John Fish private guiding

The Val d'Annivièrs is the most easterly French-speaking valley in southern Switzerland. From a skier's point of view, five of its many idyllic and picturesque villages: St. Luc, Chandolin, Zinal, Grimentz and Vercorin operate ski lifts and pistes all on the same ski pass. Each is a ski area in its own right and stretches between 1200m – 3000m in altitude. With skiing on all aspects of the compass, the valley is renowned for its variety of snow and the scope of its freeriding.

The area has a large network of lifts servicing 200km of pistes up to an altitude of almost 3,000m. The whole area is characterised by stunning high alpine terrain, deep valleys and charming villages. The main ski domains of Zinal, Grimentz, St Luc-Chandolin and Vercorin are well-connected by local buses. The area also has the advantages of being relatively unknown (and therefore not so busy) and easily accessible from Geneva, Zurich or Sion airports.

We rate Zinal and the Val d'Anniviers as one of the best areas for off-piste and backcountry skiing in the Alps.

Our top reasons to visit Zinal

• The off-piste terrain is as good as it gets anywhere in the Alps!
• Fresh snow can be skied here for days after other resorts have been tracked out
• Off the beaten track, but still within 3 hours of Geneva Airport - 2 hours if you hire a car as 3/4 of the journey is motorway!
• Among many excellent descents is the classic run down to the Moiry Dam, a must on a blue-sky powder day!
• The Imperial Crown Haute Route - a majestic 5-day ski tour that knocks the spots off many more well-known ski tours

Resort Height: 1,670m

Highest Lift: 3,000m

Nearest Airport: Geneva or Zurich

Accommodation in Zinal

We work with some of the hotels in the village of Zinal for other weeks like the Hotel Besso, Hotels offer comfortable accommodations plus good food. The village is small with a few shops and a good après ski bar called the Bar e VoX close to the bottom of the main lift at Sorebois.

Recommended Travel Options

The most convenient airport is Geneva followed by Zurich. The train is the best option for the onward journey from the airport to Zinal. Connections are regular and the total travel time is approximately 3hrs 15mins from Geneva with 2 changes and around 4hrs with 3 or 4 changes from Zurich Airport. To look up train timetables use this link Swiss Railway Timetables You can travel as far as Sierre in the main Rhone Valley by train, here you have to change to the Swiss Post Bus (Yellow) and you travel up the Val d'Anniviers by bus (you may need to change in Vissoie). 

Alternatively, you can hire a car at the airport, driving time is approximately 2 hrs from Geneva and 2.5 hrs from Zurich.