 Poster: A snowHead
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Ho, cam anyone advise me what the snow is like in the ports du soleil in particular Morzine /avoriaz at Xmas and new year please? Looking that my options.
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Some years it is fantastic, Some years it is awful and the rest of the time it is in between the 2. It all depends on that very unpredictable thing - The weather.
Xmas is usually much less busy than the manic New Year
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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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Is it awful to the point that I couldn't do any boarding or just not as good as it could be?
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@Andy2809, There's usually something open in Avoriaz. It's sometimes truly fantastic. But Xmas/NY is early season.
Morzine itself can be rather more sketchy.
Short answer, no-one knows and no-one can predict.
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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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Based on my early season trips to Morzine over last 2 years
17th Dec 2017 - Poor early season snow. Morzine totally green. Avoriaz open with limited skiing but we skied every day, sometimes doing the same run 3/4 times but we were skiing.
1st Jan 2018 - Great early season snow. Heavy rain in Morzine for 2 days. Mixture of blue/grey skies the other days. we skied every day with almost all the pistes/lifts open
This New Year was nowhere near as busy I was expecting with very little queing at lifts. I think the poor early start over the previous years may have put people off.
Either way I think its a great time of year to go but its a gamble
As previous posters have already said - its early season and the weather is the key
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@charliesimpson, our analysis of our bookings was that the NY dates meant people seemed to book for Xmas instead.
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The snow in Avoriaz will be much the same as in most other French ski resorts in the same area on the same dates.
If you want the best chance of seeing snow out your front door/are incapable of moving more than 200m without putting on skis go for Avoriaz. If you're willing to trade the chance you may have to bus/gondola up and down each day if the season starts badly against spending you evenings somewhere with a little more soul and atmosphear then go for Morzine.
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Excellent thank you. I think I'll hold off to the start of winter and see how things are.
I've got limited holiday dates though so would be good if it snows late Nov/early Dec
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@under a new name, That makes alot of sense We went 31st Dec and got a good deal on a s/c chalet that we had used before. Hoping for another NY week but I think 2019 dates look like a Sat-Sat is more likely to be booked by most - what do you think?
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I was looking sat to sat
29th-5 th. Don't want to leave it too late and miss out, but at the same time don't want to book it and it be like the desert.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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That'll be new years which will still be full price, I live in Les Gets and would say if there's no snow in Avoriaz at New Years then there will be no snow elsewhere in the French Alps. We'll be doing Christmas week at mid season prices next season, you'll find most French self catering places are Sat-Sat (I suggested we go Sun-Sun earlier in the season and the office looked at me like I'd grown an extra head, it's just not how it's done here)
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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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Morzine is a.lively place and has a few decent bars and restaurants, whereas I've heard avoriaz is pretty dead. If you're going as a family and don't mind having a smaller apartment and have no non-skiers, then go to avoriaz.
Personally I prefer the runs on the morzine- le gets side - there's more tree runs and it's easier to get back. As mentioned Xmas is early season and morzine isn't the highest resort though.
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I’d agree that Morzine will be more lively but I wouldn’t describe Avoriaz as dead, there’s a few bars around the central part and I did do a NYE there many years ago which from what I can remember was lively enough.
As is often the case it very much depends what you’re looking for, I actually really like the runs in Avoriaz and prefer them to the immediate ones above Morzine, though granted the tree lined runs over Les Gets side are nice.
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You know it makes sense.
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@madlondoner, thread resusc?
Best PDS skiing generally agreed to be either Linga or Chamossiere
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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@polo, Mont Chery is indeed lovely but I’d say Chamossiere bowl better h.p.
Sides of Aigle (Nyon) also fine.
Absolutely definitely choose e.g. “Hidden Valley” (Linga) over anything off Ranfolly ...
A chacun son gout ...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yep Linga area undisputed no.1, but beyond that very subjective....much more variety MC vs Cham. As long as the snow is good just get to one of them before everyone else.
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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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@polo, @under a new name, This suggests the OP should consider Chatel instead of Morzine. They get Linga and access to Avoriaz.
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uann +1 - spot on.
If you're not going to the Parks or Boarder-X, my top 5 boarding spots are:
Hidden Valley & Happy Valley (Linga).
Mt Chery (both sides).
Forest & Savolaire in Morgins - though these are best mid-season, not Christmas / NY.
The natural half-pipes in Les Crosets
The Freeride areas above Avoriaz ( Canyon Schott and Crozats)
As for Aprés - Avoriaz is pretty busy at NY, Morzine also busy (but less French) & way more choice of venue, Chatel has a couple of busy bars, but a more relaxed feel.
As the OP was asking about Snow, and by implication the skiing / Boarding, I would suggest the Chatel side over Morzine as it's near 4 of my 5 fave spots.
Avoriaz can be a bit marmite - personally I love it, but it's not to everyones taste.
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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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@WindOfChange, my only contention with UANN was whether Chamossiere was better than Mont Chery, but seemingly it's not in your top 5? Splitting hairs for sure...but may have been misunderstood.
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@polo, It's probably because I do not head over there that often ( I only manage 40-45 days per season now), and do not know all the good lines.
There are 2 lines I like at Chamossiere, one is to the left of the old mogul run (looking up) in the steepish section, but is often closed due to Avalanche risk, the other runs down between the new lift and the piste - this is a blast with fresh snow.
The main reason we do not head over there is that access is from 2 places in the PdS I avoid like the plague - the Pleney and the main side of Les Gets.
We sometimes go from the Nyon Gondola, but its a a bit of a schlep.
We went there twice last year, and access from Nyon was ice-corduroy ( even less fun on a board then on skis), but the other time it was great.
If you are based over that side, and know some of the other lines then it probably has a far greater appeal, but I'd take Mont Chery every time.
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| WindOfChange wrote: |
| but I'd take Mont Chery every time. |
Which is what I've been saying above.
I don't get to Chamossiere much either as it's often weather affected in storms and not the quickest place to get to. But it does have a great freeride bowl beyond the black, and access to back country ( Pointe d'Angolon and I think Vallee de la Manche, must try it this year).
Good article here covering the main areas
https://www.morznet.com/ski-area/off-piste
As for avoidance of the plague....I hardly ever go to Pleney as it's lower, but the LG side can get busy, and it's often wet, too flat etc. Which keeps a lot of would be powder hounds out. But it has it's moments, trees are nicely spaced apart, and the only other tracks you find are from your first lap.
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But it does have a great freeride bowl beyond the black, and access to back country ( Pointe d'Angolon and I think Vallee de la Manche, must try it this year).
My son and I and the dogs spent all summer scoping out off-piste routes down from the Pointe d'Angolon into the VDM, so hopefully we'll get to give them a try this winter.
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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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@doddsie, nice way to spend the other seasons....scoping out lines. Can be hard to match up the terrain though, even pistes that I slide on every week in winter have a very different profile without snow. I will be doing some hiking up there in Oct/Nov so PM me if you're still around. No one usually is.
Google maps has a 360 street view from the Pointe d'Angolon
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Same question as OP but my available weeks are Jan 12-19 and Mar 16-23......so which option is a safer bet? I also have the weeks of Feb 9-16 and 16-23 available but as that is high season I would likely stay in Canada and do a week in BC.
Some interesting comments above, especially "The natural half-pipes in Les Crosets". I still have fond memories of these even though I have not skied them for about 35 years. Nice to know that they are still there 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'd say both your Jan and March dates are in main season so you should be able to expect snow on the ground, with March the safer of the two (even if it gets warm early they will have had some time to make/stockpile snow).
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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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| Ozboy wrote: |
| @polo, @under a new name, This suggests the OP should consider Chatel instead of Morzine. They get Linga and access to Avoriaz. |
I don't follow. Why doesn't Morzine have access to Avoriaz?
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@86tomw, can access Avoriaz from both but Linga is in Chatel and available on local pass if OP does not want to venture too far.
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You know it makes sense.
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@86tomw, Avoriaz is accessible from Morzine ( Bus to Ardent, Bus to Prodains, or Via Super Morzine Gondola, Zore, Serrasaix and Proclous), but the other good spots - Linga ( Happy valley), SC Boarder X & Smooth Park, LC Happy Park, Morgins, Torgon etc... are easier to get to from Chatel.
As well as the Chatel local pass, these are also covered by the La Chapelle Liberte pass if you want to go a bit left-field.
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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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Going back to the OP's question.
At New Year Avoriaz is pretty snow sure. 95+%
Morzine on the other hand is at 1000m which is low. I would not expect to be able to ski down to Morzine at New Year most years.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Ozboy @WindOfChange ah, gotcha - I think - I was confused because I've been to Morzine three times only on the Morzine-Les Gets pass so I've only ever been to Avoriaz on a bus, but a number of the people I've stayed with have had PDS passes and skied to Avoriaz without much difficulty, so I couldn't see why it was said not to be accessible. Makes sense that it's on a local pass - just not the one I've had.
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