In reply to MadProfessor:
For snowshoeing, without the need for a guide, I would recommend the Jura, with Les Rousses as a base. I know it is not the Alps but there are well marked snowshoeing trails, hire of gear is very easy and you are only 45 minutes from Geneva airport. If you don't hire a car you can get the train from the airport along Lake Geneva, to Nyon, then the mountain railway to Cure, on the French/Swiss border, then a short taxi ride to Les Rousses.