Sainte Foy - slopes

Just 41 kilometres of piste and seven ski lifts might sound titchy, but don’t let the numbers fool you: Ste Foy’s blissfully quiet slopes mean that you can make full use of the space without it feeling small. There’s also a surprisingly good variety of slopes and terrain, from the open runs at the top to those that weave through the forest lower down. The piste layout means that those of differing skill levels can meet up quite easily for coffee or lunch.

Being predominantly north-facing helps keep Ste Foy’s snow fluffy—particularly important in a resort with such abundant off-piste opportunities, where you can return all day for powder, run after run, and still not find it tracked out. Of course, it should be said that outside of the areas housing the groomed pistes, most slopes are not avalanche protected, and therefore—as in any resort—you are advised to venture off piste only with an instructor or qualified mountain guide.

Ste Foy has two excellent nursery slopes with travelators at its base, before three consecutive chairlifts take you up to the Col de L’Aiguille at 2620m, serving most of the piste and off-piste in the wide bowl. The first of these chairs, Grand Plan, has been upgraded to a fast lift this past season. A fourth lift, the fast six-seater Marquise, was installed a few seasons ago on skier's right of the bowl, giving easier access to some off-piste routes as well as increasing the options for intermediate runs.

Ski highlights for all levels

Beginners: Sainte Foy is by far one of the best French resorts for beginners. Learning to ski on the quiet slopes of Ste Foy offers advantages over other, busier and more well-known resorts. There’s a small nursery slope (Marmottes) for absolute beginners and children separate from the main slopes at the base of the resort, with a bigger one (Galopins) to progress to. Once you’re ready to head up on the chairs, a long, gentle blue run (Plan Bois) from the top of the first lift, Gran Plan, snakes through the trees back to base, and once you’ve got your confidence on that, there are several more challenging blue runs to progress to.

Ste Foy's untouched powder bowlPhoto: Daniel Elkan

Intermediates: Sainte Foy has some great quality runs and a 1000-metre vertical drop, descending from open reds and blacks at the top into forested blues lower down. Like other resorts, it has its fair share of good and genuinely challenging red runs to keep intermediates amused, such as L'Aiguille from the top of the third lift down to La Savonette, continuing all the way to the resort base. The pistes connect in such a way that after you’ve done L’Aiguille, there are lots of other ways down too. Don’t let the lack of overall mileage put you off. The difference is that with so few people here, you can enjoy that race-track carving feel on any run, sweeping down to queue-less chairlifts to take you back up for more, such as the scenic Grand Solliet blue from the top of the La Marquise chair.

Experts and off-piste: Ste Foy has four marked black runs, the most challenging of which is the 2km long Crystal Dark. Three of these, including Crystal Dark, are called Natur’ runs. This means they’re ungroomed and more like off-piste, with multiple ways down. However, Ste Foy’s biggest draw for experts is its untouched tree skiing and off-piste powder possibilities—both seemingly endless. There's plenty of between-the-pistes off-piste, much of it easy and accessible for ‘beginner experts’. There are also some quite extreme bits, with cliffs to avoid. From the top of the L’Aiguille and La Marquise chairlifts, you can head off into north-facing powder fields. Some link back to the resort village at 1550m, others to the outlying villages of Le Miroir and La Masure, or further up the main road to Val d’Isère, from where you can get a bus or taxi back to the resort.

There’s a wonderful 1,700 metre vertical descent off the north face of Fogliettaz. The full route is reached via an hour or so’s hike from the top of the third chair (L’Aiguille), with a choice of ways in. Those not wanting to hike can miss the first, steepest pitch and traverse in from the top of the Marquise chair. The route starts open before heading into trees and through small farming villages, only inhabited in summertime. In the other direction, from the top of L’Aiguille, there’s the long off-piste route through the Vallon du Clou to the deserted, picturesque summer farming hamlet of Le Monal. From here, you can either return to the resort via a rather flat route or continue on to the road up to Val d’Isère. Of course, all these off-piste routes should be attempted with a guide, who can be hired from the Bureau des Guides Montagne de Haute-Tarentaise (+33 (0)6 14 62 90 24). The guides will also coordinate with buses or arrange taxis back to the resort as necessary.

One of Ste Foy's farming hamlets—accessed in winter by going off-pistePhoto: Daniel Elkan

Snowboarders

With few flats to speak of and plenty of powder—plus the uncrowded Boarder Cross snow park—Ste Foy is an excellent choice for snowboarders.  On Natur’ run Shapper’s Paradise, you’re encouraged to build your own kickers. Of course, all of that—including the terrain park—is a lot of fun for skiers as well as snowboarders! 

As a word of caution from Daniel, SnowCarbon’s resident snowboarder: the Plan Bois blue has some flat sections, and you need a bit of speed to get along the beginning of Les Combes, as well as for the La Chapelle blue that comes back from Marquise to get across to the bottom of the L’Arpettaz chair.

Ski schools and guides

The ESF in Ste Foy has an excellent reputation, and the fact that the slopes are quiet creates a good learning environment.  Other good schools (for children and adults) include Evolution 2, Twinn Peaks, and Snocool.  Meanwhile, for advanced off-piste guiding, contact the Bureau des Guides de Sainte-Foy and Tarentaise Tours.

Lift system

In addition to Ste Foy’s magic carpets for first-timers, there are four chairlifts in Ste Foy, open until 16:00, the newest being the six-seater Marquise. The Gran Plan chair from the base has also been upgraded to a faster four-seater this year.

Photo: SF Tourist Office

In January 2025, Ste Foy’s lift company announced a merger with Tignes’. Hence, further upgrades are in the works, the first being another lift up from the base village in the neighbourhood of Bataillette, which will hopefully begin construction in two years’ time.

Snow reliability and snowmaking

Although blessed with relatively good natural snow and predominantly north-facing runs, as with all reputable Alpine resorts, Ste Foy has decent snowmaking facilities too. To find out conditions on the day, the resort operates three live on-slope webcams, which can be viewed here.