A blue-run day you can picture.
Choose one valley sector and make a few good laps. These four blue-run picks come with an exact-run video, a starting gondola and a way back that avoids a final ski descent to the valley. Les Houches and Brévent are separate outings: choose the lift before choosing your hotel.
4 blue-run choices · 4 matched run videos
Les Houches piste map · La Cha & Chamois ↗
Choose a starting point and a finish.
These are separate outings grouped by sector, rather than a connected circuit or a ranking from easiest to hardest. Check the first lift and the return before choosing your accommodation.
A blue grade does not make every pitch or connection suitable for a first ski day. These plans assume controlled turns on blues; choose a dedicated learning area for first turns.
First turns? Compare Chamonix's nursery slopes →Before you book a room.
Use the property’s actual address as the starting point in walking directions. Check steps, hills and winter access with your host; distance to the nearest slope is different from the walk to this lift.
For: La Cha · Chamois
117 Place du Prarion, Les Houches, France
Bellevue is a different lift. Check the actual walk to Prarion or the nearest ski-bus stop before you book.
Affiliate link: we may earn a commission on an eligible booking. Add your dates and check the property’s location.Official lift access ↗More on this accommodation base →For: Vioz · Blanchots
29 route Henriette d’Angeville, Chamonix, France
The lift is at 29 route Henriette d’Angeville. Check the walking route and gradient in ski boots; a central-Chamonix label alone does not establish the walk.
Affiliate link: we may earn a commission on an eligible booking. Add your dates and check the property’s location.Official lift access ↗More on this accommodation base →The walking link opens Google Maps so you can enter the hotel there. BlueRuns does not need its address.
Two blues from one starting gondola
Start at Prarion in Les Houches for La Cha and Chamois. Keep the Mélèzes chair as the repeat lift, and finish back at Prarion for the gondola down. These mountain blues are separate from the Prarion learning area.
La Cha gives you a straightforward way to spend time skiing instead of crossing a huge resort: go up to Prarion, follow La Cha towards the Mélèzes chair, and use the chair for another lap. A restaurant beside the lift area makes a convenient place to stop and enjoy being in the mountains.
Footage: March 2023 (existing creator-page review). The creator identifies La Cha at Les Houches. Treat 'easy' in the video title as the creator's description; our guide notes short steeper sections and the approach to Mélèzes. Public player metadata and embedding were checked 11 November 2026; the full footage was not watched in that check.
117 Place du Prarion, Les Houches, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
Go to the bottom station in Les Houches. Bellevue is a different lift.
Ride Prarion up, then follow the signs for La Cha or Chamois towards Mélèzes.
Arriving by car: Chavants car park, beside the Prarion base. Parking details ↗
Chavants car park → Prarion gondola
Head out of the south end of the car park towards the Prarion bottom station. This estimate starts near the middle of the car park; allow a little more from its far end.
See the walking route ↗Le Prarion bus stop → Prarion gondola
Walk west across the lift forecourt. Bellevue is a different lift, farther along the valley.
See the walking route ↗Map estimate from an OpenStreetMap walking route. Distance is rounded; time allows for ski boots and excludes queues.
Chavants car park · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Le Prarion bus stop · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Add your starting point and travel date in Google Maps. Check the last local connection and lift back down.
Linking turns; repeat laps with a break
Watch for. At the Mélèzes end of this sector, Plan du Crêt and Plancerts continue farther down the mountain and are red on the official map. The blue lap means returning on the Mélèzes chair, not following the slope downhill simply because it keeps going.
Video identity / embed review: 2026-11-11. A creator’s footage shows that visit, rather than today’s snow or lift operation.
Chamois is another blue to try in the Prarion–Mélèzes sector at Les Houches. The attraction is a manageable plan: go up from Prarion, ski the upper sector, repeat on the Mélèzes chair and use the gondola to finish. You can alternate with La Cha without making a full tour of the resort.
Published 2022-03-06; filming date not supplied. This is Chamois at Les Houches, rather than a similarly named run elsewhere in the valley. Public player metadata and embedding were checked 11 November 2026; this does not establish present snow conditions.
117 Place du Prarion, Les Houches, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
Go to the bottom station in Les Houches. Bellevue is a different lift.
Ride Prarion up, then follow the signs for La Cha or Chamois towards Mélèzes.
Arriving by car: Chavants car park, beside the Prarion base. Parking details ↗
Chavants car park → Prarion gondola
Head out of the south end of the car park towards the Prarion bottom station. This estimate starts near the middle of the car park; allow a little more from its far end.
See the walking route ↗Le Prarion bus stop → Prarion gondola
Walk west across the lift forecourt. Bellevue is a different lift, farther along the valley.
See the walking route ↗Map estimate from an OpenStreetMap walking route. Distance is rounded; time allows for ski boots and excludes queues.
Chavants car park · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Le Prarion bus stop · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Add your starting point and travel date in Google Maps. Check the last local connection and lift back down.
Linking turns; repeat laps above Les Houches
Watch for. Plan du Crêt and Plancerts continue farther down from the Mélèzes side and are red on the official winter map. When your plan is Chamois laps, look for the Mélèzes chair instead of simply following every downhill continuation. Chamois is a mountain blue, separate from the Prarion nursery area.
Video identity / embed review: 2026-11-11. A creator’s footage shows that visit, rather than today’s snow or lift operation.
Progression blues above Chamonix town
Board Planpraz in Chamonix and stay with the Parsa chair circuit. Vioz and Blanchots are longer progression runs after the separate Plateau 2000 greens. Use the green Retour Planpraz connection to the gondola when it is time to finish.
Vioz is a blue lap in Brévent’s Parsa area, with Mont Blanc across the valley. Start from Planpraz, repeat on the Parsa chair and finish by gondola when you have had enough.
Footage: January 2022 (creator title). The creator labels this Vioz at Brévent, filmed in January 2022. A previously imported Blanchots clip is excluded. Public player metadata and embedding were checked 11 November 2026.
29 route Henriette d’Angeville, Chamonix, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
The pin is at the bottom station in Chamonix, not the upper Planpraz station.
Take Planpraz up from Chamonix. Blanchots and Vioz are in the Parsa area; you do not need the separate Brévent summit cable car.
Arriving by car: Parking du Brévent, Clos des Châblettes. Parking details ↗
Parking du Brévent → Planpraz gondola
Follow the pedestrian signs to Planpraz. The walk varies with the parking floor and exit you use.
See the walking route ↗Le Brévent bus stop → Planpraz gondola
Take the pedestrian approach south from the stop to the gondola entrance.
See the walking route ↗Map estimate from an OpenStreetMap walking route. Distance is rounded; time allows for ski boots and excludes queues.
Parking du Brévent · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Le Brévent bus stop · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Add your starting point and travel date in Google Maps. Check the last local connection and lift back down.
Linking turns; a mountain blue circuit
Watch for. The lift above Planpraz to the Brévent summit serves black Charles Bozon. Keep Parsa and Planpraz as your landmarks for this blue-run session.
Video identity / embed review: 2026-11-11. A creator’s footage shows that visit, rather than today’s snow or lift operation.
Come for the high mountain setting, but make Blanchots a progression run rather than your first experiment with blue pistes. It sits in Brévent’s Parsa sector below Planpraz, where you can repeat a chairlift circuit and finish by gondola instead of adding a difficult descent to town.
Published 2018-02-23; filming date not supplied. This is the named Blanchots run at Brévent. Use it to assess a progression blue, rather than treating the official colour as a first-blue recommendation. Public player metadata and embedding were checked 11 November 2026.
29 route Henriette d’Angeville, Chamonix, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
The pin is at the bottom station in Chamonix, not the upper Planpraz station.
Take Planpraz up from Chamonix. Blanchots and Vioz are in the Parsa area; you do not need the separate Brévent summit cable car.
Arriving by car: Parking du Brévent, Clos des Châblettes. Parking details ↗
Parking du Brévent → Planpraz gondola
Follow the pedestrian signs to Planpraz. The walk varies with the parking floor and exit you use.
See the walking route ↗Le Brévent bus stop → Planpraz gondola
Take the pedestrian approach south from the stop to the gondola entrance.
See the walking route ↗Map estimate from an OpenStreetMap walking route. Distance is rounded; time allows for ski boots and excludes queues.
Parking du Brévent · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Le Brévent bus stop · access information ↗ · Checked 2026-10-24
Add your starting point and travel date in Google Maps. Check the last local connection and lift back down.
Ready to move beyond easier blues
Watch for. The cable car above Planpraz leads to the Brévent summit, where the map marks the Charles Bozon descent black. Do not follow a group onto that extra lift assuming you are still on the Blanchots blue circuit. For this plan, keep Planpraz and Parsa as your reference points.
Video identity / embed review: 2026-11-11. A creator’s footage shows that visit, rather than today’s snow or lift operation.
The last walk matters.
A property with a workable winter walk to Prarion or Planpraz can support a local Chamonix day without a morning bus. Compare those starts with Les Gets, Avoriaz and the Grand Massif before booking; a whole valley or linked region is not one shared snow front.
Compare eight specific walk-to-lift bases →Put 117 Place du Prarion, Les Houches into your accommodation check. A property described as being in Chamonix may still need a valley journey to this gondola. Bellevue is a separate boarding point at 77 Place de la Fruitière; it is not the start of these two lap plans.
Prarion address, parking and current bus links ↗Planpraz departs from 29 Route Henriette d'Angeville in Chamonix. Check the actual walking route from your hotel, especially with children and ski boots. The gondola reaches Planpraz; the separate summit cable car is outside this blue-run plan.
Planpraz address, facilities and current bus links ↗The map button above covers Les Houches. Use the separate Brévent–Flégère map for Vioz, Blanchots, Parsa and Retour Planpraz. Two valleys on one holiday does not make one connected blue circuit.
Brévent–Flégère winter piste map · 2026–27 source ↗Ask lift staff about downhill passenger arrangements and the last descent before going up. The return plans use the gondola, so leave time to regain the upper station. Do not follow another group onto a lower red or black descent when your own plan is to ride down.
Check with the lift operator ↗For a repeatable Les Houches outing, compare La Cha and Chamois from Prarion, with laps on Mélèzes. Above Chamonix town, Vioz and Blanchots use the Planpraz / Parsa sector. All four are officially blue, but none is a promise of nursery-slope difficulty: watch the exact-run footage and choose for your current ability and the day's conditions.
There are separate learning areas, including Le Savoy in town, La Vormaine at Le Tour and Plateau 2000 reached by Planpraz. Prarion also has a carpet and school chair. Start with the nursery-slope guide if you are still learning to stop and link turns; this shortlist is for the later move onto mountain blues.
The Les Houches plan returns uphill on Mélèzes towards Prarion and finishes by gondola. The Brévent plan returns via the green Retour Planpraz connection and finishes by Planpraz gondola. Confirm downhill passengers and last descent with staff that morning. La Cha and Chamois do not imply an all-blue descent down the lower red slopes.
Choose the morning lift first. Prarion in Les Houches serves the La Cha / Chamois outing; Planpraz in Chamonix serves Vioz / Blanchots. Compare your hotel's actual door-to-lift walking route and the current valley bus before booking. Neither a central Chamonix address nor a general 'ski resort' label guarantees a short walk to Prarion.
No. The photos are credited archive images, with dates and whether they show a ski area or a starting point. Each video identifies a named run; the creator-page and embedding checks do not guarantee current grooming, visibility or snow. Check the operator's live opening information before skiing.
Four source-linked blue outings in two separate valley sectors, with exact-run creator videos and a passenger-gondola finish. Official maps support each approach and return; archive photographs identify their actual area and reuse licence.
Original route-review dates stay with each run. Filming or publication dates appear beside each video; photographs retain their source, author, licence and capture date. A resort view or starting-area photo is labelled separately from a photograph of the named piste.