Morzine & Portes du Soleil Ski Area

Dents du Midi

This region vies for the title "largest ski area in Europe," with 212 interconnected lifts servicing a mind-boggling 650kms of runs sprawling across 12 areas, seven in France and five in Switzerland. There are 273 marked ski runs as well as 216 km of cross-country trails.  The Portes du Soleil region therefore offers a variety of skiing terrain to suit all abilities.

Circuits (taking approximately 2h30) organised according to ski levels have been designed to give skiers access to the various areas. Itineraries (blue runs, red or black) are marked by a specific mountain animal including a bear, white rabbit, jackdaw, ibex or reindeer!

As well as a vast ski area comprising extensive on and off-piste terrain, the Portes du Soleil is renowned for its fantastic boardparks, freeride zones and half-pipes.

One last thing .. always check the lift closing times if you're planning to ski the Portes du Soleil circuit as it may take longer than expected. When the passes are closed with snow, the road distances between some seemingly-close villages are huge and expensive by taxi if you miss the last lift back to resort!

Chamossiere

Morzine has an excellent central position in the Portes du Soleil with several possibilities to start your ski tour. The resort pistes of Pleney connect to the larger ski area of Les Gets, an area with mostly gentle blue and red runs. The alternative is to head up the other side of the valley towards the more challenging ski area of Avoriaz, which connects to the ski resorts of Champery/Les Crosets and Champoussin in Switzerland and the La Linga section of the Chatel ski area. First time skiers will not be disappointed with Morzine's nursery slopes and have the opportunity to explore further afield if they wish!

Morzine has many runs accessed via the Pleney telecabine and a number of teleseiges; TS de la Crusaz, TS des Mouilles, TS d’Atray and TS des Fys. The runs are an even mix between blues and reds, the latter spanning the intermediate ability levels whereby some would maybe constitute black status if they were not running directly into resort. ... see "Morzine Skiing Area" for more

Hauts Forts

Avoriaz is a vast ski area perched 600 meters above Morzine on the cliffs above the valley Ardoisieres. Access from Morzine is easy enough, either directly from town via Super Morzine and the Express du Zore or from the Prodains Valley. The latter offers two mechanisms of uphill transport; Prodains telepherique and TS du Verare and TS Combe du Machon. The former can get busy in the peak season and the latter is exposed to the elements but does take you higher up the Hauts Forts avoiding the busy Avoriaz town area.

Intermediates and above will appreciate the vast range of Avoriaz which has nearly 250kms of reds and blues to choose from. The resort is more snow-sure than Morzine due to its elevation of 1800m and snow lasts at village level for much of the season. You may, however, experience some bottlenecks during peak season; although the uplift is good and fast and there will be less traffic once you leave the lower runs to resort. Avoriaz offers some tougher terrain with runs on the Hauts Forts and down to Les Prodains including the World Cup downhill course. ... see "Avoriaz Skiing Area" for more

Ranfoilly Express

Les Gets' runs on Mt Chery are sunny and offer a choice of reds to longer blacks. Working from Pleney up to La Ranfolly there is everything from wider moderate intermediate runs and gentle cruises, all well linked to suit groups of differing ability.

Les Gets immediate ski area offers two lifts, the Chavannes Express and the télécabine des Chavannes. The latter services the beginner area above the Chavannes offering the wide but not so gentle gradient of Bruyère and the Gentiane. ... see "Les Gets Skiing Area" for more

Le Linga

The Châtel Linga section of the Portes du Soleil is accessed via the TS Chaux Fleurie out of Linderets. The Secteur is really two distinct geographies whereby Linga sits immediately the other side of the Col du Bassachaux ridge line. Châtel sits a little further down the Vallée Abondance and is the only broken section of the Portes du Soleil requiring a short bus ride to reach it.

Linga offers some excellent terrain, a mixture of blues and reds but no blacks. However, some of the reds are extremely steep and are a challenge to more advanced skiers. Initially there is a choice of four reds dropping down to Plain Dranse. If you are heading onwards to Combe then take the red to skiers right, Les Voraches, which drops you to the bottom of the TS de la Chaux-Rosées lift. The other three reds run further down the hill converging into one red run - Les Rochassons. A green also runs in the same direction but the red is fairly tame, both lead to the TS Pierre Longue which will return you to Plaine Dranse ready for onward exploration. ... see "Chatel Linga Skiing Area" for more

The Swiss Border

Of the 14 resorts in the Portes du Soleil, seven of them are located in Switzerland: Les Crosets, Morgins, Champoussin, Planachaux, Champery, Val-d'Illiez and Torgon. You can ski to them from Chatel or from Avoriaz. Although alot smaller than their French counter-parts, it is well worth making a trip over to them, as long as you ensure you leave enough time to get home - taxis are expensive! ... see "Swiss Side Ski Areas of the Portes du Soleil" for more

Although not linked to the Portes du Soleil in that you cannot ski to it, the St Jean D’Aulps ski area is well worth a look particularly as a full Portes du Soleil area pass is valid here.

The resort is a little under used and you should find it a relatively quiet destination particularly in contrast to the busy sections of the Portes du Soleil. The skiing is suitable for a mix of abilities mainly constituting blue and red runs with one black. However some of the reds are pretty demanding and as usually there is plenty of scope for getting away from the piste.

The high points of the area are the Col de Graydon and Grande Terche at 1800 meters apiece. Both offer long reds, for example, the Le Grande Souvroz stretches to five kilometers and has the alternative of doing a shorter black section half way down if required - Les Vous.