Europe
Verbier
For 2026-27, Verbier is on the Epic Pass (5 consecutive days). Lifts run from 2,694 ft (821 m) to 10,925 ft (3,330 m), a vertical drop of 8,231 ft (2,509 m) across 410 km pistes, with about 240 inches of snow a year.
Verbier anchors the 4 Vallées, the largest ski area entirely in Switzerland with 410km of pistes topping out at 3,330m on Mont Fort. It's the freeride capital of the Alps - home of the Freeride World Tour finals on the Bec des Rosses - with legendary itinerary runs like Tortin and the Vallon d'Arby, glamorous nightlife, and 5 consecutive days included on the Epic Pass.
Ski passes at Verbier, 2026-27
| Pass | Access | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Epic Pass | Access: 5 consecutive days | The Epic Pass gives 5 consecutive days of unrestricted skiing across the whole Verbier 4 Vallées area. The Epic Local Pass also gives 5 consecutive days (added in 2025-26), but it is blocked on Epic Local's restricted dates (Nov 27-28, Dec 26-31, Jan 16) and for all of Feb 6-20, 2027. Epic Day Passes are not valid in Europe. Redeem at a Verbier 4 Vallées ticket office. |
Not on the Ikon Pass, Mountain Collective or Indy Pass this season.
Verbier has partnered with the Epic Pass since 2012-13, when the deal gave 3 free days. That grew to 5 consecutive days, and Epic Local Pass access was added in 2025-26. Verbier has never been on the Ikon Pass, and it is not part of Switzerland's Magic Pass.
The 4 Vallées pass covers all 72 lifts and 410 km of pistes (Verbier, La Tzoumaz, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon, Bruson). For 2026-27 an adult day costs CHF 94 walk-up, or from CHF 79 bought online at least 10 days ahead. The cheaper Verbier-La Tzoumaz sector pass is CHF 86 walk-up, from CHF 65 online, and Bruson alone is from CHF 54. The adult annual pass is CHF 1,249 until Sept 30, 2026, then CHF 1,499; a CHF 749 local annual pass is sold to residents.
Lift ticket prices
Peak walk-up adult day ticket, 2026-27: CHF 94 (about $118); online in advance from around CHF 79. Prices are dynamic by date and by age band (adults are those born 1950-2001), and buying online 10+ days ahead saves about 16%. A 2-day 4 Vallées pass is CHF 179 and a 6-day pass is proportionally cheaper.
Terrain Breakdown
Verbier elevation, altitude and mountain stats
Peaks and base areas
| Peak | Peak: Mont FortThe highest point of the 4 Vallées, reached by cable car via Col des Gentianes. The top is a glacier summit with views to the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. | 10,925 ft (3,330 m) |
| Peak | Peak: Col des GentianesCable-car hub below Mont Fort, at about 2,894-2,950 m depending on the source. | 9,498 ft (2,895 m) |
| Base | Base: Le Châble (valley base, gondola to Verbier) | 2,694 ft (821 m) |
| Base | Base: Verbier village (Médran lift station) | 4,921 ft (1,500 m) |
Getting to Verbier: airports and drive times
The closest airport to Verbier is Geneva Airport (GVA), 101 mi (163 km) away and about 2 hr 25 min by car.
| Airport | Drive | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Geneva (GVA) | 2 hr 25 min | 101 mi (163 km) |
| Chambéry (CMF) | 3 hr 10 min | 154 mi (249 km) |
| Turin (TRN) | 3 hr 20 min | 119 mi (192 km) |
| Lyon (LYS) | 3 hr 35 min | 190 mi (306 km) |
| Grenoble (GNB) | 3 hr 55 min | 204 mi (329 km) |
| Milan (MXP) | 4 hr 30 min | 160 mi (258 km) |
| Bergamo (BGY) | 4 hr 30 min | 189 mi (303 km) |
| Basel (BSL)* | 5 hr 10 min | 241 mi (388 km) |
* Basel: routed via Kandersteg and the Lötschberg car train; the Furka and Grimsel passes are closed in winter.
Typical driving time with no traffic and open roads, rounded to five minutes. Chain controls, storms and resort-weekend traffic add to it. Routed over OpenStreetMap road data.
Verbier in 3D
Runs and lifts as mapped on OpenStreetMap, over terrain from elevation data (heights exaggerated slightly). Drag to look around; two fingers on a phone.
Highlights
Pros
- ✓The best lift-accessed freeride and off-piste terrain in the Alps
- ✓Massive linked network keeps strong intermediates busy for a week
- ✓Over 8,200 ft of top-to-bottom vertical from Mont Fort to Le Châble
- ✓Sunny, south-facing village with world-class dining and nightlife
Cons
- ✗Very expensive - Swiss prices for lodging, food, and drinks
- ✗Itinerary runs mogul-out fast and need avalanche awareness
- ✗Bottlenecks at Tortin and the Mont Fort tram on peak weeks
- ✗South-facing lower slopes go slushy or thin late in the season
Quick answers
Is Verbier on the Epic Pass?
Yes. For the 2026-27 season the Epic Pass includes 5 consecutive days at Verbier. The Epic Pass gives 5 consecutive days of unrestricted skiing across the whole Verbier 4 Vallées area. The Epic Local Pass also gives 5 consecutive days (added in 2025-26), but it is blocked on Epic Local's restricted dates (Nov 27-28, Dec 26-31, Jan 16) and for all of Feb 6-20, 2027. Epic Day Passes are not valid in Europe. Redeem at a Verbier 4 Vallées ticket office.
Is Verbier on the Ikon Pass?
No. Verbier is not on the Ikon Pass for 2026-27. It is on the Epic Pass (5 consecutive days) instead. Verbier has partnered with the Epic Pass since 2012-13, when the deal gave 3 free days. That grew to 5 consecutive days, and Epic Local Pass access was added in 2025-26. Verbier has never been on the Ikon Pass, and it is not part of Switzerland's Magic Pass.
What is the elevation of Verbier?
Verbier sits at an altitude of 2,694 ft (821 m) at the base and 10,925 ft (3,330 m) above sea level at the top of the lifts, for 8,231 ft (2,509 m) of vertical drop. Named peaks and lift tops: Mont Fort at 10,925 ft (3,330 m) and Col des Gentianes at 9,498 ft (2,895 m).
How big is Verbier?
Verbier has 410 km pistes and 72 lifts.
How much snow does Verbier get?
About 240 inches (610 cm) a year on average, as reported by the resort.
How much is a lift ticket at Verbier?
A walk-up adult day ticket peaks at CHF 94 (about $118) for the 2026-27 season. Buying online ahead, adult tickets have started around CHF 79. Prices are dynamic by date and by age band (adults are those born 1950-2001), and buying online 10+ days ahead saves about 16%. A 2-day 4 Vallées pass is CHF 179 and a 6-day pass is proportionally cheaper.
When does Verbier open for the season?
Scheduled for 2026-27: opening Verbier sector from Dec 5, 2026; full 4 Vallées area from Dec 12, 2026, closing Full 4 Vallées area Apr 18, 2027; Verbier sector about Apr 25, 2027. Dates move with snowfall, so check the resort before booking.
How high is Verbier?
Verbier village sits at about 1,500 m (4,921 ft). The lifts climb to 3,330 m (10,925 ft) on Mont Fort and reach down to Le Châble at 821 m, so the area spans about 2,500 m (8,200 ft) of vertical. Skiing all the way back to Le Châble is only possible in snowy winters.
Is Verbier in France or Switzerland?
Switzerland. Verbier is in the canton of Valais, about 2 hours by road or rail from Geneva airport. It is the largest resort in the 4 Vallées, which calls itself the largest ski area entirely within Switzerland.
Is Verbier on the Magic Pass?
No. Verbier 4 Vallées is not a Magic Pass resort. It works with the Epic Pass (5 consecutive days) and sells its own 4 Vallées day and annual passes.
What is the closest airport to Verbier?
The closest airport to Verbier is Geneva Airport (GVA), 101 mi (163 km) away and about 2 hr 25 min by car.
Skier Insightssummarized from skier trip reports and forum reviews
Verbier is where the Alps' freeride culture lives - home of the Freeride World Tour finals, the Haute Route's finish-line energy, and a skier community that treats the marked-but-ungroomed itineraries as the whole point of the trip. On forums the recurring line is that Verbier rewards skiers exactly in proportion to their ability: experts call it the best mountain in Europe, intermediates call it good, and beginners wonder what the fuss is about. Add nightlife that runs from 4pm live bands to 4am clubs, and you get the Alps' most complete steep-and-social package.
The skiing splits in two. The famous stuff - Tortin's monster mogul field, Mont Fort's glacier and backside, the couloirs off Attelas and the Bec des Rosses arena - is genuinely serious, morphs from powder to bumps within days of a storm, and demands avalanche awareness because itineraries are marked, not controlled. The other Verbier is a 410km intermediate playground across the 4 Vallées, best skied as a grand tour toward Veysonnaz or Nendaz with lunch on a sunny terrace. Crowd pressure concentrates predictably: Médran's morning queue, the Mont Fort tram, and the Tortin chair on powder days; Savoleyres and the far valleys stay comparatively calm even in February school weeks.
Best for advanced skiers, aspiring freeriders, and anyone who wants nightlife with their vertical - and since 2025-26 it's a headline Epic Pass trip, with 5 consecutive unrestricted days included on the full pass. Costs are the catch: Verbier village pricing is Swiss-luxury tier, though staying in Le Châble below and riding the gondola up cuts lodging by a third. Against Chamonix, its closest rival in off-piste prestige, Verbier offers better lift-linked terrain and far better on-mountain flow; Chamonix counters with bigger descents and grittier town character. January for cold snow, March for long spring days - and hire a guide at least once.
What skiers like
- +The lift-accessed freeride is unmatched in the Alps - Tortin, the Vallon d'Arby, and the Mont Fort backside are marked itineraries you can lap all day that would be guided-only objectives elsewhere
- +Skiing the Bec des Rosses arena where the Freeride World Tour finals run gives the whole place a big-mountain credibility that regulars say changes how you ski
- +Since the 2025-26 expansion, Epic Pass holders get 5 consecutive unrestricted days - snowHeads and owner discussions both flag it as the single best way to make a US pass pay off in Europe
- +410km of linked 4 Vallées pistes means strong intermediates can point their skis somewhere new every day for a week without repeating
- +Mont Fort's 3,330m summit keeps snow skiable when lower Alpine resorts are grass - and the Matterhorn-to-Mont-Blanc panorama from the top is the best lift-served view in Switzerland
- +Après is genuinely world-class - Le Farinet's live bands at 4pm into the Farm Club is a rite of passage, not a marketing line
- +The Le Châble valley base means you can stay 30% cheaper down the hill and ride the gondola up - no mountain driving, no Verbier hotel prices
- +Guides are plentiful and the off-piste culture is mature - hiring one for a day unlocks couloirs and powder fields most visitors never suspect exist
Common complaints
- −Swiss prices sting even by ski-trip standards - CHF 8 beers, CHF 30 mountain lunches, and chalet rates that rival Aspen
- −The Médran gondola out of town jams badly between 8:45 and 9:30am in peak weeks - regulars either beat it or wait it out over coffee
- −Tortin and the other famous itineraries mogul out within a day or two of a storm - arrive mid-cycle and you're skiing VW-sized bumps, not powder
- −The Mont Fort tram is a capacity bottleneck with genuine 30-45 minute waits on bluebird mornings after a storm
- −South-facing lower slopes cook in the afternoon sun - by March the run home to town is slush or scraped-off ice by 3pm
- −The itineraries are avalanche terrain with real accidents - they're marked but not controlled like North American in-bounds, and skiers regularly underestimate this
- −The far 4 Vallées sectors (Veysonnaz, Thyon) still hide some slow, old lifts, and a wind closure of the key links can strand you a long taxi ride from home
- −Nightlife-and-scene pricing extends to everything: this is a Brit/Scandi glamour town where a season-opening table at the Farm Club costs more than your lift pass
Common Questions
Is Verbier good for intermediates, or is it experts-only?
What are the itineraries like - can I ski Tortin without a guide?
When is the best time to ski Verbier?
How can I do Verbier without spending a fortune?
How does Verbier compare to Chamonix?
Sources: verbier4vallees.ch, allverbier.ch, verbier4vallees.ch, epicpass.com, epicpass.com, peakrankings.com, news.vailresorts.com, en.wikipedia.org
Photo: Realleok / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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