Molines – Saint-Véran is paradise found. And whilst the impossibly gorgeous village of Saint Véran is a major drawcard in this laidback, cruisy Queyras ski resort. Reasonable skiable verticals, high-quality freeride powder, breathtaking views, serene quiet, uncrowded slopes, super-cheap lift passes, & incredible restaurants are all hard to ignore! Even the drive up the valley is intriguing with its remote feel and many tunnels, gorges, mountains & castles.

After a few mis-steps at the start of the ski day, including taking different Beauregard J-bars and splitting the group (despite starting together and appearing to run adjacent to each other, they end up at completely different locations – take note of the trail map!), we cruised around the ski area seemingly all alone. Sigh….. what a pleasure on a chilly but sunny winter’s day.

Whilst the snow wasn’t deep during our visit, it was of such magnificent quality that depth hardly mattered. We skied off-piste, putting in fresh lines when we weren’t actually expecting to be able to. The pistes are long and fulfilling. Sadly the resort’s few advanced trails were suffering from a lack of snow including Le Lievre. All the more reason to come back during the right winter weather pattern. Another reason is the lusty backside freeride terrain and the beautiful, accessible backcountry.

Overnighting in Saint Veran, we stayed in the slightly weird, but acceptable, Les Chalets du Villard. Wandering the village is a real treat, just like the superb L’Aigue Blanche restaurant & bar that hides up a slippery slope in the centre of St Veran.

A stiff walk is required to get to the base of the ski lifts in Saint Veran village (although there are a few alternatives). If not keen on walking up the road to the main base area at Saint Veran village, a small car park near the base of the Ste Marie Madeleine J-bar is the best place to drive to as an alternative. Otherwise, a simple option can be to start lower down with the ‘masses’ (there are no ‘masses’ here!) at the large Molines car park near the Burge quad chair.

The drive into the Queyras after the town of Guillestre is simply spectacular. Extremely narrow and cliff hugging in parts, it is in turn interspersed with tunnels, gorges, and bridges. The natural surrounds feel as wild as one could get and still be in France. And then of course a castle appears – Fort Queyras. All the boxes ticked!

We spent far too short a time in this gorgeous ski resort and region. Do yourself a favour, break away from the big industrial resorts and put Molines – Saint-Véran on your ski agenda. We will be back next season for sure. Will we see you there?

For more on what we think the pros & cons of this resort are, see the Molines / Saint Veran overview page.

See our video here

Having been messed about by a Retour d'est in Limone Piemonte, considering the elevation of Queyras we decided to hunt some snow there. I’d never been skiing in France, so was excited as we drove to Saint Véran, the highest village in France. Enroute, Stefan took me for a spin around the old town in Briançon, the highest city in France. That was lovely and then the drive to Queyras was beautiful on a narrow winding road with its little tunnels and deep ravine below. After passing Fort Queyras, it felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere although that was the point.

Molines / Saint Veron sounded OK sized with 13 lifts so we skied there, yet if you subtracted the short kids lifts and those that ran parallel to another, there were only 6 lifts that mattered and only 2 of these were chair lifts. The rest were that lift grouping that has multiple nomenclature such as J bar, disc, button, poma etc. With respect to the Beauregard lifts, I rename these the “bucking broncos”. On the entrance to these lifts there was a warning sign “experts only”, not because of the terrain they serviced, but for the inner thigh prowess and general skills required to stay on the lift. Lots of giggles ensued! In line with the sophistication of the lifts, or the lack thereof, the lift passes were very cheap.

The lift quality was also a bonus because it kept the crowds away. There was barely anyone there, although the lack of snow might have also been a contributing factor.

Retour d'est brought a little fresh snow rather than the anticipated big dump. It’s a boom or bust sort of place and there was no boom. The snow volume was lacking, some pistes were patchy despite manmade assistance, whilst some off-piste zones in the lower reaches were bare.

With respect to snow quality, it was gorgeous. Elevation plus low humidity had blessed the ski area. We played in open off-piste and our tentative turns were lovely. The terrain was not steep and had there been more base, the off-piste would have been perfect for intermediates or others in need of an ego boost. We didn’t tackle the trees above the Mollines base because it was sketchy and tight in places. From the top lift we had a look at some of the tasty backcountry terrain, although we didn’t go ski touring because the snow conditions weren’t calling for it.

The piste skiing was enjoyable, and whilst there wasn’t a lot of variety and no steeps (the biggest challenge came from riding the poma lifts), there was something magical about the place that made it so pleasurable.

Lunch on a sunny deck was pleasant. For full French immersion, I wanted crepes. Alas these didn’t start until later in the day, so I had to resort to a baguette with brie instead.

We stayed in Saint-Véran which was big on charm. What a village! It was a delightful step back in time and had plenty of gorgeous historic buildings of stone and timber. One highlight was drinks and dinner at L’aigue Blanche with its cosy ambience in front of the fire, and I love that in this part of the world, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat a wheel of cheese for dinner.

We stayed at Les Chalets du Villard which offered loads of charm. Our studio was missing a bed compared to the advertised description of the configuration, and the narrow camp beds didn’t seem befitting, but it didn’t really matter as the stay was still great.

Getting up to the lifts at Saint-Véran in ski boots would have required some ice skating, and there was no parking, so we opted to drive down to the lower base area instead.

Whilst the ski resort was dinky and the snow volume lacking, the overall experience was fantastic. The Queyras felt like a French 'bubble of joy' because of the combination of the quaint historic village, a retro ski experience, the beautiful setting, and the cool drive to get there and then back to reality.
See our video here