Morning lift queues in Morzine? And Super-Morzine to Avoriaz duration?

A snowHead

Hey guys

Thinking about Morzine this March (versus doing Meribel again like we did last year).

If you manage to make it to the main lift area (Super Morzine or Pleney) for the first few lifts of the morning (eg. 0900 - 0930), how long would you expect the queue to be? We managed to bypass the main Chaudanne lifts in Meribel 5/6 days last year which meant we got onto the slopes immediately (Adret lift in Rond Point area near our chalet), whereas the one day we didn't, we ended up waiting 30-45 mins in the queue.

Also, if we want to go higher up to Avoriaz, how long does it take in the Super Morzine gondola, followed by Zore, Baron and Seraussaix lifts to get to the main Prodains lift area in Avoriaz?

Just trying to figure out whether we should go with our well known Meribel chalet with immediate slope access and no waiting in the morning or try somewhere new in Morzine, but it partially depends on how long the waits are going to be in the morning.

Thanks for your help!

A snowHead

In my experience outside the real peak weeks there's little or no queue for the S-M first thing in the morning. Even if you're a bit later it's only say 4 or 5 min.

From the top of the S-M to Avoriaz is probably (a rather dull) 15min - though you can face a 5-10min queue to get on the final chair up to Avoriaz, as it's also the return route for one of the beginner/easy warm-up blues.

If the S-M is closed due to weather or late March by lack of snow on Zore then bus queues can be painful. However almost nobody uses them from the centre of town if the gondola is open so maybe 5min wait/10min bus ride/5min for queue and ride at Prodains.

Depending where you are the bus to Ardent can be a good option too. Less convenient to get to Avoriaz but great access to the Chatel and Swiss sides of the PdS.

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I would say bus to Prodains is best ... marginal difference in time but avoids to morning chaos

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@karansaraf, if you are meaning March - after school vacations - shouldn't be a problem first thing... and iirc they upgraded Seraussaix a couple of years back to mitigate the queuing.

Yes, I was quite correct, https://mintsnowboarding.com/blog/new-chairlifts-avoriaz-morzine/

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Out of school hols we’ve never seen really bad queues on Proclou - you might wait 5 minutes but it’s a fast 6 man chair so moves pretty quickly. The worst queues in Avoriaz seem to be the lift from the bottom of the village back up to the ridge above Lindarets (Tour?). After lunch that can get a bit grim.

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@Mjit, I never know the names despite doing 3 seasons as a "guide" in the 80s-90s-

Anyhoo, Proclou was also upgraded.

Its problem is that the ski schools all use that sloped for beginners lessons once they've progressed to using chairs.

After all it is free

Yes proclou does get v busy at times. Over the last few years of going I’ve been increasingly frustrated at how bad the liftys are at making sure chairs go off with more than 2 people loaded. The resort has invested millions in an asset, you’d think they would be trained/incentivised to run it at >30% efficiency.

Thanks for the information guys.

Regarding the bus from Morzine to Avoriaz, I've heard conflicting reports. One says it's about 8 miles (which would obviously take a while), whilst another says it takes only 10 minutes or so. If it's only a short ride, then I think we would prefer that to the lifts?

Also, how frequently do the buses run? And, do they run early enough that you can get to Avoriaz for first lifts (or thereabouts)? Or would you get on the bus at around the time of first lift, and then get to Avoriaz a bit later?

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@karansaraf, in the late 80s, early 90s, the Prodains buses were pretty regular.

That's probably not as up to date information as looking at the Morzine website? (Just a suggestion...). My loose thinking would be that the Prodains bubble runs earlier (and definitely) later than the ski lifts as it's public transport to and from Avoriaz, not just a ski lift - and hence buses do as well.

snow reports

If getting on at Pleney it’s 15 minutes on bus (although depends on how many stops it does on the road up to Prodains).

Buses start early as they take workers up .. but most run from 8.30 ish then every 10 minutes at peak times. At uber peak times (9am -) they can get busy but usually ok

Prodains usually opens 8.30am with other lifts out of Avoriaz a little later depending on time of season. If avalanche risk there are places to stop.

Early start avoids the pain ..

Not a fan of SM lift myself ... but just my opinion

In March, there won't be big queues which ever way you go.

"..... how long does it take in the Super Morzine gondola, followed by Zore, Baron and Seraussaix lifts to get to the main Prodains lift area in Avoriaz?"

Via SM it's :
Gondola, then Zorre, then Proclou. (Baron and Serassaix lifts are for going in the opposite direction)

All 3 ways have their pros and cons:

Bus to Prodains, then gondola:
Pros: regular bus and Prodains Lift takes you to the middle of Avoriaz
Cons: You are on a (busy) bus, not out in the mountain air, and it takes you to the middle of Avoriaz.
Estimated time from getting bus to doing fist run: 25 minutes (If you're first run is Crot).

Bus to Ardent, then Gondola
Pros: Not as busy as Prodains, better access to Stash, Mosettes, Chatel Sectors
Cons: Slightly longer bus ride
Estimated time from getting bus to doing fist run:25 minutes

SM
Pros: Out in the fresh air, involves some skiing, easy first run to get your legs working
Cons: Takes 3 lifts to get to Avoriaz
Estimated time from getting gondola fist run:15 minutes

My preference is to go via Ardent, but everyone has different priorities so YMMV.

You know it makes sense.

Thanks @WindOfChange. I missed the direction arrows on the map ( http://ontheworldmap.com/france/ski/avoriaz/avoriaz-and-morzine-ski-map.jpg ) when looking at the lifts!

One thing though - Zore ends quite a bit before Proclou starts and the map doesn't make it clear that the blue piste from top of Zore goes towards the Avoriaz direction or the Morzine direction. I assume then, given your advice above, it's SM Gondola, Zore lift, ski down to Proclou, then Proclou lift up to Avoriaz?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@karansaraf, You are Correct.
The Top of SM Gondola is next to the base of Zorre lift.
From the Top of Zorre, you need to take the Green piste called Serraussaix which goes to the bottom of Proclou.
Another Top Tip:
From the top of Prodains, to access the Arare & Chavanette sectors, rather than taking the Stade or Lac D'Intetets lifts ( these get busy as they are at the low point of a bowl ), it is better to take the Crot piste half way down towards Prodains, and then take the Grandes Combes back up, as this involves more skiing and less queueing Smile

A snowHead

Thanks for all the info!

A snowHead

Humm, looking back at this I think we've managed to make it sound worse than it really is Smile

I've done at least 1 week per-season in Morzine for the last 10 years, spread between December and April - and I wouldn't have done that if that it meant spending 30-45min queueing to get up the hill in the morning! In fact I can only think of 1 time I faced that sort of queue, and that was peak season when weather had closed the S-M so everyone was 'queuing' for the bus to Prodains.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I've found the Super Morzine quite busy in the mornings. I've been a couple of times early March and had similar experiences both time. Queuing all the way down the road almost to the roundabout at times. Plus - as described above its a bit of a boring trek along some uninspiring green runs before you actually get to Avoriaz. Much better to do the bus to Prodains and get the gondola there. Far quicker. Its only about 10-15 mins from memory.

On the Pleney side I've never had any problems with queues, 5 mins or so max and you're up there fairly quickly. Problem is once you're up there where to go next. If you're ultimate destination is the Charniaz Express and the Rosta bowl and on to Les Gets, I find skiers right down to the chair lift at the bottom (I think its the belvedere) really slow. Its only a 3 chair, its old, slow and I've also seen some of the queue entries blocked at peak times so you're only getting 2 on a chair. Better to go skiers left from the top of Pleney down the red runs all the way back down the the tunnel and the pre Favre. You can then catch a (much faster, and less busy) chair up to the Nyon area and then down to Charniaz Express and make it over to the Rosta bowl from there.

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@yllen, I think Belvedere has been replaced.

S-M isn't fast but if you're not fast it's a nice warmup and there are a couple of friendly bars on the way home.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Ahh, La Grenouille du Marais (aka 'cat and dog' - even if dog long gone and didn't even see the cat last year) at the top of the S-M. Best vin chaud in the mountains.

After all it is free

@yllen, Ah, it was replaced in 2000 - previously was a 2 seat, now a 4 seat.

There is a route directly from top of Pleney bubble straight to Les Gets, although I have never skied it.

The route to Les Gets from Pleney is very slow and only gets you to the bottom of the lifts in Les Gets, where the worse queues are when it's busy. As said above, much better to ski either the red or blue runs down and through the tunnel and then get the lift up towards Nyon.

Help!!

Morning lift queues in Morzine? And Super-Morzine to Avoriaz duration?

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