Verbier: the back story

About Verbier: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Verbier was a sunny shelf of pastures above the Val de Bagnes until a group of developers founded a lift company in 1950. Within a generation Téléverbier had built cable cars to Mont-Gelé, Tortin and Mont-Fort, and the village had become one of the great names of freeride skiing.

The pioneer years

The company that became Téléverbier was founded in 1950 as Télésiège de Médran SA, by a group of visionary developers, and its Médran lift opened on 23 December 1950. Through the 1950s new lifts reached La Tête des Ruinettes, Savoleyres and Les Attelas, and a chairlift was built by the Lac des Vaux, a shaded hollow that holds its snow.

Up to the steep slopes

In 1960 the two lift companies merged, and that summer several building sites opened at once. Experienced skiers could now ride a cable car to Mont-Gelé at 3,030 metres, and another went up the steep Tortin slopes for powder lovers. By the winter of 1960–61, the backbone of the ski area was in place; by 1970 Téléverbier owned 29 lifts.

At the start of the 1960/61 winter, the backbone of the ski resort was in place.

Linking the valley

The cable car from Le Châble, in the valley below, to Verbier was fully running in the autumn of 1975, connecting the resort to the railway. In 1977 and 1978 Téléverbier merged with the lift companies of La Tzoumaz and Bruson.

The conquest of Mont-Fort

The first Tortin cable car opened in the winter of 1981–82, and from March 1983 skiers could take in the view from the summit of Mont-Fort, at 3,330 metres the highest point of the 4 Vallées. In December 1987 came the ‘Jumbo’, then Switzerland’s largest cable car, and in December 1994 the Funispace replaced the old Attelas cable cars, nine months after work began. Thyon joined the 4 Vallées in 1991.

Verbier today

In 2021 a new 10-seat gondola replaced the Médran IV lift, and a panoramic platform on Mont-Fort opened for the winter of 2022–23. Téléverbier describes itself as running the largest ski area in Switzerland, with 14 altitude restaurants and more than 400 staff, and future plans include a link between Les Esserts, Les Planards and Savoleyres and a 3S replacement for the Jumbo.

Our advice: freeride only with a qualified guide and the right equipment, start the day early at Médran to beat the queues, and ride up to Mont-Fort on a clear morning for the view of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.

Verbier through the years

Dates from Téléverbier’s history page (verbier4vallees.ch), read October 2026.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Verbier: the back story before you go.