Overview
It is a ski-resort, and is located 6 kilometres from Chamonix with a ski domain which extends from an altitude of 950 metres up to 1900 metres. The skiing combines long descents through tree-lined slopes, with impressive views of the Mont Blanc massif and the Chamonix valley. The village is twinned with the Russian villages of Sochi and Krasnaya-Polyana, which it has been chosen by the International Olympic Committee to assist organise the Winter Olympic Games in 2014. The pistes of Les Houches are regularly used for international events most notably the 'Kandahar' run is used annually for the Men's Downhill World Cup Ski Championships. Les Houches provides a training ground for the French National Ski Team and the Ski Club of Great Britain. The skiing area consists of 1 international black run, 12 red runs, 5 blue runs and 4 green runs, cross-country trails, and two snow parks. Extensive artificial snow coverage is provided by a new network of 67 snow canons covering 19 hectares. There are nursery slopes at Le Tourchet in the centre of the village itself, a Jardin du Neige for very young children skiers next to Lac de Chavants, and a new nursery area at the top of the Prarion lift.
There is a famous physics summer school here (l'École de Physique des Houches) that was started by Cécile DeWitt-Morette. It has been attended by two dozen Nobel prize laureates as teachers or students before they received their prize. Also, the Les Houches Accords were written here, which are important in high energy physics.
Les Houches is the start/finish of the popular Tour du Mont Blanc, A 7-10 day walk around the base of the Mont-Blanc Massif which takes in France, Italy and Switzerland.
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