The Rando Parc: five marked itineraries
Châtel's Rando Parc is a set of five waymarked ski-touring routes across the ski area, graded from a first-skins discovery level up to "fairly difficult": La Franco-Suisse, Le Morclan, Happy Valley, La Serpentine and Barbossine.
Four of the five use a lift to reach their start, and rather than needing a full lift pass, there's a dedicated Rando Parc pass at €9.70 per ascent (winter 2026/27, sold at the ticket offices) covering the lifts that serve the trailheads: the Pré la Joux and Petit Châtel chairs and the Super-Châtel gondola.
Follow the marked ascent routes and the designated piste descents. Slopes are closed outside lift hours (generally 9am to 4.30pm), when winch-cable grooming creates a potentially fatal hazard.
Current itinerary details and grooming status are on the tourist office's ski touring page.
The Happy Valley route
Happy Valley starts at the top of the Pré la Joux chairlift and climbs to the Cornebois chairlift. The current official guide gives 1.84 km, 313 m of ascent and about 1 hour 30 minutes, graded fairly difficult; off-camber sections require care. Return on the red Les Rennes and Rochassons pistes to the Pré la Joux parking lot, completing the descent before 4.30pm.
The lift approach and piste descent do not remove the need to assess conditions and choose a route within your ability.
What to carry
The Rando Parc equipment list includes an avalanche transceiver, shovel, probe, helmet, headlamp and phone. Carry the equipment and know how to use it. It does not replace training, current conditions information or appropriate route selection.
Touring alternates warm uphill effort with colder stops and descents. Wear layers you can remove and put back on. How to layer → · The packing list →
Off-piste beyond the marked routes
Outside the managed ski network, avalanche exposure and other mountain hazards require a separate assessment. Slope aspect alone cannot tell you whether a route is safe. Consult the current avalanche bulletin and local professionals, and arrange a qualified guide if you lack the experience to assess the route yourself.
Book an off-piste outing with a qualified high-mountain guide or ski instructor, and confirm that their qualifications cover the planned activity. For glacier terrain, ask for a UIAGM/IFMGA high-mountain guide. Walking-guide listings alone do not establish that a provider leads ski tours.
Reading the bulletin
Châtel sits in the Chablais massif, so the Météo-France avalanche bulletin (BERA) for Chablais is the one to read: every off-piste or touring day, not once at the start of the week. Read it together with a snow forecast: the bulletin tells you how the snowpack is built and where the wind has loaded it; the forecast describes the weather expected next. Both are linked on our resources page, and the bulletin is published in season.
If you are unfamiliar with avalanche bulletins or route assessment, arrange qualified guidance before heading off piste.