I said we’d been thinking about popping to Les Gets and the lady said ‘I suppose…if you want to be surrounded by English’. They then proceeded to list off the resorts they no longer go to because of the English, with no embarrassment whatsoever. It made us laugh.

Another time we met a Danish family who were in France as an alternative to their usual ski destination of Sweden. Their two boys were keen curlers so we had a chat about the British curling team’s success (sadly the mixed pairs who were playing at the time lost their medal matches and came fourth). The older boy was hoping to be in the youth Olympic team in two years time. Unfortunately we’ve forgotten their name.

We enjoyed four nights here, two days skiing and a lot of walks around the tracks that circle Praz de Lys.

Leaving Praz de Lys

We were watching the forecast and knew that quite a bit of snow was due to fall in the coming days. We toyed with either waiting it out or descending to a lower elevation. On the Wednesday morning, with 20cm of new snow fallen overnight and more expected, we decided to move on. So did a few other vans. We watched as one van tried to get out of the aire. Tried and failed. The small slope to the exit with the new wet snow and underlying ice was just too much, even for winter tyres.

Paul, unable to leave a problem untouched, went to join the gaggle of men trying to help. There was a small effort to dig away some of the new snow, but that was a losing battle. Then they tried to open the exit barrier so they could take a run-up. But the exit barrier wont raise unless a vehicle is in front of it. We couldn’t move our van because the route to the exit was blocked.  We all applauded when the snowplough turned up, but they only did the road to the entrance and then disappeared again. With all the snow falling I’m sure that it was more important to keep the roads clear than worry about the aire. Finally a small snow mover turned up and made inroads into the entry and exit areas. The stuck van got up to the exit barrier and then found their exit code wouldn’t work.

How about a little push?

In the meantime we put our snow chains on. The man in the snow mover cleared a patch so that the stuck van could reverse out of our way and we exited with no fuss or bother. The lesson – sometimes snow chains are required even if you have snow tyres.

Snow chains going on

We were lucky enough to leave just as the snowplough was descending the switchbacks and we followed it downhill grateful for the snow clearance and the fact that no one could complain we were going too slowly. The snow chains stayed on until we reached a layby near the bottom of the switchbacks. Our gloves were sopping wet and our waterproof gear needed to be drip dried in the bathroom, but we were unscathed.

Motorhome Ski Praz de Lys: The practical stuff:

Praz de Lys Aire

The aire at Praz de Lys is situated at the entrance to the village ‘La Savoliere’.

It is a paid aire with barrier entry. Payment is made in the flot bleu terminal (the payment terminal faces towards the exit barrier). The number of days has to be selected on entry but can be extended. It cannot be pre-booked.

Payment starts at €18 per day but reduces with the number of days you stay. Tourist tax is an additional €1.20 per person per night.

Facilities also cost extra. Jetons (tokens) can be bought at the entrance terminal and at a further jeton dispenser in the aire. They are €2 each. Access to the flot bleu for waste/water is one jeton. EHU is 16A and a jeton provides 4 hours use. The grey waste disposal grill is in front of the flot bleu services terminal. I really despise the design of these Flot Bleu services with the fresh water hose located above the toilet waste disposal, there is far too much risk of splashback or the water hose being replaced badly and dangling in the waste area.

There are two tiers in the aire, the tier where you enter and then a lower tier. EHU is available on both tiers but services are only on the top tier.

Getting to the slopes

It is just about possible to ski in/out of this aire. See picture below for a rough map.

To ski out you need to head to the Hotel drag lift. This is marked out with piste markers ‘Les Terrasses’ but is easy to miss on the piste map. Head down the track on the left as you look at the entrance to the aire and watch for pedestrians and nordic skiers. Shortly after the first descent there is an uphill section that will probably require some poling. Then it’s downhill to the button lift.

To ski back head to the bottom of the Jora drag lift. Cross the road and continue down the pietons track 2. This is skiable until you get to the bank below the aire which you will possibly be able to ski up but may have to climb over the top.

Ski in/out routes in pink

Alternatively there is a free navette from the layby opposite the entrance to the aire. This only runs during French school holidays and runs well into the evenings (a paid bus also stops here. We didn’t use the paid service so don’t know what it would cost). For downhill skiing Les Molliettes is the best place to be dropped off. For beginners it may be better to head around to Passerelle or Jora where there are green slopes and button lifts.

Ski passes

Ski passes are easy to obtain from terminals in various locations including by the navette stop at La Savoliere. The alpine (downhill) passes are good value and offer a 4 hour pass for €31 as well as all day for €36. The cards are €2. Once you have a card it can be recharged at the terminals or online.

Nordic ski passes and pietons passes can also be bought at the terminals but we didn’t look at the costs.

Snow activities

We were here for downhill skiing. The ski area covers two centres – Praz de Lys on the east and Sommand on the west. They are connected by several lifts so it is easy to get over the ridge between the two although always worth checking the last lift times.

There are a lot of drag lifts (a turn-off for Paul) and the chair lifts are old and slow, but the short lift queues make up for it. It really is a charming medium sized beginner/intermediate ski area (there are only a few black runs). We only saw one other British van while we were here and on the slopes we met predominantly French people (apart from one Danish family). The surrounding scenery is really something and there are views of Mont Blanc.

Off piste was being enjoyed by lots of families. It was possible to pick small sections of off piste between runs without feeling you are making a major commitment. Ski tourers were venturing further afield, including a knackering looking climb up the peak you can see from the Flory lift.

There are plenty of nordic ski tracks of all levels and snowshoe/pieton trails wind around the resort.