 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I'm getting quizzed by a relative about possibly going to Prodains in mid March. Prodains is half way between Avoriaz and Morzine. I have been to Avoriaz, but it was 20+ years ago and I don't remember Prodains at all. I've looked at the piste map, but it doesn't appear to show a piste from Avoriaz down to Morzine. Is that correct? I'm sure we did ski down to Morzine.
Also I don't remember a Cable car, which appears to be the only way out of Prodains? There are a couple of other lifts shown on the other side of the valley - can you ski to/from these into Prodains?
We will be a mixed ability group - Me and Cousin#1 able to tackle most things, Cousin#2 physically strong but many fewer weeks on skis, and CousinsFriend who has not skied for 25 years and only for 4 weeks in total. It'll be muggins here who gets the blame if 'we' pick an unsuitable resort. They want to fly out on Sunday, and return Friday night (5 days skiing), and seem to have decided on Bristol to Geneva flights, before deciding where to actually go.
So is Prodains a viable resort for our group at that time of the season?
Cheers
Judwin
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Judwin, About 20 yrs for me as well! However, I'm sure you had to get the gondola down from Avoriaz to the bottom of Morzine.
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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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@Judwin, you can ski down to Prodains on a red(?) run, quite a nice through trees route, I've skied it late March and it was quite serviceable, I'm sure it would be one of the last things they close. The cable car is a big gondola and is really fast, 20 years ago it would have been an old fashioned cable car you'd have wanted to avoid! Not much down at Prodains though and it's a bus ride into Morzine centre. But the access is good.
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@Judwin, prodains is at the end of the road, directly below Avoriaz. There are a few bars and hotels there now but it's not a walk from Morzine.
Clients in 1989 did ski to morzine but the snow was unusally good and I think it took them 2 hours, mostly poling.
Previously a cable car, now a funky fast bubble. Several red runs from Avoriaz to Prodains, regular s^huttle to Morzine in skiing hours. No idea out of hours.
With the exception of Chilly Powder who run a very tight ship, Prodains is not - in any way - a "resort".
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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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After a few days of getting the gondola up to avoriaz and sking back down in the afternoon you might just wish you had stayed in avoriaz
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@stevew, pretty sure the route down to Prodains is a blue, a little narrow and a steep pitch near the top but generally a very nice ski down, plus the alternative of getting the cable car. Might get a bit lumpy at the bottom in spring snow though.
As for the town, not been there but I think it's more a bunch of houses than a town
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Thanks. I'll point my Cousins at this thread so they can see all your advice. That way I may be able to spread the blame about a bit if it all goes wrong 
I think we realize it's a bit of a sleepy hollow up a dead end valley with not much going on. But the cable car does run till late if we fancy a night up in Avoiriaz.
I could've sworn we skied from Avoriaz down to Morzine. There was then a 'road train' choo-choo thing to get you across Morzine to the lifts on the other side. I don't remember having to get lifts down into Morzine. I'll dig out an old Good Ski Guide to see if I can jog my memory.
It does worry me a bit taking a 4-weeker who hasn't skied for 20 years to a "resort" where the only way back is a red run.
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@BergenBergen, Yukk, no thanks. Prodains actually looks quite nice, although yeah, not really a resort in its own right, but the lift up to Avoriaz runs until late in the evening, so you can do your socialising up there then take the lift back down. Incidentally it's a 20-odd person sit-down lift taking just five minutes, so don't the 'bubble' appelation used earlier put you off.
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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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| JailBaitMcFlude wrote: |
@stevew, pretty sure the route down to Prodains is a blue, a little narrow and a steep pitch near the top but generally a very nice ski down, plus the alternative of getting the cable car. Might get a bit lumpy at the bottom in spring snow though.
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The bottom half is all blue, yes, and in fact we were skiing it well into April this year and it remained in very good condition, given that it's mostly shaded for most of the day. At the top there are also several nice black runs, usually more of a guideline than anything else with a lot of skiable terrain between them, and a bit of a red run from the lower chairlift, but yes, all filter down to the blue run-out back to the cable car station.
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@Judwin, Not much in Les Prodains itself but an excellent base for access to the whole area. There is a very regular bus service (every 10 to 15mins I think) from the village to Morzine and back. Did you have a specific Hotel/Chalet in mind?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Prodains is a lift station, 90% parking lot. I wouldn't say it's half way between Avoriaz and Morzine, it's right at the end of the valley with a nice newish lift up to Avoriaz, really don't see the attraction of basing yourself there....go either Avoriaz or Morzine. The latter is a 6-7min bus / car ride away, not skiable even if snow to the valley, but a different world in terms of social life.
Personally don't rate the ski down that much, can be tricky at the top on hardpack, some nice off piste lines if fresh and there are red and blue options mid way down, but lower section usually poor snow, chopped up.
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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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@anarchicsaltire, Hi, nice to hear from you again.
It's not me in charge of selecting the accommodation, I think the others are looking at an air-bnb.
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I was in PdS a couple of times last season and we stayed in Les Prodains for the first trip. The ski down into Les Prodains might be too much for CousinsFriend especially at the beginning of the week, it's quite a narrow run at the beginning with some steeper pitches but downloading in the bubble is no hassle if they didn't fancy it, the rest of you can ski back down.
One thing I would say about Avoriaz generally is that it is very congested in some of the main intersections above resort which at least for your rusty skier may mean they are stuck navigating parts of some of the worst most chaotic pistes of the whole PdS until they get their ski legs back. I have to say it wouldn't be my first choice of resort for novices or rusty skiers (particularly if likely to be nervous) because of this, the pistes along the ridge at the top are narrow, hard to avoid (key connections), get cut up easily and are usually full of people who don't have as much control as they think they do. If I was going to PdS with a group including novices who might fancy a bit of nightlife I'd probably go to Les Gets or Morzine rather than Les Prodains or Avoriaz itself. Or maybe somewhere like Morillon (Grand Massif) which is a nice town with access to a decently large ski area and not quite so congested on piste as the parts of Avoriaz which are close to the resort.
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You know it makes sense.
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Most people have said everything about Prodains, but on the busses, the last bus from Morzine up to Prodains is around 2030/2100, so if you're going out in the evening for food/drinks, you'll likely need a taxi back.
The run down does have a few tight corners, which in March (which was when I was last there) gets very mogully, and not an easy ski. Not much at all going on in the area.
Personally, i'd advise against it. Stay in Morzine, and get the bus to Prodains for the lift in the morning, or the Super Morzine lift.
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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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@belette, "Or maybe somewhere like Morillon (Grand Massif) which is a nice town with access to a decently large ski area and not quite so congested on piste as the parts of Avoriaz which are close to the resort."
Three of the group went to Les Carroz last winter, and two of us have been there twice in the past 5 years. I've no problem with going back there again (or Samoen, Flaine, Morillion etc) but I think the idea is to try somewhere different this time.
The spec is basically 'cheap' and not much more than an hours drive from Geneva. The PdS seems the obvious choice. Cousin1 has found some accommodation he like the sound of, and asked me to check out the Snowheads hive mind as for suitability for a 4 week lapsed skier. Morzine would not be my preferred choice. It's a large town which AIUI unless you're very careful with location it isn't ski in/out.
Les Get, Megeve or La Clusaz might also fit the bill.
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Poster: A snowHead
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A lot depends what you're looking for from your 'accomodation resort'.
Pordains is best described as a sleepy hamlet and I think other than a couple of hotel bars dead in the evenings. You can gondola up to Avoriaz or bus into Morzine for beers/food till moderatly late in the evening, or phone a taxi for a later return. If you're plan is basically to ski during the day then just stay home in the evenings than it's a nice quite spot with good access to Avoriaz and Morzine slopes (buses FROM Prodains will be empty in the mornings). Can be a little chilly though as in a deep valley so doesn't get much sun. The hamlet does run quite a long way down the valley though so you'll want to check how far you actually are from the lift (ideally you want walkable or you can stand there watching lots of full morning buses drive past you before one with space stops).
Oh, and the home run from Avoriaz to Prodains comes in almost every colour. You can blue all the way from the top of the gondola to the bottom, or you can head to the top of Lac-Intrets/Grandes Combes and either red->blue or black->blue down.
Getting from Avoriaz to Morzine can't be done "skis on" but can be done on "ski infrastructure" - though it isn't a very interesting run. Ski the blues and greens to the Super-Morzine/skis off and bubble down to Morzine where you can catch the little train (or walk across in less time than it takes to wait for the train).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you want to stay in a quiet hamlet with good access to Avoriaz, then I would consider Ardent ahead of of Prodains. Ardent is a little sunnier, and after the gondola you can have a better choice of where to head. The home run is a blue at the bottom, and can be joined from anywhere from the Avoriaz ridge, Mosettes, Grande Conche, Rochassons, Chaux Fleurie etc..
There'e also the happy hours bar which often has live bands for apres.
Like Prodains it has a bus that links it with Morzine.
There's an ESF based at the top of the gondola, so you don't have the Avoriaz issue of having to get up to the plateau after the gondola.
If you're not having lessons, then I would stay in Morzine near the SM gondola, as it has MUCH more going on than either Prodains or Ardent. Or if you want good access to Avoriaz, why not just stay there?
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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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The Ardent bus stops running a lot earlier than the Prodains one though - last ski bus Ardent->Morzine is something like 7:15PM (then 2 or 3 Happy Hours minibus on a Wednesday, but they are A->M only unless you can sweet talk the driver).
| WindOfChange wrote: |
| There's an ESF based at the top of the gondola, so you don't have the Avoriaz issue of having to get up to the plateau after the gondola. |
What, you mean either step off the gondola/walk 10m/get on the (very slow) Plateau chair, or off the gondola/ski down to the Tour chair/ski down to ski school? Not THAT hard, even dragging a pair of Flocon...
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... tricky for beginners who have never used a chairlift.
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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, No, it's not. You don't need your skis on to use the plateau chair, and clearly real beginners wouldn't be skiing down to the tour chair anyway.
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We were right right above the Tour chair and walked up for Day 1 which was...an error 
Day 2 the two Flocon's we could get the 2 Flocon's on the Plateau chair...also an error as I think it was actually slower than walking and the operator at the top station seemed to like starting their day with some very PG lyric English language music. An...interesting choice for right next to the children's ski school meet point.
Day 3 onwards we used the Tour chair, one the elder Flocon had already used during their Day 2 lesson.
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| Quote: |
I could've sworn we skied from Avoriaz down to Morzine. There was then a 'road train' choo-choo thing to get you across Morzine to the lifts on the other side. I don't remember having to get lifts down into Morzine.
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You can ski from Avoriaz to the SuperMorzine lift which leads to Morzine but the route doesn't go through Prodains. You can ski from Avoriaz to Prodains but it's a dead end and if you were going that way to connect to Morzine you'd take the shuttle bus.
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| monkey wrote: |
| Quote: |
I could've sworn we skied from Avoriaz down to Morzine. There was then a 'road train' choo-choo thing to get you across Morzine to the lifts on the other side. I don't remember having to get lifts down into Morzine.
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You can ski from Avoriaz to the SuperMorzine lift which leads to Morzine but the route doesn't go through Prodains. You can ski from Avoriaz to Prodains but it's a dead end and if you were going that way to connect to Morzine you'd take the shuttle bus. |
| polo wrote: |
Prodains is a lift station, 90% parking lot. I wouldn't say it's half way between Avoriaz and Morzine, it's right at the end of the valley with a nice newish lift up to Avoriaz, really don't see the attraction of basing yourself there....go either Avoriaz or Morzine. The latter is a 6-7min bus / car ride away, not skiable even if snow to the valley, but a different world in terms of social life.
Personally don't rate the ski down that much, can be tricky at the top on hardpack, some nice off piste lines if fresh and there are red and blue options mid way down, but lower section usually poor snow, chopped up. |
I agree with the above, you can get to Morzine from Avoriaz by skiing to the super morzine lift. And I view Prodains as essentially part of the Avoriaz area, except that rather being in any kind of resort, you're staying by a lift (with a only couple of bars/restaurants near by).
Having stayed in both Morzine and Avoriaz, I tend to split out the ski area accordingly. If in Morrzine, I'll focus on the skiing around Morzine and Let Gets - and if in Avoriaz I'll ski Avoriaz and over the swiss side. There's plenty of skiing to be able to do that - and if you do a lot of mileage and get bored easily, then it's not too much effort to do a day in the other area. It's just personally I'm not a bit fan of the choo choo train/walk across Morzine so tend to avoid it as much as possible.
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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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Pha! While I agree on the train, walking across town is just the perfect excuse to pop the boot buckles and stop for; a coffee, a beer, a cake from the patisserie (depending on time of day).
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Think I was walking with some snow boarders, who weren't hanging around for the skiers, let alone stopping for coffee.
A cold beer would have been magic as I nearly melted in a ball of sweat!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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you can ski from prodains to morzine, if the snow's good, but it is ski agricole
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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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@under a new name, what down the back to VdlM? Come on its not skiable to 99%
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I am also in the nigh om 20 years since last in Morzine, sadly. Given one of your group has not skied for 25 years I do not think Prodains would be a great location. The blues down are often fairly hardpack. Like others I would recommend Avoriaz or Morzine. The Super Morzine area from memory would be great for that skier - some really nice and fairly gentle blues from memory
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You know it makes sense.
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@Nadenoodlee, no, really, from Prodains to Morzine centre. I only know cos in 1989 we were about to start searching for guests at dinner time when they walked in, knackered, in their ski kit, having done it 
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