Know the run. Know the way home.
Ski resorts for nervous intermediates.
Four blue-run outings you can repeat, with a lift ride home already in the plan. Watch the descent, find the starting lift and choose a day that fits your skiing.
Still choosing where to go?Compare outings with a lift ride home →
Already stopping and turning on blues? Start with the choices below. Still learning those skills? Choose a nursery slope and first lesson →
Choose the finish as carefully as the run.
A blue can have a steeper pitch, a narrow junction or a tricky last section. These four plans keep the final journey to the village on a lift. You still need to ski the chosen blue and reach its return lift once you start.
Compare the four days ↓La Cha
Keep the day around Prarion and Mélèzes. La Cha has a restaurant beside the lift area, so your group can pause without extending the ski journey.
Les Houches Chamonix - La Cha Ski Trail (Piste) Video - Super fun & easy blue trail ! — Next Outdoor Adventures™ Original on YouTube ↗
Start at Les Houches / Prarion
Prarion gondola → the signed La Cha blue → Mélèzes chair.
Your way home
- Lift upRide Mélèzes uphill and return to the Prarion gondola.
- Lift downTake Prarion gondola down to Les Houches.
Before you set off. Once you start La Cha, ski to Mélèzes and ride the chair back uphill before returning to Prarion.
Watch the signs. Expect a mountain blue, with some shorter steeper sections. Plan du Crêt and Plancerts below are red; keep the chairlift as the bottom of your lap.
Does it fit your level? A newer skier reported short steeper sections and a narrow, choppy chair approach. Read that account with the video before making this your first blue. Read u/muchtoomuchnick, r/chamonix’s account ↗
Prarion gondola
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.
Maps & planning sources · 2026-10-21
- Les Houches–Saint-Gervais winter piste map ↗Les Houches–Saint-Gervais / Compagnie du Mont-Blanc · 2026–27
- Access and plans — Les Houches–Saint-Gervais ↗Compagnie du Mont-Blanc
- Restaurant La Cha — location and terrace ↗Restaurant La Cha
- Handiski Les Houches — practical access and return ↗ESF Les Houches
Golf
Golf lets you repeat one small part of a very large ski area. Stay in Aime 2000, or reach it by Télémétro from Plagne Centre.
La Plagne (Paradiski) - Piste Golf (blau) - Plagne Aime 2000 — Dein Pistenguide Original on YouTube ↗
Start at Plagne Centre / Télémétro
From Plagne Centre, take Télémétro to Plagne Aime 2000. At the snow front, follow the blue Golf signs downhill to the Golf chair. If you are already staying in Aime 2000, join the run from this village snow front.
Your way home
- Lift upRide the Golf chair uphill, then return to Plagne Aime 2000’s snow front and Télémétro station.
- Lift downTake Télémétro back down to Plagne Centre.
Before you set off. The Golf chair starts below the village. After starting the blue, you need to ski to that chair and ride it uphill to get back.
Watch the signs. Nearby Emile Allais is red. Stay with the blue Golf signs rather than following another downhill branch; Golf’s chair brings you back to the Aime 2000 side, not to Plagne Centre.
Does it fit your level? Golf is blue. Stade is the separate green learning area with a ski tow if you are still practising your first turns.
Télémétro cable car — Plagne Centre
Télémétro lower station, Plagne Centre, La Plagne, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
Maps & planning sources · 2026-10-31
- La Plagne winter piste map ↗La Plagne Tourist Office / SAP · 2025–26
- Plagne Centre village map — Télémétro, parking and bus stops ↗La Plagne Tourist Office · 2025–26
- Plagne Aime 2000 village map — Télémétro and Golf chair ↗La Plagne Tourist Office · 2025–26
- Village links and buses from Aime railway station ↗La Plagne Tourist Office
- Stade beginner area in Plagne Aime 2000 ↗La Plagne Tourist Office
Plan Milet
Choose one Solaise circuit, with Datcha as the chair back towards the village gondola. Keep the red Plan descent out of the finish.
Skiing 'plan milet' nice blue piste in Tignes Val d'Isere. — Ivo Koimecs Original on YouTube ↗
Start at Val d’Isère / Solaise
From the village snow front, take Solaise gondola. Follow blue Lac-Parc to the Glacier chair, then take the chair up and follow the blue Plan Milet signs.
Your way home
- Lift upRide Datcha chair uphill towards the Solaise gondola.
- Lift downTake Solaise gondola down to Val d’Isère village.
Before you set off. Plan Milet still has to be skied to reach Datcha. Leave time for that uphill chair before Solaise’s final downhill ride.
Watch the signs. Plan is a separate red run. Do not follow it downhill to the village when you mean to stay on Plan Milet. The Leissières chair crosses the ridge into another sector; you do not need it for this lap.
Does it fit your level? The Pim Pam Poum carpet area is the first-turn option. Plan Milet uses additional chairlifts and needs the right ski pass.
Solaise gondola
Village snow front, Rue de la Face, Val d’Isère, France
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
Maps & planning sources · 2026-10-24
- Official Tignes–Val d’Isère winter ski map ↗Tignes / Val d’Isère · Map linked by Tignes on 24 October 2026
- Solaise → Lac-Parc → Glacier → Plan Milet ↗Val d’Isère Téléphériques
- Val d’Isère lifts with return access ↗Val d’Isère Tourisme
Wasserwendi (2)
Wasserwendi is the operator’s blue 2 Slow-Slope. Repeat on the Männlichen chair, then ride the cable car back to Wengen.
Wengen / Mannlichen Blue Piste 2 — Corrupted Nomad Original on YouTube ↗
Start at Wengen / Männlichen cable car
From Wengen, take the Männlichen cable car up. At the top, follow the blue 2 Wasserwendi signs to the bottom of the Männlichen chairlift.
Your way home
- SkiFollow blue 2 Wasserwendi to the Männlichen chairlift.
- Lift upRide the Männlichen chair uphill, then return to the Wengen–Männlichen cable-car station.
- Lift downTake the Wengen–Männlichen cable car down to Wengen.
Before you set off. The blue runs down the Grindelwald-facing side. Use the chair to regain Männlichen; simply continuing downhill will not take you to Wengen.
Watch the signs. Red 3 Männlichen goes towards the Grindelwald side. It is a different run, and skiing downhill on that side does not take you back to Wengen. Keep the cable-car ride down as your finish.
Does it fit your level? A Slow-Slope is still a mountain blue. Choose it once controlled turns feel familiar, and check the chair and cable-car closing times together.
Wengen–Männlichen cable car
Wengiboden 1350f, 3823 Wengen, Switzerland
Choosing a hotel or apartment? Enter its address as the starting point in walking directions, then check the route to this lift.
Maps & planning sources · 2026-10-27
- Jungfrau Ski Region winter piste map ↗Jungfrau Railways / Männlichen · 2026–27
- Official interactive maps and piste list ↗Jungfrau Railways
- Wengen–Männlichen cableway and arrival ↗Wengen–Männlichen Aerial Cableway
Questions nervous skiers ask before booking.
What is the best ski resort for a nervous intermediate?
Choose the part of the mountain you want to ski, then the village that serves it. Les Houches’ Prarion sector, Golf beside Aime 2000, Solaise and Männlichen each give you a specific blue and a lift-based village return. These are four outings to compare, rather than a difficulty ranking of whole resorts.
Do I have to ski a red run to get back?
The four finishes above use lifts for the final descent to the village. Some still need an uphill chair or a ski connection first. Check that your pass covers the full sequence and ask the lift team for the last return trips before heading out.
Can I take a chairlift down if the run is too hard?
Ask the lift operator. An uphill chair should not be assumed to carry downhill passengers. The plans above name the uphill chairs and the gondolas or cable cars used for the final ride down; once on the blue, you still need to ski to the return lift.
How can I tell whether a blue is too steep for me?
Watch the actual descent and read the run’s junction notes. Piste colour does not describe every pitch or the day’s snow. If the footage looks beyond your current turning and stopping skills, choose a learning slope or work through the next step with an instructor.
Compare learning slopes →Build the day around one good run.
Save the runs you like to My trip, then choose “Make a pocket guide” for a compact checklist and an offline file. Use “Send this run” on a full guide to plan with someone else.
Open My trip →More runs with a lift or train finish →A first ski day near Geneva →More blue-run cruising holidays →