Active mountain holidays… thanks to the glacier, the skiing and snowboarding scene dominate the small town of Les Diablerets. At an altitude of 3,000 meters, it enables all snow sports to be enjoyed in summer as well as winter. The recently refurbished cable car and chair lift system demonstrate that the resort is now fully in orbit for the 21st century.

But things don’t stop at that, Les Diablerets is recognized as a French-speaking adventure sport capital of Switzerland. Mountain biking, paragliding, mud biking and many other activities make the summer never ending. And to crown it all off, climbing enthusiasts will be able to explore the new Via Ferrata from the Tête au Chamois.

Summer Snow Scene

The Glacier des Diablerets is usually open from mid June until mid August and from the end of September through April.

In the summer four ski lifts are open on the Glacier, which is reached by taking three spectacular cable car rides in succession. The glacier lifts include one chairlift and three T-bar lifts that access six runs. The area is popular for summer snowboarders.

Les Diablerets boasts the biggest summer snow park in Europe. The Park was designed by Nicolas Marduel, with the assistance of Mitch "Buchanan," Lolo Besse and Berti Denervaud. The snow park contains three half-pipes (shaped with a pipe-dragon), a boarder cross and an obstacle park.

As a visitor once said: [Les Diablerets is] “simply one of the most beautiful awe inspiring places the world can hold: Beautiful mountains, wonderful scenery and fantastic skiing. I have been twice (both on school trips) in the last 4 years and found it fantastic both on and off the slopes. A brilliant place for intermediate skiers, with some challenging runs for more advanced individuals, and some confidence building runs for beginners and inexperienced parties.”

More Ski/Snowboard Info

Les Diablerets ("the little devils") is an old mountain resort that has managed to prevent over-development and maintain its traditions while still offering an excellent experience. It is best known as a year round glacier skiing destination (the glacier itself is largely intended for summer skiing). There is a ski link to Villars however, so the winter ski area is over 100km without the glacier.

Access to the Glacier des Diablerets is located a few miles down the road on the way to near neighbor Gstaad, but can be reached on skis (apart from crossing the road) from mid-season in the winter. It doesn't work in reverse though - there's no lift back up to the mountain above Diablerets itself, so you'll need to get the ski bus back from the base of the glacier lifts.

Most noteworthy for experts from the glacier is the north-facing run down from the middle cable car station at Pierre down to Col du Pillion. From the glacier itself there a wonderfully long easy run of 14km (9 miles), with one unavoidable steep black mogul section which eventually takes you back to the ski bus stop at Reusch on the road to Gstaad. You will ski a 1650m (5414feet) vertical on this one descent. But intermediates will find endless terrain with the lift link over to Villars from the resort, or with a pass of four days or longer they can use the public transport system to hook up with the 250km (156 miles) of trails dotted around Gstaad's neighboring resorts, such as Chateau d'Oex and Saanenmoser.

Back in Les Diablerets the evenings normally offer lively après ski (after ski activities), largely thanks to the tourist office, which organizes a program of events for all visitors. In recent years this has included evening toboggan runs, a gym club for all on Wednesday evenings at the Congress House. Snowshoe walks with an aperitif in a woodcutter's hut on Fridays and church services on Sunday. The tourist office also organizes sleigh rides and Torch lit descents and an occasional treat is a fondue in a cable car.

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