Crans Montana Overview

With is high south-facing slopes, Crans-Montana is a great bet for sunny but snow-sure skiing. The largely traditional alpine resort is nestled high on a sunlit plateau and offers both fabulous views and easy access to a vast and varied ski area. Yet, despite having long been considered one of the most desirable ski resorts in the Swiss Alps by a loyal international clientele, Crans Montana remains relatively unknown to the British skier.

Getting To Crans Montana

Perhaps one reason that only 3% of visitors to Crans Montana are from the UK is its remoteness from international hubs such as Geneva and Zurich airports, which are both more than 2 and a half hours away.  Snowjet’s unique scheduled service from London Stansted to Sion - Crans Montana’s local airport - has now made the resort far more accessible to the British skier.

A direct transfer from Sion airport to Crans Montana takes just 30 minutes.  There are also excellent public transport links.  A free shuttle bus runs between the airport and the railway station (10 minutes) in Sion centre.  From here catch the train to Sierre (10 minutes) and change to the funicular for the final climb to resort (15 minutes). Further details on transport options from Sion to Crans Montana.

Skiing in Crans Montana

Crans Montana is actually composed of two distinct villages (Crans and Montana) which are connected by a linear road. Although accommodation in resort is quite widely dispersed there are a total of 4 lift stations, which means the slopes are easily accessible from wherever you stay. 

Despite being a suntrap, Crans Montana has an excellent snow record and is usually among the first Swiss resorts to open, from mid to late November, and the last to close early May.  This long season is largely thanks to the Pleine Morte glacier which at 3000m is the resort’s highest lift-accessed skiing.  But extensive snow canon coverage ensures skiing back to the village is normally possible for the whole length of the season. 

The runs are, on the whole, a mix of broad motorway reds high on the glacier and meandering tree-lined blues lower down.  But there is also plenty of good off-piste potential.  And for complete novices there is the gently undulating terrain of the golf course in Crans where you can get to grips with the equipment and the sensations before heading up the mountain proper. 

A suggested itinerary for intermediates would be to start the day by heading up the Pleine Morte cable car when the resort’s highest slopes are at their quietest.   Pause to take in the spectacular panoramic views with the sun on your face before cruising down the glacier’s gentle reds.  Once you’ve got your ski legs head over to Petit Bonvin (at 2,400 metres) for more challenging runs.

Experts shouldn’t miss the flying Nationale World Cup run and the off-piste itinerary Les Faverges off the back of the Pleine Morte is another must-ski.

Crans Montana Après Ski

Crans Montana also has plenty to keep non skiers occupied. There are over 60km of winter walking trails on the mountain and 15km of snowshoeing trails in resort on the golf course. There’s also a 6km long toboggan run, which snakes down the mountain from the 2400m summit of the Aminona cable car. If you decide to go for a slide here, be sure to stop by the Cabane de La Tieche, a charming, rustic restaurant, where you can fill your boots with hearty - mainly cheese based - mountain food. The Cabane also has dorm style rooms for overnight stays. Now that’s what I call ski-in ski-out accommodation.

Off the snow it’s all about the shopping. The streets, particularly in Crans, the more upmarket of the two villages, are lined with designer boutiques: Chanel, Hermès, Prada, Montblanc and the like. Crans Montana attracts an affluent clientele – Roger Moore is a resident - and the brand name shops do a good trade. If your holiday budget doesn’t stretch to a designer shopping spree, lick the windows and dream.

Crans Montana Restaurants, Bars and Clubs

Crans Montana is better known for its restaurants than its club life, with a tremendous variety available. Le Mont Blanc at Hotel Le Crans - based in a panoramic rotunda - is one of the resort's best fine dining restaurants. While the traditional Valaisan La Dent Blanche is the place for raclette, fondue and meat platters. For those on more of a budget, Le Raphaele has great value pizzas.

Bar-wise Crans has the best choice.  Zerodix, located at the foot of Cry d’Err cable car, is the natural choice for an après ski drink and with live djs playing from 4pm it’s one of the resort’s livelier venues. A great after dinner (open 10pm - 2am) venue is uber-trendy Le Leos where the music is as cool as the décor. For some serious late night drinking and dancing try Le Pacha.

Something for the Kids

On the mountain, Crans Montana has some lovely, wide, gentle and sun-soaked slopes, which are ideal for children and family.  And in the resort itself there’s a fantastic new kids’ activity zone: Snow Island.  Located on the golf driving range, Snow Island has a feast of activities to keep the kids happy, including skiing, sledging, snow tubing, riding the carousel and visiting Bibi the Marmotte’s house.  Next to Snow Island is a new bar-restaurant with 50 indoor seats and a large sun terrace. Here and around the lake there are also some walks that are suitable for pushchairs.  After a hard day on the snow, as a special treat for yourself as well as the kids, visit Taillens Salon de Thé, where the specialty hot chocolate comes complete with an edible chocolate spoon.

Crans Montana Links

Other Snowjet.co.uk Resort Guides:

Crans Montana Resort Guide
Grimentz And Le Val Anniviers Resort Guide
Nendaz Resort Guide
Saas Fee Resort Guide
Verbier Resort Guide
Zermatt Resort Guide
Zinal Resort Guide