4 Vallées, Ski area in Valais, Switzerland

4 Vallées is Switzerland's largest interconnected ski area, linking the resorts of Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon and La Tzoumaz across four side valleys south of the Rhône. Its 410 km of pistes and 80 lifts include the Funispace funitel from Croix des Ruinettes to Les Attelas, which carries 3,000 people per hour. The terrain rises to the Mont-Fort at 3,330 m, with the Ours run descending to Bruson.

The idea of linking the separate resorts came from Rodolphe Tissières, Michel Michelet and René Fournier in the mid-1970s. The network became real in September 1983 with the inauguration of the Mont-Fort cable car, which opened the highest point of the area at 3,330 m.

The name 4 Vallées refers to the four side valleys south of the Rhone that the lifts link. The Funispace cable car between Croix des Ruinettes and Les Attelas carries 3,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in Switzerland. The Ours run, from the Mont-Fort down to Bruson, is among the longest in the Alps.

The ski area is spread over the south side of the Valais Alps, with Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon and La Tzoumaz linked by lifts. The Funispace funitel between Croix des Ruinettes and Les Attelas carries 3,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in Switzerland. A single pass covers the whole area.

The Funispace cable car between Croix des Ruinettes and Les Attelas moves 3,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in Switzerland. The linked area was the work of pioneers Rodolphe Tissières and Michel Michelet, who pursued the idea from the mid-1970s.