Wine at 2,738m with Mont Blanc burning gold on the horizon

The 140-person télépherique rises through cloud layers and deposits you at 2,738m—the roof of the 3 Valleys. On clear days, Mont Blanc floats on the horizon like a dream. The summit restaurant serves local wine with views that make your phone camera give up trying. This is where you drink a glass of Roussette while processing everything below: the ski runs, the villages, the valleys you've explored. It's the perspective you didn't know you needed.

What to do there

3 things to do

1. 1 Ride the Glass-Bottom Gondola to the Roof Adventure · Price: moderate

   The télépherique rises through clouds—then deposits you above everything.

   Ride the 140-person gondola to 2,738m—some sections have glass-bottom floors, so stand on them if you dare. The 10-15 minute ride from Saulire télépherique makes the resort shrink, trees disappear, world becomes rock and snow and sky. When doors open at the summit, give yourself a moment before rushing to the restaurant. Look around—this is the highest point you can reach without climbing, Mont Blanc that white massif to the east. The elevation hits you like a wall of thin air and infinite views.

   Backup: If gondola is closed (rare), try the Verdons bubble from the Courchevel side.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Drink Roussette at 2,738 Meters Wine · Price: moderate

   A glass of Savoie white with 100km of Alps stretching beneath you.

   At La Saulire summit restaurant terrace, order Roussette de Savoie—made from Altesse grape, indigenous to these mountains. It's floral and mineral, exactly what 2,738m elevation deserves (€8-15/glass). Sit facing Mont Blanc if terrace is open, let wine warm your chest while cold air bites your face. This contradiction—warmth inside, cold outside—makes alpine wine drinking perfect. The grape grew in valleys 2,000m below, now you're drinking it among the peaks where those valleys begin.

   Backup: If they're out of Roussette, Apremont (Jacquère grape) is the backup—lighter, crisper, still local.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Look Down at Le Grand Couloir (If You Dare) Adventure · Free · Optional

   The entrance to Europe's steepest piste is right here—peer over the edge.

   Find the entrance to Le Grand Couloir and look down at the 80% gradient, 692m drop that awaits the brave. Follow signs or ask anyone in ski gear—they'll point to a narrow gap in the rocks. Walk carefully to the edge (not on skis unless you're attempting it), look down at the madness. Only 5% of people who reach the summit attempt it. Just standing at the entrance, wine in hand, watching someone else drop in—that's enough to understand the mountain's power. The wine makes the vertigo bearable.

   Backup: If vertigo is an issue, skip this. The view from the restaurant terrace is plenty.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Time your visit for golden hour if possible - Mont Blanc glows pink

• The glass-bottom gondola sections are terrifying and wonderful

• This is also the access point for Le Grand Couloir (Europe's steepest piste)

• The restaurant inside is warm when the terrace is too cold