Staying in Le Chable to Access Verbier & the 4 Vallees in Switzerland

15th January 2023

Last modified on January 24th, 2023

It used to be a place you passed through to get to Verbier. Not anymore as the village down the valley becomes increasingly popular for a variety of reasons. PlanetSKI has been seeing what the fuss is about.

The PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, first stayed in Le Chable more than two decades ago.

It was not a very fashionable place to stay.

He’s returned many times, and now things have developed.

Bruson, 4 Vallees, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

I have stayed in the Hotel Gietroz in Le Chable (821m) many times over the years.

Now I’m back in its bar/restaurant meeting old friends who have lived in the region for decades and have chosen to make Le Chable, rather than Verbier, their home.

Le Chable, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

I’m interested to see how the place has changed and why they have chosen to live here.

They told me how they prefer the atmosphere, the prices and the overall quality of life.

“Le Chable is a genuine mountain village while Verbier is more of a full-on adrenaline-fuelled ski resort,” was the feeling of all of them.

“We can go up and party whenever we want with the gondola now running to around midnight and then we can come back down and have a more relaxed and chilled time.”

“Le Chable and the ski area of Bruson is the real deal,” was also the feeling of all of them.

I have always been a huge fan of Le Chable.

I stayed in a small single room in the Hotel Gietroz when working as a ski instructor in Verbier around 20 years ago, and when the kids came out we took out the family room.

It slept five.

This was Xmas 2006 as the kids climbed out of their bunk bed to see what Santa had brought them.

Le Chable, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

I don’t recall the price of the hotel, but it was a fraction of what it would have cost in Verbier.

It saved me money that I didn’t have and I could still ski the same slopes as everyone else.

It remains the same today.

This is Switzerland so things are not cheap, but accommodation, restaurants and bars are still less than up the mountain.

Many of the Verbier seasonaires have moved down, property prices have shot up, a new railway station has been built, the car park re-developed, there’s a new lift to Bruson with many changes on the slopes and it has become distinctively more ‘the place to stay’.

First the skiing in Bruson.

It is on the right of the piste map and where this image was taken from.

Bruson, 4 Vallees, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The skiing in Bruson used to be one of those little-know secrets of Verbier – frequented mainly by locals and regular visitors who know of its treasures.

It has a unique atmosphere and is somewhat of a contrast to the brash approach to things that Verbier offers.

Bruson has some wonderfully varied and steep pistes.

But its real treasure is the off piste – you can find powder long after Verbier has been skied out.

It’s tree skiing is second to none.

Bruson, 4 Vallees, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

We have covered it in some detail in this earlier post as I skied it on my first day on this visit:

Bruson heads into a new era

Do click on the link as I posted a video interview with the legendary snowboarder, Xavier de le Rue, and then we made a few turns together.

Despite all the changes in the area the actual village of Bruson itself, higher up the valley from Le Chable and below the ski area, has lost none of its charm and is well worth a visit.

There is evidence of human habitation from back in the Iron Age and it grew as a settlement and agricultural centre in the 13th century.

Today its population is 385.

Just to wander around and feel time slipping away.

Bruson village, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

And don’t forget to pop into Le Carrefour Cafe for some refreshment.

A large beet may be 6chf (£5.30), but that is still cheaper than up in Verbier.

Bruson village, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

And talking of going back in time there’s even a juke-box in Le Carrefour cafe.

Bruson village, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

This time round I’m staying in the hotel A Larze in Le Chable.

Le Chable, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

It’s a comfortable and modern b&b, just 5-minutes from the lift that gives access to Bruson and Verbier

Le Chable, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Now though it is fabulous to be staying in Le Chable and skiing Bruson, its great attraction is you can get to Verbier and the 4-Vallees ski area with ease.

It is the largest area in Switzerland with 410kms of runs and 80 lifts.

It’s highest point is Mont Fort at 3,300.

The resort itself sits at 1,500m on a sunny south-facing plateau.

We hit some its slopes.

With a few après ski beers at perhaps the most famous bar in Verbier, The Pub Mont Fort.

Dinner was at Le Rouge with two Verbier legends – the ski instructor Warren Smith and the photographer Melody Sky.

“The best thing is you can enjoy all that Verbier has to offer, as we have been doing out on the slopes and now over dinner, while having another side to your holiday – staying in the authentic village of Le Chable,” said Warren to me.

He caught it all in a nutshell.

I could only agree.

Then we headed to the No 8 bar (the old T-bar)…

James is staying in Verbier for another week as he goes behind the scenes with the avalanche patrol and looks at the continuing work of the Warren Smith Ski Academy.

Do check back for that.

Oh, and there was a bit of snow falling too on Sunday afternoon with more to come.

FACT BOX

For more information about Verbier please visit www.verbier.ch

Accommodation

A seven-night stay at Hôtel A Lârze, starting 6th March 2023, costs from CHF510 (£455) pp, based on two sharing a room with balcony. Breakfast is included.

Lift Passes

An adult lift pass for the Verbier 4 Vallees sector costs from CHF74 (£66) for 1 day.

A six-day adult lift pass for 4 Vallees sector costs from CHF324.9 (£290).