For skiers who choose the quiet charm of Doucy as their gateway to the slopes of Savoy, winter 2026/27 brings a long-awaited upgrade. Scheduled to enter service in December 2026 is the new ten-person Combelouvière gondola lift, set to replace the namesake 1985 four-person chairlift and the Charmettes surface lifts. Launched in April, the construction project combines the uphill connection from the small resort overlooking the Tarentaise Valley into a single continuous line, setting the stage for the opening of the Valmorel and Grand Domaine ski area, scheduled from Friday, December 18, 2026 to April 10, 2027.
The upgrade transforms the very way a ski holiday is experienced in Doucy. Nestled along the wooded edge of the ski area and especially popular with families for its intimate atmosphere and learner-friendly slopes, the village lets guests stay in a quieter setting without giving up ski-in, ski-out access across the entire Valmorel network. Until now, however, the first morning ride from the accommodations up to the main snowfields required taking a sequence of lifts built in different eras. With the new Combelouvière gondola, the link steps into a new era: over three kilometers of sheltered travel in enclosed ten-person cabins, a far more comfortable and reassuring solution for children, first-time skiers, and non-skiing companions heading up the mountain.
A slight bend along the line and a redesigned beginner area at the top
From an engineering standpoint, the new installation built by POMA stands out for a distinctive feature in its alignment: along the climb, the line makes a deflection of roughly seven degrees, carefully plotted to follow the natural contours of the terrain and preserve the most environmentally sensitive areas of the slope. Traveling along the haul rope will be 51 cabins, also designed to smoothly accommodate guests with reduced mobility and adaptive ski equipment, opening up access to the upper mountain for those who previously found chairlifts and surface lifts more challenging to use. At the same time, dismantling the old lines allowed the removal of seventeen lift towers from the landscape compared to the previous combination of lifts.
At the top terminal, the entire beginner zone is also being reorganized. The Combelouvière-Pécy sector will feature a new learning surface lift, easily reachable both by skiers riding up on the Doucy gondola and by those arriving via the Celliers lift. In this way, the ride up from the village and the terrain for first turns are finally right next to each other, without requiring beginners to immediately navigate a longer route across the ski domain. For families who spend their day at different paces—between morning lessons on gentle slopes, logging miles on longer runs, and riding up on foot for a sunny break at a mountain restaurant—the new upper terminal becomes a natural, hassle-free meeting point.
Beyond the learning zone, the horizon opens onto the 165 kilometers of slopes of the Grand Domaine, which links Valmorel, Doucy, Celliers, and Saint-François-Longchamp into a single ski circuit. The runs climb from the forests through wide alpine pastures to the high-altitude sectors, offering the chance to ski across the Col de la Madeleine, a scenic pass crossing that the resort keeps accessible even to skiers who are comfortable on blue runs. Once the new line enters service, setting out from the peace and quiet of Doucy to reach the slopes of the Grand Domaine will take just a single gondola ride.
No comments yet