Careful, you are off tracks!
For your comfort, website navigation is optimised for portrait layout.
Les Gets is a village resort situated at an altitude of 1,172m between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc massif. First and foremost, Les Gets is a mountain settlement that has successfully adapted over the years. Here is an overview of the resort's highlights from slalom skier Adeline Baud, a former member of the French Alpine Ski Team.
Situated on a mountain pass at an altitude of 1,172m, in the Chablais region of France's Haute-Savoie department, Les Gets is an historic stopping point for the inhabitants of the Arve valley. The commune's economy is based on forestry, and the village's name is even derived from a local dialect word for the forest corridors (gitte or giette) used to rapidly transport felled trees down the mountain. The natural beauty of the local spruce and pine wood is visible in the structures of the village's historic buildings, as well as in more modern apartments and chalets.
Historically, the people of Les Gets lived off the land, growing hay, cultivating cereals and vegetables, curing meats in smoking houses, and spending the summers on the mountain pastures. Life was dictated by the laws of nature and the need to adapt to the arrival of the snow between November and March.
Following the Savoie's incorporation into France in 1860, the small mountain village of Les Gets experienced a significant economic boom.
Key dates in its development:
Skiing in Les Gets dates back to the 1930s. At that time, the inhabitants ascended the slopes of Les Chavannes and Ranfoilly with the aid of seal skins fixed to the base of their skis before enjoying the descent back down to the old village. The same principle, albeit with artificial skins, is still used by today's ski tourers. The first télétraineau ski lift (a sled pulled up the hill by a rope), was installed in 1935. The first drag lift, known as "La Boule de Gomme", was installed in 1936. The poles were made of wood and connected to saddles.
The resort became a pioneer in 1947 with the installation of the world's first prototype chairlift with pickaxes as seats, and powered by a generator which offered skiers their first experience of a seated ski lift. Several decades before the construction of a modern detachable chairlift capable of transporting 3,300 skiers an hour, the first TéléChavannes revolutionised skiing in Les Gets. The development of the resort's infrastructure attracted tourists from the Geneva area throughout the winter season.
The 20th Century saw the village become a recognised resort, driven by the development of winter sports. From t-bars to gondola lifts, the mechanisation of the ski slopes continued throughout the "Glorious Thirties".
Some key dates for Les Gets' lift system, including the creation of the municipal authority in 1963:
With the opening of the first ski school in 1940, the village became a winter sports resort, attracting people from Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Geneva. The two ski areas of Chavannes and Mont-Chéry were especially popular thanks to the breathtaking views of Mont Blanc and the easy access to the skiing. The resort attracted all levels of skier from every walk of life who came to enjoy skiing on one or more of the 71 slopes in Les Gets.
In the 1970s, Les Gets was awarded "The Savoie Resort Village" label and became part of the vast Portes du Soleil cross-border ski area. A paradise for mountain lovers, the area straddles the Franco-Swiss border and has 286 pistes across twelve French and Swiss resorts. Enough to satisfy even the most ardent skier.
As a winter and summer resort, the commune has embraced the development of responsible tourism in its wide open spaces, with soft mobility, energy efficiency, nature and heritage initiatives that have ensured the harmonious development of Les Gets up to the present day:
Les Gets is a village resort for the whole family with an inspiring and fascinating history, much-loved by its inhabitants who have managed to reconcile the competing demands of economic and tourist development with preserving the environment.