Crans Montana Ski Resort Switzerland
Crans Montana ski resort is perched high on a snow filled, sun-soaked bench above the Rhone Valley in Switzerland. The resorts statistics don't lie; Crans Montana has everything for any prospective powder hound looking for a perfect Swiss ski holiday.
During our most recent visit to the resort, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Crans Montana passed the ‘busy weekend high-season powder day test’ with flying colours. Its sunny slopes provide exceptional quality powder turns & terrain diversity all day long.
Pros & Cons for Crans Montana Ski Resort
Pros
- High elevation ski area in one of the snowiest parts of Switzerland.
- Long skiable vertical across expansive piste, ski routes & freeride terrain.
- Minimal lift lines.
- Excellent diversity of piste trails for all levels (but less for beginners).
- Superb variety of off-piste terrain including tree skiing.
- Second best terrain park in Switzerland (after Laax which is beyond amazing).
- Several interesting ski-in ski-out accommodation options.
- Amazingly good value lift pass price (if purchased in advanced online, see below).
- Easy public transport access by train to Sierre, then funicular or bus to the resort villages.
- Full-service resort villages with everything one requires for a lengthy stay.
Cons
- The ski trail intersections below Cry d'Er heading toward the villages are hellish toward the end of the day - look left, right, up, down & behind - it's dangerous & exhilarating all at once!
- Access gondolas in both Crans & Montana are difficult to locate for first time visitors on foot.
- Lower sections of the valley trails to Aminona & across to Barzettes from Petit Mont Bovin are long & flat in sections so will challenge snowboarders.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Sunny south facing terrain;
- Quiet après ski scene in the village, but good on the mountain & at two of the three gondola bases.
- Rightly or wrongly has a high-end reputation, but the budget conscious can easily ski here within a budget.
- Villages are not of the traditional Swiss variety (more like the French ski resort kind; generally not a good thing in our book!) and are spread out along the base area, so the resort lacks a single vibrant village feel.
- Accommodation is relatively expensive & books out quickly in high season.
- Its now a Vail resort, so Epic Pass is valid but ....
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
Ski terrain at Crans Montana includes a wide diversity on over 1,400m of skiable vertical & a massive 140km of trails. From a high alpine glacier at around 3000m elevation down to gorgeous forest lined trails leading to the villages, it’s not hard to locate your own quiet piece of paradise, even on the busiest day. Long runs of over 12km are a feature of the resort as is the superb snow park, which is second only to that beast of a terrain park in Laax.
Check out the ski trail map for Crans Montana below.
Lift infrastructure at Crans Montana is of a quality expected in a large Swiss Alps ski resort. There are the three main access gondolas from the villages, with two in locations difficult for pedestrians to easily access. The Montana Grand Signal gondola from street level is accessed via a discreet passageway, then a tunnel, escalator, stairs & a ramp (plus left, right, up & across). Those in the know will find it easy, those new to the resort may do well to follow the aforementioned people in the know!
Lift queues in the main were non-existent on this busiest of days. The longest wait is generally for the glacier on the Plaine Morte funitel where the seething horde wants to complete the ‘mega rite of passage Crans Montana black run’. The groomed run is OK, but the off-piste on either side is fantastic.
The Toula chair & Plaine Morte funitel (up to the glacier) are the ‘go to’ propositions on a sunny powder day. Best access is via Barzettes-Violettes gondola. Early birds will reap a rich harvest here. Out wide below Petit Mont Bonvin wide-ranging off-piste terrain is great for those in the know.
It has been a few years since any major new lift development/replacement. One we have been waiting for is the planned new Aminona-Colombire-Grangettes gondola. Serving over 1,000m of skiable vertical of mainly off-piste 7 marked ski routes, we reckon it will be a great addition to the ski area. Construction is planned to begin in 2025, but we are not holding our breath. This has been an 'on again off again' project of the highest order.
Lift Passes
Across much of Switzerland, dynamic lift pass pricing (based on demand) is being introduced to encourage skiers to visit the resort throughout the breadth of the season. Crans Montana has introduced the system and in effect it means massive savings compared to the price of a lift pass purchased at the ticket window (cash desk), but the pass must be pre-purchased online. A further encouragement to buy online is that ticket window prices are set quite high, a trend following in the footsteps of the large North American based ski resort companies (but certainly nowhere near as high as in the USA). Purchase Crans Montana lift passes online.
From season 2024/25, Vail Resorts owns the ski lifts at Crans Montana, so Epic Pass is valid. Full Epic Pass holders have unlimited/unrestricted access throughout the season. Other types of Epic Pass have more limited access, for example Epic Pass Australia holders have 5 days of unrestricted access.
Where is Crans Montana Switzerland?
Crans Montana is in the Rhone River valley in the French speaking part of the Valais, Switzerland. The ski resort is perched above the major valley town of Sierre (Siders). Sierre is 171km by road west of the closest major airport at Geneva (GVA). Milan Malpensa (MXP) or Zurich (ZRH) airports offer alternatives, with Zurich being our recommended airport for all intercontinental travellers.
The railway station at Sierre can be reached by train in less than 2½hr from Geneva airport via Montreux or from Milan via Brig. A funicular running directly up to the ski resort village of Montana is a 300m walk from Sierre railway station. Local buses make the journey from the train station regularly too. If taking the funicular, once in Montana, buses, taxis or walking gets one to the accommodation or ski lifts.
Search & book train tickets to Sierre & Crans Montana.
Crans Montana Accommodation
The Crans Montana ski resort comprises three main village areas, none of which are particularly alluring, each with its own gondola lift access to the ski slopes. Central Montana is the most accessible from the valley by funicular from Sierre / Siders. Montana is bookended by Crans to the west & the smaller Barzettes to the east. All are linked by bus & ski trail.
Search & book Crans Montana ski accommodation.
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If the resort village accommodation is booked out or too pricey, staying down in the Rhone valley at Sierre-Siders or any of the towns between Martigny & Brig allows for a convenient day trip to Crans Montana or any of the nearby Val d’Anniviers ski resorts like the fabulous Grimentz Zinal.
Whilst Sierre-Siders is a town of few redeeming features (other than its proximity to loads of ski resorts) if looking for a convenient day tripping base, it will certainly do the job. Try the newly refreshed Hotel de la Poste Sierre, located right near the train, bus & funicular stations in the heart of town.
Otherwise, search & book Sierre-Siders accommodation.
Note that the Rhone River valley towns like Sierre, Brig, Visp & Martigny, whilst providing convenience, are no substitute for staying high up in the mountains. Why come to Switzerland & just stay in the valleys?
Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available via our local partners in Crans Montana. Receive a discount when you search & book via our Crans Montana Ski & Snowboard Rental page.
Anyone seeking ski instructor of guidance around the mountain & backcountry, can search compare & book via our Crans Montana Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Review
The Powderhounds had a fabulous time at Crans Montana in 2019. A delightful blizzard coincided with our stay providing stellar ski conditions despite being on a busy peak season February weekend. We should probably go back soon but are waiting for the long planned Aminona-Colombire-Grangettes gondola to go in. We think it will revolutionise off-piste skiing in the resort, but its construction appears to be something of a saga. Click the review link on this page (or top of page if on a mobile) to read the review’s delectable details.
See how Crans Montana compares to the rest of the Swiss ski resorts on the Switzerland ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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