A major part of the Grands Montets reconstruction is scheduled to open in Chamonix this winter, but the project will not be complete. The new 10 person gondola connecting Argentière with Lognan is due to enter service for the Christmas 2026 holidays, alongside new facilities at Lognan. The new lift from Lognan to the Grands Montets summit is scheduled to follow in Winter 2027/28.
What is reopening at Grands Montets in Winter 2026/27?
For Winter 2026/27, a new 10 person gondola between Argentière and Lognan is scheduled to open for the Christmas holidays, restoring direct lift access to Lognan. New skier and visitor facilities will also open there. The new Lognan-Grands Montets summit 3S is not scheduled to open until Winter 2027/28.
Why is Grands Montets being rebuilt?
The current project follows the fire at the Lognan mid-station in September 2018, which destroyed the buildings and lift infrastructure serving the historic Grands Montets cable car system.
That did not mean the Grands Montets ski area itself closed.
Skiing has continued, with the Plan Joran gondola providing access to the ski area from Argentière. What disappeared was the previous cable car connection via Lognan and mechanical lift access to the Grands Montets summit.
The reconstruction is designed to restore that access in two stages.
The distinction matters for Winter 2026/27 because only the first stage is scheduled to open this season.
What opens at Grands Montets for Christmas 2026?
The first major part of the rebuilt lift system is scheduled to enter service for the Christmas 2026 holidays.
The new Argentière-Lognan gondola
A new 10 person gondola will connect Argentière directly with Lognan.
For skiers, this restores an important mountain access route that has been unavailable since the 2018 fire.
Until now, access to the operating Grands Montets ski area has been via the Plan Joran gondola. The new lift adds direct access from Argentière to Lognan and creates the first functioning stage of the reconstructed Grands Montets lift system.
The Christmas opening is currently scheduled rather than guaranteed. No exact opening day has yet been confirmed, so anyone travelling around the Christmas period should check the latest operating information before departure.
Lognan becomes a mountain hub again
The change at Lognan is about more than the gondola itself.
A new access hall to the snow front is scheduled to open alongside new food and drink facilities, including a brasserie, as well as public toilets.
That matters because Lognan is being re-established as a functional arrival and departure point on the mountain rather than simply becoming another lift station.
For skiers arriving on the new gondola, the result should be a more complete transition from the valley into the ski area, with the services needed before heading onto the slopes.
Does the Grands Montets summit reopen in Winter 2026/27?
No. The new mechanical lift to the Grands Montets summit is currently scheduled for Winter 2027/28.
This is the most important distinction in the reconstruction timetable.
The new Argentière-Lognan gondola opening for Christmas 2026 represents the first stage of the project. It should not be confused with completion of the entire Grands Montets lift system.
The second stage is a new detachable 3S lift connecting Lognan with the Grands Montets summit at more than 3,000m.
That lift is designed to restore mechanical access to the upper mountain for the first time since the 2018 fire, with greater comfort and improved resistance to wind forming part of the new design.
But that comes later.
Anyone booking Chamonix for Winter 2026/27 specifically because they expect the historic lift-served summit vertical to have returned should therefore be aware that summit lift access is not part of this winter’s scheduled reopening.
Can you still ski Grands Montets in Winter 2026/27?
Yes.
The staged reconstruction should not create the impression that Grands Montets remains unavailable until the entire project is finished.
The ski area has continued to operate during the reconstruction, with access currently provided by the Plan Joran gondola.
For Winter 2026/27, Grands Montets is scheduled for a partial opening on 28-29 November 2026, depending on snow conditions, followed by continuous operation from 5 December 2026 to 2 May 2027.
As with all mountain operating calendars, those dates remain subject to snow and weather conditions.
The practical difference after Christmas should be the addition of the new Argentière-Lognan route into the mountain, not the reopening of a previously inaccessible ski area.
What changes for skiers at Grands Montets this winter?
For most Chamonix visitors, there are three useful ways to understand the 2026/27 changes.
Direct Argentière-Lognan access returns
This is the biggest immediate improvement.
The new gondola restores the direct connection from Argentière to Lognan, providing another way into the Grands Montets ski area alongside the access arrangements skiers have been using during the reconstruction.
For returning visitors familiar with Grands Montets before the 2018 fire, the re-establishment of the Argentière-Lognan link is a significant step towards restoring the mountain’s previous lift network.
Lognan becomes a renewed mountain hub
The new arrival hall and visitor facilities should also make Lognan a more useful part of the ski day.
Rather than viewing the project purely as a lift replacement, skiers will find a rebuilt mountain access point with food, facilities and direct access towards the snow front.
Summit lift access remains unavailable
This is what visitors will not get in Winter 2026/27.
The new summit 3S is still scheduled for the following winter, so the full reconstructed lift journey from Argentière through Lognan to above 3,000m will not yet be available.
That does not prevent you skiing Grands Montets. It simply means the final stage of the lift reconstruction remains to come.
What opens at Grands Montets in Winter 2027/28?
The second phase of the project is currently scheduled for Winter 2027/28.
A new detachable 3S lift will connect Lognan with the upper Grands Montets, restoring mechanical summit access that has been unavailable since the 2018 fire.
The new system is designed to provide greater comfort and improved wind resistance compared with the former installation.
Once it opens, the two stages will complete the reconstructed lift route from Argentière through Lognan to the upper mountain.
For Winter 2026/27, however, that remains a future development rather than part of the skiing available this season.
What does this mean if you’re booking Chamonix for Winter 2026/27?
The reopening is meaningful, but it needs to be understood accurately.
If the project remains on schedule, skiers visiting from the Christmas holidays onwards should have the new Argentière-Lognan gondola, renewed access and visitor facilities at Lognan, and the existing Grands Montets ski terrain available according to snow, weather and lift operations.
What they should not expect is the completed reconstruction.
The new summit lift remains scheduled for Winter 2027/28.
For anyone choosing Chamonix because of Grands Montets, that distinction is more useful than simply asking whether the area has “reopened”. The ski area itself is already usable; Winter 2026/27 restores an important access route, while Winter 2027/28 is scheduled to restore mechanical access to the upper mountain.
Planning to ski Chamonix this winter? Explore Skiworld’s Chamonix ski holidays and accommodation for Winter 2026/27.