 Poster: A snowHead
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@denfinella, I tend to avoid the aggregator sites as that usually seems to involve epic form filling at the desk - so tend to compare Hertz, Avis, Europcar and Sixt and choose which is cheapest. Hertz seem to be having an absolute brain-f@rt at the moment with some super cheap deals on Polestar 2s (we like an EV, partly because we have a charger at our place costing 18c€ per kWh, and partly because you don’t have to think about taking it back full). So this season I will mostly be driving a Polestar - with a Q4 Etron in March when I have a couple of airport runs to do.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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90% of the time I use enterprise now. Superior service and we never have an issue. Too many niggles with other providers in the past - Avis trying to give us a 2 door corsa instead of an SUV at 11pm with two small children made me their sworn enemy and Europcar making us wait an hour for car seats in Dublin also put them on the feckers list
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Nadenoodlee, we’ve used Europcar at Geneva for every trip for the last 2 or 3 years and they’ve always been great - I used to hire cars all over the place with work, and I know they can be super-variable, but Europcar at Geneva seems to be quiet (usually) and they were one of the first ones to do EVs. But the prices Hertz are doing at the moment mean we just can’t not try them out - £250 difference for a week and a bit’s hire.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@swskier, thanks for the burger recommendation. We may yet revisit Avoriaz in the next week so might get a chance to try Changabang!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sat 21 - Morzine from Les Gets
Today was the first day of our Portes du Soleil Black Friday lift passes. €159 for 6 days, saving 50% on the usual rate, so worth the stress of navigating an error-prone booking process back in November. With a slightly cloudier / windier weather forecast we opted for Morzine / Les Gets with lots of options for shelter. We also hoped it might have fewer weekend warriors than the main PdS circuit.
The drive from La Grande Terche was slow due to twice getting stuck in long convoys traveling at 15mph behind cars with SNOW CHAINS on, even though the main roads are completely clear of snow by now. Ah, the joys of changeover day... 
We started from Les Perrières at the west end of the ski area, which let us ski east facing slopes (i.e. in the sun) as we worked our way across to Morzine in the morning, then west facing in the afternoon. The car park was busy but efficiently marshalled, squeezing in as many cars as possible. We were at the lift turnstiles just in time for 9am opening, by which time the car park was nearly full.
Weather was better than forecast, with a breeze only noticeable at the top of a few exposed lifts (esp. La Pointe). It was sunny overhead all day, though we could see more cloud obscuring views towards Avoriaz and the Swiss border.
Morzine and Les Gets have managed to go from 5% to 95% open in just a few days, which is impressive. Coverage is mostly good, with only a few scraped spots in high traffic, artificial snow areas. Just a couple of runs with thin snow or stones - especially Coutalays (red) to the Troncs Express in Morzine, and Vorosse (blue) back to the car park for our final run.
We headed across to the Charniaz bowl fairly quickly and spent most of the morning around there, starting with the sunny runs under the Charniaz Express.
Chevrelles / Belle Mouille (reds) under the Charniaz Express
We had plenty of time for multiple trips up to Chamossière and Pointe de Nyon. The Arbis red from the former is superb; wide, long, scenic, probably my favourite run so far this trip.
Arbis (red) from Chamossière
The long Les Creux (black) on the other side of the Chamossière chair was also excellent - not steep, but ungroomed with perfect cold powder.
Les Creux (black)
Les Creux (centre right) from Blanchot (red)
Pointe de Nyon is worth it for the suspended viewpoint, but Aigle (red) back down is a bit narrow due to terrain constraints. Reminded me of the red from Mont Joly in Megève. We caught some of the birds of prey display - someone even went up the Raverettes chairlift holding a peregrine falcon!
Morzine from Pointe de Nyon
View from the suspended viewing platform
The Morzine and Les Gets piste maps are generally both very clear (they are different to each other, with each area making their local pistes look proportionally larger ), but both are a bit confusing around the Nauchets / Chavannes ridge. We got slightly lost trying to reach the top of Belle Mouille (red), first failing to get there from the top of Charniaz, then failing again from the top of Nauchets. Third time lucky from La Croix, but time had been wasted in a couple of lift queues by then. Then down to Morzine via a succession of easy blue pistes.
Retour des Nants (blue) to Morzine
Lunch in l'Etale in Morzine town centre, with a couple of excellent pizzas for about €15 each. On-mountain (as opposed to resort) menu prices seem to be nearly as expensive as in Avoriaz, which was surprising.
Morzine
After lunch we finished most of the area around Nyon, including an ill-timed run down to the bottom of the cable car (long wait until it went back up). Returned to the Ranfoilly bowl for the last hour. Heavy traffic had left some mogully pistes but the less obvious variants were still decent - especially Arnica (red) which seemed mostly untouched.
Speaking of heavy traffic - we didn't have to queue at all on the Morzine side, but Les Gets seemed much busier, with queues for almost all of the lifts whenever we tried venturing over there.
Busy Ranfoilly bowl, Les Gets
Gentianes (blue) along the ridge between Les Gets & Morzine
Belvédère chair at the top of Le Pleney
We'll revisit Morzine/ Les Gets once or twice more over the next week, but on first impressions, I found it had more variety than Avoriaz with different slope aspects and a good sense of travel. A couple of slow lifts but counterbalanced by some really luxurious ones. If there is one criticism then it's that there are quite a lot of traversing runs on the Morzine side, or runs with long sections that are nearly flat. Whereas Les Gets has more "pure skiing", but was unpleasantly busy. Hopefully it'll be quieter midweek.
Final run - Les Trembles (blue) to Les Perrières
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Tue 31-01-23 0:06; edited 2 times in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@denfinella, everyone heads to Les Gets and works back to Morzine. Pleney is usually much quieter in the morning - especially around Atray lift
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On-mountain (as opposed to resort) menu prices seem to be nearly as expensive as in Avoriaz, which was surprising.
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Enjoyed your report, as ever, @denfinella, but not sure why that should be surprising! Les Gets and Morzine are hugely popular.
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Avoriaz *used* to be cheaper or at least better value. Nyon car park full before 10am today and I was convinced someone would be in my private parking space when i got back but they didnt - hurrah.
La Flamme by Super Morzine was very good at lunch time- service was superb too
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Nadenoodlee, ah, that makes sense. Also maybe Les Gets busier on Saturday because it's close to Les Perrières where the day trippers park? The pistes were (a bit) quieter today anyway, probably because the weather wasn't quite as nice. No lift queues.
@pam w, @Nadenoodlee, re. lunch prices, I've previously found that prices are higher in the high, purpose built, "international brand" resorts. Avoriaz fits both of those criteria and Morzine only one. But maybe I need to rethink my theory 
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Sun 22 - Les Gets
Back to Les Gets again today, this time parking at the Mont Chéry gondola. It does indeed fill up early - we got the last space at 8.35am.
Mont Chéry is often described as the quiet side of Les Gets. It lived up to its reputation, except for lots of training taking place on the central Stade de Slalom. A choice of perfect corduroy on the reds (Marmotte the highlight) or smallish powdery moguls on the blacks (superb snow on Chevreuil). Slow, cold lifts but good views to Praz de Lys and Mont Blanc, with sunshine above a valley inversion. The rest of Les Gets looked cloudier. Chamois (red) back to the base was quite stony.
Above the clouds on Mont Chéry
La Pointe, Mont Chéry
Chevreuil (black) under Chéry Nord
Planeys chair
Les Gets from Chamois (red)
After a full morning on Mont Chéry it was time for a quick lunch - Home Burger in the resort centre, with burgers around €16 / €12.50 with / without chips and drink. Food was fine - tasty enough without being memorable.
Les Gets
Then onto the Chavannes axis for almost the whole afternoon, occasionally dipping back into the Ranfoilly bowl to fill in the gaps from yesterday. Fortunately both sectors were less busy than Saturday: still lots of skiers, but no lift queues.
Chavannes lift base, Les Gets
Busy Gentiane (blue) under the Chavannes Express
Both Chavannes and Ranfoilly have some entertainingly busy, key blue pistes (Gentianes, Violette, Tulipe) but also several much quieter options, especially where the start is less obviously marked. Arnica (red) and Campanules (blue) at Ranfoilly were still nice and smooth towards the end of day, even though other nearby runs were very bumpy. More excellent powdery moguls on the Yeti and Myrtilles blacks.
Yeti (black), Ranfoilly bowl
Back at Chavannes, Cyclamen (blue) is a very pleasant and quiet alternative to Gentianes. The Cowboys / Indiens / Trappeurs fun slopes have lots of kid-friendly features including wigwams and even two (live) donkeys! Orchis (red) not so good - covered in bare patches and stones.
Orchis (red) - not as good as it looks here
Weather stayed fairly bright all day (better than forecast), with cloud banks and snow flurries moving around but usually with nearby blue skies too. Visibility stayed good and winds light. Still well below zero, but at -5C to -8C range a bit warmer than previous days.
Tomorrow looks sunnier. Time to explore somewhere new... 
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 31-01-23 0:15; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@denfinella, have you had a day at St Jean d’Aulps yet?
Well worth it. Head round the circuit and if you have an early start you can have coffee at the little place after you come down from the drag lift on the way back to the bubble then stop for lunch on your second circuit after you come up the chair from La Chevrerie (I forget the name of the restaurant but it is the only one).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@denfinella, Loving the reports. Keep them coming!!!
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Also, just while you guys are on the subject on car hire and specifically Electric vehicle. How do you go about 'refueling' the car? It would be a pain to rent a car and then have to sit at a charge station at the airport for a couple of hours to avoid fines?
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You know it makes sense.
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@B1g_browner, thanks, will do...
@DJL, we skied St Jean d'Aulps / Roc d'Enfer today thanks for the lunch recommendation, which was decent.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@B1g_browner, Europcar you take it back with whatever’s in it, which is great. I discovered today that Hertz expect you to take it back with at least 75% battery - I think we should be ok getting a Polestar back from Morzine to Geneva on under 25% battery usage (it’s about 45 miles but whichever way you go there’s a good slug of it downhill) - but will find out next week. They’re quite harsh if you take it back with under 75% - CHF50 plus CHF1.30 per kWh to get it back to 75%, so that’s not as good as Europcar. However the Polestar is £365 and a Europcar ID3 would be £600, so even if we get dinked we’ll be better off. But I’m hopeful we’ll be well over 75%. We have a charger at our place so we’ll be leaving with 100% in the battery.
But I agree - you don’t want to be having to stop and charge to get it back to 75%, so if it’s evcen close with Hertz we’ll stick with Europcar - I’ve no idea where the nearest rapid charger is to GVA - on the motorway I guess it’s Bonneville?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mon 23 - Roc d'Enfer
Skied at the separate Roc d'Enfer area today, so two luxuries this morning: a lie in, and ski-in ski-out! Our apartment backs onto the last part of the red piste down to the Grande Terche gondola.
For those unfamiliar with Roc d'Enfer, the piste layout is unusual. Two lift bases, one either side of a ridge, and two chains of lifts crossing the ridge at separate cols. The cols are only served by lifts from one direction, so you have to do these parts as a clockwise circuit of the full area. Quirky (in a good way) and the whole area has an unpolished, rustic feel, very different to the main parts of the Portes du Soleil (again, in a good way).
Quietness, scenery and off the beaten track feel were highlights, and all pistes were open except the short black runs and a couple of minor variants elsewhere. Quality of pisting was not so good, with lots of ruts, ice boulders and uneven areas.
You leave St Jean d'Aulps by a steep gondola. There are shady red and blue options back down, both hard packed (the red extremely so - care required).
Gondola base station - our apartment block second from right
At the gondola top station there's an extensive plateau with drags serving greens, blues and a comically short red. Or take the next link in the chain: the slow Têtes chair, with pleasant motorway red and blue back down (a type of run in short supply here).
Plateau area at the top of the gondola
Continuing ahead, a red run drops off a ridge into the Graydon bowl, with a slow chair heading back to the distinctive previous summit and another (long) one climbing to the main ridge at Col de Graydon. Excellent reds and blues underneath - worth the long chairlift ride time.
Chargeau (red) along a ridge into Graydon bowl
Chargeau chair
Graydon (blue) under the Graydon chair
On the other side of the Col de Graydon, Grand Souvroz (red) drops 650m vertical to La Chevrèrie in the second valley (Bellevaux). Stunning views and sense of travel, though the run itself is often narrow or roadlike, and the north facing bottom half was bitterly cold!
View into Bellevaux valley from Col de Graydon
Grand Souvroz (red)
Le Roc d'Enfer from Grand Souvroz
La Chevrèrie in the second valley has a few shortish drag lifts and pistes (green, blue, red) linked only by an easy-to-miss bridge next to a noisy dog sledding base. Village at the far end had a back-and-beyond feel to match its actual location, and the nursery slopes were entirely deserted.
Les Sapins bis (blue) to the separate La Chevrèrie sector
La Chevrèrie & nursery slopes
Cabri "wall" from La Chevrèrie
For the return, stage one is another long, slow chairlift (Torchon). Unexciting blue and green traverses back down, or a red which was much more eventful. All the snow cannons were running, covering the *entire* width of the narrow-ish piste in artificial mountains (not just one side of the piste, as in Les Gets this week). Skiing through icy mist from the fan guns was unavoidable, and my partner managed a full yard sale crash right underneath one. Skis lost in the spray, water bottle went flying down the hill... emerged covered from head to toe in ice! Artificial snow is quite difficult to remove when its several degrees below freezing...
Torchon sector from the top of the Cabri drag
Above Torchon, twin drags gain the return ridge crossing at Col des Follys with short red and blue back down. Or continuing ahead, back to the St Jean d'Aulps side: two superb reds (or black variant) down a sunny valley, passing an isolated hamlet in an exquisite setting. Unmissable. The red used to extend all the way back to St Jean but is now truncated, with a newish drag lift rejoining one of the pistes under the gondola.
Follys (red)
Follys (red)
We completed a quick first circuit followed by a slower second one, this time exploring all the Bellevaux pistes. Late lunch at the charming Refuge du Torchon (a.k.a. l'Embuscade - thanks for the recommendation @DJL) at mid mountain on the Bellevaux side. Tiny but genuinely interesting menu, knowledge of French language helpful. Papet du Torchon (hard to describe, but included potatoes, minced leeks, lardons, sausage) and a very meaty stew plat du jour. Total bill €39 including free bread, charcuterie and crisps, which seems reasonable for the remote location.
Lunch at Refuge du Torchon
Then back to the St Jean d'Aulps side for the last couple of hours. Beware - the top lifts close at 4.45 but the last ascent of the village gondola is strangely early at 4.05, so stay high at the end of the day.
Sunshine in the morning, but medium level cloud crept in after lunch. By closing time only the very tops of the highest lifts were above the cloud, with fog below. This is definitely an area to save for a day with good visibility - which fortunately we had for most of the day. There was no wind but it felt very cold, since a lot of the pistes are either north facing or in dark valleys. Perhaps in the -5 to -10°C range.
Overall, a very enjoyable area with plenty for a full day, as long as you are happy on red runs. We really like these sort of places, and usually try to fit in at least a couple on each ski trip. Adds another dimension, and a nice respite from the busy pistes in Avoriaz & co.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 29-01-23 23:02; edited 3 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@denfinella, really enjoying your write ups, and you seem to be having a fantastic time - great to see after all the uncertainty of early jan.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@denfinella, really enjoyed reading your report. Roc d’Enfer was one of our favourite areas when we were living in Les Gets. One year we didn’t buy PDS season passes, but had local Morzine/LG seasons, similar for Roc d’Enfer and also for Praz de Lys. Really worked well for us as we enjoy the smaller quieter areas, and we also had a new pup and we’re never going to be away from the chalet for long days. Going round the Roc d’Enfer we would enjoy lunch at the Tavaillon which was a bit further on than the Torchon, you would have skied past it today in a very small group of buildings. An old cow shed basically, and many happy hours spent there with a bit of a blizzard outside.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just catching up - brilliant read as always!
Roc d'Enfer sounding very interesting; did Chris thaw out though?! Head to foot in ice is definitely a look...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
@B1g_browner, Europcar you take it back with whatever’s in it, which is great. I discovered today that Hertz expect you to take it back with at least 75% battery - I think we should be ok getting a Polestar back from Morzine to Geneva on under 25% battery usage (it’s about 45 miles but whichever way you go there’s a good slug of it downhill) - but will find out next week. They’re quite harsh if you take it back with under 75% - CHF50 plus CHF1.30 per kWh to get it back to 75%, so that’s not as good as Europcar. However the Polestar is £365 and a Europcar ID3 would be £600, so even if we get dinked we’ll be better off. But I’m hopeful we’ll be well over 75%. We have a charger at our place so we’ll be leaving with 100% in the battery.
But I agree - you don’t want to be having to stop and charge to get it back to 75%, so if it’s evcen close with Hertz we’ll stick with Europcar - I’ve no idea where the nearest rapid charger is to GVA - on the motorway I guess it’s Bonneville? |
Great update and insight Andy. Keep us posted with how you get on. Toying with the idea of renting car, rather than transfer, just to give flexibility in resort. Would love to hear your report on how you got on.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@B1g_browner, we’ve rented EVs from Europcar for a year or so and always got on fine (we have a charger at our place). The difference with hertz and avis is they both require a minimum charge % on return (unlike Europcar). I’ll report back on how we get on taking the Polestar back to GVA - I think with the long downhill from les gets to taninges (we often end up having used 0% by the bottom) we should be fine as it’s only about 35 miles from there. Recharging near Geneva isn’t great - there’s a rapid charger at Lidl at St Julien de Genevois but it’d be faff to go there. Other than that it’d be a diversion via Cluses and use the Ionity at Bonneville. So hopefully no need to charge.
This probably means that Europcar is the only option for EVs if you’re travelling much more than 50 miles or so, as recharging on the way would be a pain (or just accept the CHF50 as an extra cost on the hire). However this could reduce demand and mean they are cheapish for those of us within 50miles or so of Geneva.
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@andy from embsay, Was looking at Hertz yesterday and they were substantially cheaper for a polestar than an 'economy' petrol alternative. That's why the thought crossed my path. I didn't read too much into the returns policy though, so if we need to charge to at least 75% upon return, it rules it out for us. Thanks for taking the time to share your thought/opinions anyway. I'll leave @denfinella, free to provide reports and stop hijacking the thread... 
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Nice write up @denfinella, glad you enjoyed your lunch (and the skiing). Tavaillon which @Pamski mentioned was my suggested coffee stop for the first lap.
Two other small, rustic, quiet areas you could try if you want to go a bit further afield are Bernex and Thollon Les Memises. Cheap lift passes and great views in both cases but a bit low. With the recent snowfall they would be a good option for a day out.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@DJL, sadly I don’t think that the Tavaillon has been open for the last few years.
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@B1g_browner, last hijack on this: if it’s substantially cheaper to rent then you might be worth paying the CHF50 plus the CHF1.30 per kWh. Say you brought it back with 25%, then you’ve got roughly 30kWh to get back to 75%. So in total a CHF90 “fine” (£80) but no petrol cost to fill up on return plus the saving v a petrol car.
Last time we had a petrol car it cost us (I think) about CHF50 for a return to Morzine and some pootling about, so it’s possibly not as big a difference as you might think, depending on how far you drive it.
Good opportunity for some man-maths anyway!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Pamski, Heard from friends that the Tavaillon was open again this year after a few years closed. When we first went, about 20 years ago, it had no electricity and they gave you a candle to go to the toilet.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@pateman99, oh really, that is good news.
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@andy from embsay, thanks. Yes, having a great time - snow came just in time! The last two days in particular (Monday, Tuesday) have been even better as the crowds seem to have thinned out.
@Pamski, that sounds like a good plan, just getting the small area ski passes. We visited Praz de Lys for a day in 2020 and will be there again later this week. We saw the Tavaillon / cow shed and the menu looked quite interesting, but our rotations around the circuit didn't take us past at the right times to have lunch there.
@ElzP, Chris was fine, and more importantly, the rucksack was too 
@B1g_browner, no problem - feel free to continue if it's helping people!
@DJL, we visited both Thollon and Bernez in 2020 as day trips from Abondance. Both good - powder day at Bernex. Rock hard pistes at Thollon after a big thaw and overnight freeze so we didn't quite see that area at its best, but some stunning views.
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You know it makes sense.
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Tue 24 - Switzerland (+ Hauts Forts)
An absolutely brilliant day today - one of those rare occasions when perfect weather, perfect snow and quiet slopes all combine. Best skiing of the trip so far.
With the sunny forecast we headed for the Swiss side for the first time this trip (we spent a couple of days there in 2020), taking a packed lunch to maximise skiing time.
Brochaux lift base from the Mossette France chair towards Switzerland
Most of the Swiss slopes face east, resulting in lovely buttery snow all morning, along with immaculate piste grooming. It was comfortably warm in the sun, with the mercury perhaps inching above 0°C (still -11°C at Ardent at opening time though!). We started with a few excellent, unusually quiet runs above Les Crosets.
Black 15 to Les Crosets
Next we headed to the Ripaille sector for a blast down the blues next to the drag / T-bar.
Ripaille sector & the Swiss Wall from blue 8
Ripaille drags & blue pistes
Then one of my favourites in the PdS - the long red 11 dropping 850m vertical to Grand-Paradis. Snow on the gentle runout (rutted, artificial) wasn't as good as in 2020 but the top half and the scenery were as gorgeous as before.
Red 11 to Grand-Paradis
Then back up to Mosettes for the other signature long valley run: the Tovassière blue to Morgins. This had much better, natural snow - put it on your must-do list.
Red 20 from Mosettes Suisse
Red 20 at Col des Portes du Soleil
Blue 31 Tovassière
Blue 31 Tovassière
Morgins as beautiful as ever cloaked in snow, church bells ringing, and under sunny skies. The rickety Foilleuse chair back up is due to be replaced by a gondola in the near future. The pistes under the Foilleuse were in great condition.
Morgins from the Foilleuse chair
Dents du Midi from La Foilleuse
Bochasses / La Chaux motorway runs all good (some ridiculously wide parts).
Blue 40 from Bochasses towards Champoussin
But around Champoussin snow is a bit thin and some of the key linking pistes are suffering. This is definitely a weak part of the PdS circuit - there needs to be major investment in lifts and snowmaking here, and more importantly, a reorganisation of how the pistes and lifts link together. At the moment the compulsory runs on the Morgins to Les Crosets route are awkward, busy traverses, while all the other (excellent) pistes are left deserted, and served by painfully slow lifts. Black 37 is one of my favourites in this area, but sadly not open yet.
Blue 39 alongside the Sépaya drag, Champoussin
Aiguille des Champeys lift base, Champoussin
Tracks under the Pointe de l'Au chair
Red 33 from Pointe de l'Au
Les Crosets from red 20
Around 2pm we headed back to Avoriaz via Mosettes Suisse, Vautna and Brochaux...
Boulevard des Skieurs (blue) through Avoriaz
...and to the Hauts Forts area we missed on Friday.
Prodains gorge from the top of Crôt (blue)
What a change - pistes were much quieter and the queues had gone, helped by the reopening of Grandes Combes. The Jean Vuarnet red and multiple blacks off this chair were in amazing condition and nearly deserted. They all empty out onto the Crôt blue which was still horrifically scraped, with carnage ensuing.
Jean Vuarnet (red)
Combe du Machon (black) has a wonderful setting in a snowy bowl, and the snow was just sublime - cold powder, small moguls just starting to form, genuine black gradient. Crozats Snowcross is less steep but more like an off piste itinerary (except patrolled and marked), with uneven terrain and bushes to push past on the traverse out. (On a tangent - if you like the runs off Grandes Combes, you will love the ski area of Les 7 Laux near Grenoble. The terrain there has a similar feel.)
Combe du Machon (black)
Tonight we had dinner at the excellent l'Etabli in St Jean d'Aulps again. Pizzas this time, priced around €15 for the more interesting ones. One of them (Canard) had the strangest combination of ingredients I've ever seen on a pizza menu: duck, goats cheese, apple, walnuts, picked vegetables, honey and gherkins Who knows what the owners were smoking when they dreamed that up! Naturally we had to try it; it sort of worked, but I preferred the other, "normal" meaty pizza we ordered. There was a family with young children at a nearby table, whose conversation mostly seemed to revolve around "angry poos" and "naked Barbie" Then a nice selection of mini pastries (7€ for the lot) from Carrefour back at the apartment.
These kept us going for a couple of days...
Really happy that everything fell into place today. And that the crowds of last week appear to have been a temporary nuisance. Hopefully more of the same tomorrow.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Tue 31-01-23 14:11; edited 3 times in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@denfinella, sounds fantastic - you will have pleasant dreams tonight
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Poster: A snowHead
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@denfinella, was the bottom bit of crozats closed - assume so if you traversed out? It often is, and can be quite gnarly as it’s both steep and narrow in parts. Drops you out onto Crot above the Vin Chaud shed quite near the bottom.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Layne, I am sleeping well, that's for sure!
@andy from embsay, yes, that's right. Bottom part looked quite tempting though...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Wed 25 - Chatel & Morgins (Corbeau)
We left the apartment in fog this morning but the forecast was good; we could see glimmers of blue sky through the gloom, so knew it was sunny not far above. The cloud cleared before we reached the car park at Ardent, and we headed straight across towards Chatel. Our first run of the day was a heavily mogulled Rhododendrons (black) - a good warm up!
We (apologies in advance) lingered at Linga to do a few laps under the gondola. The pistes here were deserted since Echo Alpin was closed due to a technical fault.
Top part of Linga (red) under the closed Echo Alpin
TSD Gabelou is also shut due to landslide damage from the December deluge... leaving a choice of buses 1, 2 or 3 to Super Chatel. We somehow managed to just miss all three  so a wait was required.
Chatel & TSD Gabelou from La Leiche (blue) - if you look closely the landslide is visible under the chair
Once up the Super Chatel gondola, I wanted to try the new Conche chair, and also most of the pistes off Morclan which bad weather prevented us from skiing in 2020.
Chatel from the Morclan chair
Chermillon (red) had two variants but both had poor snow, and by the time we'd finished here it felt like we'd skied the boring, lower blue section about a thousand times. Ombrieux (black) was fun though, even if the snow was a bit heavy (it catches the morning sun). The lift layout here is awkward, making it difficult to lap the best runs (especially with TK Chermeu closed), though the new / longer TSD Conche has improved things somewhat.
Ombrieux (black) off Morclan
Ombrieux (black)
The Chalet Neuf sector had busy lifts but scenic, deserted pistes - seems people were just using it to compete the PdS "grand tour".
Chalet Neuf
Beyond this, Ecotis, Culet and Corbeau were new territory for us (shut in 2020), and the pistes off the latter two were in absolutely awful condition; bare patches, stones, ice and slush. No snowmaking despite them being a key part of the circuit, and the drag lifts are pretty steep too. In fact, this area was so bad it was almost comical  ; especially considering how good the snow is almost everywhere else right now.
Upper part of Culet (blue) not too bad...
Looking back up Culet before the muddy / stony section
Patchy blue runs down to TS Corbeau
Morgins from the Corbeau side
Packed lunch on TS Corbeau, then back to Super Chatel.
La Combe (red) to Chatel - artificial snow coverage has been improved here since 2020
Hopped on the bus to Pre-la-Joux (bypassing Echo Alpin), leaving 2.5 hours to do all the runs here. I really like this sector, especially when it's fairly quiet, as it was this afternoon. Perfect snow, sunshine, fast lifts and fabulous views. One criticism - only 24/36 pistes open (the bulletin splits some runs into upper / lower sections). From my uneducated viewpoint, Chatel appear to be being a bit precious about opening runs around here if they have the odd rock or bush poking through - pretty sure they would be open in many other resorts.
All the runs around here are great, but we especially loved Combes (red) and Itinéraire (blue) off the Combes chair. They seemed extra quiet, perhaps due to Echo Alpin being shut.
Combes (red)
Itinéraire (blue)
Perdrix Blanche (red) off Cornebois
We worked our way slowly across to the Plaine Dranse side as the afternoon wore on.
Chaux des Rosées pistes from the top of Cornebois
In this sector, Renards (black) top section also had great snow, though the steeper lower half was shut. There was a big temperature inversion between the warm, sunny summits and the frigid valley bottom at Pré la Joux.
Plaine Dranse
We cut it a bit fine to get back over to Ardent via Rochassons (16.27 ahead of 16.30 closing), but at the top we were greeted by a stunning cloud inversion in the Aulps valley, with the final part of the car park run plunging into the gloom.
Above the clouds on Grand Plan (blue) to Les Lindarets
Dinner tonight was at La Peau de Vache here in La Grande Terche. The menu has some keenly priced lunch deals; tartiflette (€16) and lamb shank (€22) were OK but nothing special. We were also slightly overcharged on the bill (could've been an honest mistake). So l'Etabli is the clear winner for food around here.
Meteo Alpes suggests the cloud top may be a little higher tomorrow (1400-1600m), so we might be spending some time in the fog tomorrow, but could also get some spectacular views from just above it...
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 30-03-23 0:57; edited 2 times in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thu 26 - Morzine (+ Les Gets)
Today was the last day of our Portes du Soleil passes, and we returned to Morzine to finish a handful of runs we didn't ski last Sat / Sun (mostly around Le Pleney) plus revisit our favourites. Breakfast pastries from one of the boulangeries in St Jean d'Aulps; having now tried both shops, Petit Mitron is better than Pauvert. For reference in future years, €1.10 is the going rate for a croissant / pain au chocolat!
For skiing, we parked in the small, free car park halfway up Piste B. Warning - this road doesn't appear to be a priority route for snow clearance; it's still white after more than a week since the last snowfall, and definitely wouldn't be passable on summer tyres without chains.
The weather was better suited to skiing a higher area such as Avoriaz; if I'd known earlier in the week, I'd have swapped these days around. Cloud layer around 1200-1600m (later 1400-1800m), grey below and sunny above. Temperatures down on the last two days, with minus double figures at some lift stations again in the morning. Packed lunch on the lifts, meaning more skiing time but few opportunities to warm up!
A busy start to the day at the Pleney gondola - fortunately we were there 20 minutes before opening, since by the time the photo below was taken just before 9am opening there were several hundred people behind us in the queue.
Keen skiers at the Pleney gondola
There was a fantastic full circle rainbow seen from the Belvédère chair as we emerged (just) above the inversion.
Belvédère chair well named today
Chamossière was the obvious place to head for next, with glorious views.
Passing through the Charniaz bowl en route to Chamossière
View from Arbis (red) off Chamossière
The Pleney and Folliets du Golf runs were predictably extremely quiet due to fog at the top of Pleney, though visibility was better lower down under the cloud layer.
Into the gloom on the Fys chair
Snow not bad on the open runs, but many lower parts are closed. Had a cheeky ski down Olympique (black) anyway, with some shrubbery to avoid.
Morzine from Olympique (black)
Grizzli (blue) and Fouine (red) probably the best pistes around here.
Grizzli (blue)
Fys chair
We headed back up high to find the sun for the last couple of hours. First to the Ranfoilly bowl, finding that the cloud top was now just below the top of Ranfoilly at 1800m.
Gentiane (blue) from the top of Ranfoilly
Chamossière looked good from Ranfoilly, so guess where we went next...
Chamossière from Ranfoilly
Arbis (red) from Chamossière still wonderful, as was Aigle (red) from Pointe de Nyon - I guess their shady aspects stop them from becoming bumpy?
Arbis (red)
Aigle (red)
The Chamossière freeride area was also open, having been closed at the weekend. This starts with a traverse around the corner to the lip of a vast bowl where you can choose your gradient: excitingly steep (for me anyway!) near the avalanche cannon in the foreground, or gentler the further you traverse across. There aren't any marker poles once you start descending, so it's a bit confusing where to go at the bottom for first timers like us (edit: looking at topo maps, perhaps it doesn't matter - it all appears to funnel onto a piste wherever you go) - complicated by the cloud layer sitting around this point today! A great area - basically off piste but patrolled and avalanche controlled (I think).
Chamossière freeride zone
As usual we skied until closing time, making the Pleney gondola with five minutes to spare to get back up to Piste B and the car park.
And that's it for the Portes du Soleil! Though we have one more day of skiing tomorrow, somewhere else nearby. Stay tuned...
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 31-01-23 0:32; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@denfinella, Top class reporting as always.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi Guys. We wanted to do a morning/day at St Jean d’Alps. Could you tell me please what the drag lifts are like for boarders. I’m a fairly decent boarder so wondered if the drag/button lifts were brutal and old or newish and ok? Fancy trying there as we’ve done most of PDS but if the lifts are a nightmare we probably wouldn’t bother. Thanks
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@B1g_browner, cheers.
@simonsaysowot, there are only two compulsory ones, both on the way back to the St Jean d'Aulps side. The first (Follys) is relatively steep but not particularly long or difficult - no harder than Arare or Chavanette in Avoriaz if you've done those. The second (Lac) is very short and gentle.
If you're a decent boarder you shouldn't have any trouble - otherwise all the boarders would end up getting stuck on the La Chevrerie side!
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Thanks mate. We go next month. I’ve never done those drags in Avoriaz as there’s always a chairlift next to them but I’m familiar with them. Just I’ve been to some of those older style resorts in other countries with old drags and seen tons of boarders sitting at the bottom unable to get up them so wanted to avoid that. I will go there then for something different. Would you say there is a morning there or all day? Also are those 2 lifts t-bar or buttons ones as I know someone will ask. Many thanks and love the reviews. Might try a few of your suggestions.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@simonsaysowot, all the Roc d'Enfer drags (including the optional ones) are buttons.
There's definitely enough there for a full day if everything is open, and you stop for lunch. The circuit on its own takes a couple of hours and it's good to do it twice as there are two variants to the main runs down from the ridge on each side. Then there are all the extra runs under the lifts that are part of the circuit (i.e. in the reverse direction if you see what I mean!).
Enjoy - let us know how you get on!
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Fri 27 - Praz de Lys
Piste map here.
For our final day skiing we visited Praz de Lys - a more "off the beaten track" domain 15 minutes and a few hairpins up from Les Gets. On Mondays and Fridays, lift passes purchased in advance are just €23. We had unfinished business here after a similar day trip in 2020, when there was ample snow but overnight rain made the pistes horribly sticky and avalanche risk shut the top lift.
To summarise Praz de Lys: 55km of slopes sit astride a low ridge with a car park / ski station on either side: Praz de Lys (1500m) on the east side is a sizeable resort village, while Sommand (1400m) is barely more than a few chalets.
Long, slow chairs provide the key links - three to the 1750m interchange between the two sides, and three more on the Praz de Lys side, including one up to Haut Fleury - the area high point at 1950m. There are also extensive offshoot areas which are all worth exploring: a quiet cluster of drag lifts on the far side of Sommand, a low wooded area below Praz de Lys served by the rickety Praz l'Évêque chair, and a vast, gentle plateau inhabited by a whole swarm of drag lifts. We just about managed to ski all the pistes in a single day, excluding the handful of closed ones.
The area has a reputation as a snow pocket with often better snow at equivalent altitudes than the Portes du Soleil. I certainly found that to be the case in 2020, but not this time, with lots of snow farming (scraping it off adjacent land) evident. Nevertheless virtually all runs were open, with low temperatures and skier traffic ensuring excellent snow quality even if there were a few thin spots.
The morning was magical - after a foggy drive at -10°C, the clouds parted on approach to Praz de Lys and the east-facing pistes were all bathed in bright sunshine. We headed straight to the top at Haut Fleury where we were greeted by a infinite sea of clouds to the west. There was no one else around for our first two laps, and it felt like we had our own private ski area.
Haut Fleury chair with Combe (red) underneath
View from the top
Of the runs from the summit, Lac (blue) has the best views, but gets a bit flat lower down. Combe (red) east to Praz de Lys and Vélard (black) north to Sommand were the pick of the pistes from the top - both groomed. Haut Fleury (black) is so short as to be pointless, and Combe Perret was sadly closed (looks seriously steep on topo maps).
Lac (blue)
Start of Combe (red)
Vélard bowl
Vélard (black)
Apart from the busy beginner zones, the Pierre Rouge / Col de Sommand chairs on the Sommand side seemed to have the most popular pistes, with easy blue, sunny cruises.
Col de Sommand chair & blue piste
Convergence point for the Col de Sommand / Pierres Rouges / Véran chairs
Col de Sommand (blue)
Haute-Pointe (?) range from the Sommand slopes
Sommand lift base
Further across, the runs off the Mouille Noire and Platière drags had very uneven surfaces caused by thin snow overlying bumpy ground - bordering on dangerous in the slightly flat light. The Echerus drag was shut, as seems to be semi-permanently the case at least outside school holidays. To get to these drags, Liaison (blue) is a really scenic, long and easy run - much more interesting than the name suggests.
Platière (red)
Liason (blue)
Returning to Praz de Lys involves a blue (Marmottes) which is a little on the tough side, or the steeper Véran red, so cautious skiers beware.
Véran (red)
Around Praz de Lys, the run off the top of Roy to the bottom of Hotel is a decent length with lots of potentially chaotic piste intersections. Most of the others on the plateau are short and gentle, though still worth doing. There is an unexpected black at the very bottom - closed today but we "enjoyed" straightlining it in the sticky conditions of our 2020 trip...
Top of the Roy chair
View from the top of Roy (red), with the Lac (blue) from Haut Fleury in the distance
Roy (red) - short and sweet
Betex drag & blue pistes
Brésy (red)
Chevaly (green) & Praz de Lys
There were several tempting lunch options, all with appreciably lower prices than the PdS. Plats du jour in the €10-15 range. We settled on Le Flocon (no pun intended), ordering a carbonara (OK) along with the biggest burger on the menu (excellent - the best burger out of the four consumed on this trip), with the bill coming to €30.
After lunch the dreaded cloud layer had crept up a bit, so we headed below it into the Praz l'Évêque sector via the flat "Le Zone" blue catwalk. This area has some of the best "pure skiing" runs, with decent red and blue options.
Têtras (blue) & Praz l'Évêque lift base
We planned to finish by revisiting Haut Fleury above the clouds, to sign off our holiday with a flourish. Best laid plans... the cloud top had risen so much that even the summit was in thick fog, and skiing Combe back down was like floating through air. Very disorientating, and bitterly cold. I removed my goggles to help pick my way from pole to pole and by the bottom my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes had frozen...
A final lap on the Roy red run and it was nearly closing time. Our fingers and toes were starting to feel a bit numb so it was time to call it a day - it felt colder than the -6C on the car dashboard.
To sum up Praz de Lys - I love the place, and would wholeheartedly recommend it for a day trip, even more so than Roc d'Enfer. The ski area is well laid out (though the chairlifts unfailingly slow), there are varied, interesting pistes and the views are exceptional. However, I worry for its future. There doesn't appear to have been significant recent investment in the lift system or in much snowmaking. There will come a point at which all the lifts approach their use-by date in quick succession; will the funds be available to replace them?
On a happier note, it's been a wonderful 9 days' skiing. Skis and boots have been returned to the hire shop ahead of an early flight back to the UK tomorrow.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sun 29-01-23 23:44; edited 2 times in total
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FAQ
