Trip Report - Montriond/Avoriaz/Morzine 23rd - 27th Dec

A snowHead

Hi all,

Just gonna do a little report for our short trip away over Christmas.

DIY
Flights - Gatwick to Geneva on EasyJet
Transfers - Skiidy Gonzales
Accom - Hotel Du Lac
Ski Hire - Lac et Montagne Sports
Christmas Eve dinner - La Grange

The OH and I decided to treat ourselves to a little Xmas trip. Not so much a ski trip per se, but more a short break with some skiing in it.
We looked at various options including Lapland (flights to prohibitive and generally very expensive), going up high to Val T or Tinges (not very “Christmassy” or scenic). Just by chance we found Hotel Du Lac up above Montriond. It had good reviews and looked the part with the setting. So we went for it despite the area not being as snowsure as perhaps we wanted. As it turns out, it wouldn’t have mattered if we went to Val T….the alps has been hit hard with rain!

23rd - Gatwick to Geneva at 6am with EasyJet. I could see Gatwick being renamed “EasyAirport” soon. EJ seem to be taking over! Another oddity is that the long stay parking was £30 difference between the north and south terminal. Very strange in my opinion, so we parked at Long stay south, hopped on the bus, then the tram to transfer to North terminal.
Bag drop was busy but with so many machines, a 5 minute wait max. Sauntered through to security. No wait. Flight left on time in the rain and landed in Geneva to even heavier rain. Landed at 850, was at the Skiidy Gonzales desk with bags by 930. Seriously quick. Annoyingly quick considering for once we weren’t in a rush as we hand a shared transfer but I’m not complaining!
A quick coffee and pastry later and we were off.
Have to say, Skiidy were organised and good. The only thing that was disappointing was the torrential rain!

As we got into the mountains we were greet with torrents of water everywhere. Whilst I wasn’t expecting metres worth of white stuff, one of the fun parts of a ski transfer is seeing the ever increasing snow cover as you get higher. Les Gets was a wash out, as was Morzine. I’d been checking the webcams at the Lake and knew it was still keeping its snow but the lake was gradually defrosting. They’d been out to cut the holes for ice diving the other week….no need for them now!
We arrived in good time at our hotel and was relieved to see still a surprising amount of white stuff about considering the temp and heavy rain.
We weren’t expecting to be able to check in to our room, but it was ready so that was a result. On first impressions, Hotel Du Lac is smart and clean. I saw they had a refurb about 2-3 years ago and they are trying to be a modern, contemporary hotel. I have to say, so far they are impressing me. Friendly staff, nice looking rooms, bar and dining area and obviously a stunning setting.

We were pretty shattered as both been unwell int he run up to our trip and only just recovered, so we had a little nap before heading on the bus up to Ardent to collect the skis from Lac et Montagne Sports. Whilst I expect French ski hire shops to be somewhat chaotic, this place was pushing hard for a shambles. No one really knew what was going on and despite pre-booking seemed a bit miffed I’d had the audacity to turn up. To top it off, there was only us and other couple there so wasn’t exactly rammed. Anyway, we eventually got our planks. Both pairs had seen better days. The edges feel sharp and they are waxed, but new skis (or even 1 season old) they are not. I was considering saying something but we got a good price via a discount from the hotel (which was the sole reason I used them) and with what I was expecting the pistes to be like then scuffed and chipped skis probably aren’t a bad thing……

After that we heading back to the hotel as they were having live music in the bar for the evening. And what a lovely evening it was. The staff were exceptional, the drinks varied and free flowing…just a lovely atmosphere.
And dinner…..very impressed. It’s clear this place has the potential to develop into something special. The price seemed very fair for the quality.

We hit the hay about 11pm as were both shattered. Still raining and warm at this point. We knew the forecast for the next day (today at time writing) was going to be gradually getting better throughout the day. So we planned to not rush out early and would enjoy breakfast whilst waiting to see what would be open before buying a lift pass.

A snowHead

24th

Weather report was showing conditions improving throughout the day, so we decided to not rush out.
Enjoyed a very good breakfast at hotel before heading out to Ardent about 10am.

Very quiet and at this point still light drizzle and poor visibility. But, the pistes were skiing ok all things considered. All links shut due to avalanche risk, so we headed for Avoriaz. We made our way up to top of Choucas and had a hot chocolate at a very quiet Opadcha at about midday. By this pint the weather was starting to break and things were looking up!
We skied back towards home as we were wanting to get into Morzine for 5ish for the Christmas Eve celebrations.
It was an ok day on the pistes. Certainly not the worst I’ve ever had. Considering the recent weather….hats off the the pisteuers.

Caught the bus down to town and headed to village square. Parked up at 1938 and enjoyed some drinks whilst watching the festivities culminating in a very good fire work display. Such a relief for everyone that it was dry and reasonably mild.
We had a reservation at La Grange at 8pm so walked on down. We had the option of the Christmas menu but went off the normal A La Carte. I have to say, what an excellent and reasonably priced experience we had. It was lovely, the staff great and the atmosphere suitably merry.

We then headed to the church to experience midnight mass. Neither of us are religious, however we do like to experience new things and different culture. It was a very beautiful hour or so and we are glad we were able to be part of it.
Our taxi took us back up to the hotel and we hit the hay.

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25th

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We woke up to blue sky and a strange yellow orb in the sky! We have a quick breakfast and got up to the pistes early, wanting to make the most of the day.
The links over into Chatel and Switzerland were open. We headed down to the bottom of Rochassons and up Chaux Rosees. The pistes were rock solid. Not overly enjoyable apart right at the top of Les Blattins.
We headed back up and over and aimed for the top of the Grand Conche to drop onto the Swiss side to Les Crossets. It was very slushy even higher up and it was only about 11am. The have really struggled on that side and the rain has done a lot of damage. We headed up the Crosets lift to come down the red, which was boiler plate. Might as well as had ice skates on.
We called it and headed back into France and made our way to Avoriaz. The runs down to Broucheaux were lovely. The sun was out and it still wasn’t too busy by this point.
We stopped for a hot chocolate and watched the air rescue helicopter come and go twice with injured people. We saw a lot of people struggling throughout the day, not surprised to see a few injuries.
As we got over into Avoriaz it was noticeably busier but still not horrendous. The runs here we ok. A bit of a mixture between hard pack, lovely soft snow and then springy slush. Still, some skiing is better than no skiing. We stopped at Opadcha and the terrace was packed with people enjoying the sun, which was good to see.
We headed back for Avoriaz and the only queue of the day at Tour.

Overall a good day and no better way to spend Christmas Day in my opinion!

We then proceeded to have a superb Christmas dinner at the hotel. Really impressed with the quality of their food.

Looking ahead, more rain predicted in the valley but from about 1600m could be between 5-20cm of fresh stuff which would be a god-send for the area.

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26th
Had a lay in after perhaps over indulging on Christmas Day. So we headed up about 1030ish. Noticeably busier than when we arrived. Obviously the masses are bussing in from Les Gets and Morzine.
Started to notice very light drizzle about 11ish and quite windy. Pistes were as expected, slushy and even coming down the higher runs like Abricotine, brown slush in places. But weirdly, quite fun. I’d rather by skiing poor man’s powder then boiler plate ice.
The weather started to close in about midday so we stopped for a hot chocolate. And then it started raining at Avoriaz. We were expecting some snow from mid afternoon with a snow line going down to about 1500-1600m over night. We headed up Grand Combes and it was snow…but very, very wet. Fingers crossed it continues and the temp drops. It should give the area a much needed 10cm or so.
We called it a day as it really was a bit minging and headed back for the Ardent. We stopped at Lindarets for a vin chaux and it was bucketing it down.

Back at the bar now and we have raclette night to look forward to.

Plan tomorrow is to get up early and head straight for Avoriaz to hopefully make the most of any fresh stuff overnight before heading home on a late fligh

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27th
Well….the promised top up came. Snowline was just above the top of Ardent lift. What a difference a little bit of white stuff makes!

We got up early to check out of the hotel which kindly stored all our stuff for us so we could have one last day on planks.
We were up and away from Ardent by 915, and even then it was noticeably busier than previous days. Little did we know about the carnage that was about to unfold as the masses tried to get up the hill.
We had some fantastic skiing early on. Soft, lovely snow but even by 11 it was starting to get scraped away to reveal the hard stuff or brown underneath.
For the first time on our trip, Cubore lift opened which was lovely not having to trek through Avoriaz with the masses. Unfortunately up the top of Fornet looked like a battlefield. Bodies everywhere.
We decided to head up Intrets where the pistes were wider and fortunately not as busy. A quick stop at the Iglo bar and we decided to head back to home. Took a good half hour to get up Tours but the ski back down to Ardent was actually quite lovely.

We stopped at Lindarets and enjoyed a lovely Tartiflette at La Cremaillere on recommendation from a friend. The food coming out all looked pretty delicious to be fair.
We got back to the hotel, sorted ourselves out and Skiidy collected us at 5pm.
We got a taste of the traffic carnage as town was rammed with everyone coming back down the hill. Took us an hour to do a pick up and get out of Morzine.
Fortunately, Geneva was behaving itself tonight and it was very easy going. Had seen the massive delays from the security incident this morning, but none of that for us by 7pm.

Will write up a final thoughts tomorrow after a good nights sleep!

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Thanks for all the updates@Fridge03, glad you are having fun! Fornet sounds like it was entertaining Laughing

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Yep, thanks @Fridge03 - sounds like staying at Le Lac was a good call. Must get up there for tea some time - my mate raves about it.

After all it is free

@denfinella, @andy from embsay,
Thanks guys.

Final update: a great little trip.
Gatwick - no delays either way which was great considering the border force strikes. Was through in mere moments. Went for long stay parking due to the £60 saving vs short stay. I think it'll be the last time I use it. I easily adds another 20-30 mins which is a drag when trying to get home....I know that's what they want....but the ease of short stay I think is worth it.
Geneva - again super quick both sides. Was a bit worried considering Geneva's reputation as well as the earlier security issues on the day we left. But all good for us.
EasyJet - standard affair really. Inbound flight was delayed as our plane was diverted due to a medical emergency so they had to find a different one. Initially it was saying a 3 hour delay but only ended up being 30 mins.
Skiidy Gonzales - On time and reasonably priced. Can't complain. Was two full shared transfers which was a bit of a squeeze but certainly good value for money.
Lac et Montagne Sports - got a 20% discount from the hotel to book skis here. Wouldn't use again. All the gear looked battered. Had we had been staying for longer or we were expecting better piste/snow conditions I would have asked for a different pair of skis or a refund. The pair of Dynastar they gave me had chunks missing out of them and the edges not particularly sharp. Bear in mind, we booked the second from top option so certainly weren't in the budget category. They also tried to charge me numerous times, despite paying in advance.
La Grange - on advice from fellow snowheads, booked Christmas eve dinner at La Grange. Turned out to be a very wise decision. We had a lovely meal, in a busy, bustling traditional setting. The profiteroles were....wow.
Restaurant La Crémaillère - stopped on advice from friend to have a late lunch here. Lovely setting and had a superb tartiflette.
Hotel Du Lac - what a great place. Found it completely by accident on booking.com. Stunning location and we were happy we were slightly higher than Montriond village and Morzine as it had kept it's snow cover reasonably well which added to the "white Christmas" we wanted. Very easy access to the Ardent lift via the free ski bus that stops literally right outside. Refurbed about 2 and a half years ago, it is clear that they are going for a modern, smart design and decor. And it really works. The bar has a great selection of drinks and does superb cocktails. The rooms, whilst basic are clean, decent sized, ensuite and depending on which one you get have stunning views of the lake and mountains. The food is a cut above. We ate off the a la carte menu which was not only delicious but very reasonably priced considering the quality. The Christmas menu was great take on the traditional turkey and the reblochon mouse desert was incredible. We also partook in the raclette night which....lets be honest...when is raclette not good! However it's unlimited food and wine which again is brilliant value. The staff were an absolute credit to the hotel and really helped make the stay.
Portes du Soleil - Now at the risk of causing some controversy....I don't actually rate the PdS as a ski area.....not in comparison to what is on offer not that far away. Firstly, I understand the reasons why it is popular. The short transfer from Geneva or drive from Calais is a big bonus. And don't get me wrong, there are certainly worse places to go. Plus, any skiing is good skiing! But I just don't see why it ranks so high up or is so often highly talked about. The ski area is large...in total. But not particularly well linked. Les Gets and Morzine are a trek with a bus ride in the middle. Parts of Chatel or the Swiss side aren't that easy to get to. Sure you get a lot of piste on the PDS pass, but not easily accessible in my opinion. And often to get to areas, you have to travel through bottlenecks. Avoriaz is obviously very convenient and snowsure (in most normal years!) but the runs in the area are fairly limited and very busy. I think the Swiss side has the better skiing and tends to be a bit quieter. I dunno, it's hard to really put my finger on it. You get going on a run and then, it ends and its back on the lifts. I think the limited total vertical works against the area.
Don't get me wrong, I have a great time and it's the second time I've skiied the area having stayed in Les Crosets in early March 2020 (before the dreaded CV19 lockdowns). But I don't think I'll be rushing back to the area.

@Fridge03, i know what you mean about bottlenecks but with a bit of local knowledge and willingness to ski rather than queue they’re all avoidable. The reason we like PdS, and chose to buy there, (other than convenience) is the variety of terrain and aspect - compared with some other big areas. Obviously there’s a limited amount of high altitude skiing, which can lead to weeks like this, but in over a decade of skiing there we’ve never had a bad week, certainly nothing as bad as it sounds today. Probably the worst conditions we’ve had was the year we went high and went to Val d’Isere and got soaked!

And for us Morzine has the added benefit of being a great cycling venue in summer, with what seems more than its fair share of big events (TdF 22 and 23, MTB worlds 22 and 23, Dauphinée on a regular basis).

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@Fridge03, I think that is an entirely reasonable and balanced summary.

I also think one of the problems with the PdS is that people (not you) are taken in by the headline 650km of pistes figure, so people expect the skiing to be as extensive as places like the Three Valleys.

In reality, 650km is an enormous exaggeration. The linked area, including the extremities of La Chapelle, Torgon and all the way over to Les Gets and Mont Chery, is only 282km. Then add in the fact that if you are staying in Les Gets you are unlikely to get much out of La Chapelle / Torgon, and vice versa - and you end up with a relatively small central area (Avoriaz and adjoining sectors) which is busy and pretty unremarkable on its own. The variety comes from the quieter offshoot areas - La Chapelle, Mont Chery, Morgins etc.

In January 2020 we stayed in La Chapelle and deliberately focussed our skiing time on that half of the ski area - including Switzerland, La Chapelle, Abondance and Chatel. Next month we're based in St Jean d'Aulps and will hopefully be able to spend more time in Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz - plus St Jean d'Aulps itself.

A big positive for me is that the PdS have some fantastic ski pass deals, especially in low season. Black Friday offers, dynamic pricing in Avoriaz, midweek and weekend discounts, local area reduced rates... when you combine them there is a lot of flexibility. I think it's the best value large area in the world by a considerable margin if you are able to take advantage of these deals. This January we'll be getting 9 days skiing for under £200pp. That is unbeatable value.

As for the snow reliability - it is a weakness and will become more so in the coming decades. For now, I think it's worth the risk. Spend a week in the Portes du Soleil in midwinter and it is quite likely you will still encounter rain or some pistes closed due to lack of snow. But equally if you go to Val / Tignes it is quite likely you will encounter days where most of the area is stormbound and some pistes will be closed due to avalanche danger.

The least and poorest quality snow I've had to date has been in Alpe d'Huez in mid January - which is one of the higher French ski areas. The most snow I've had was in the Espace Diamant which is close to and has similar skiing altitudes to the Portes du Soleil. Who knows - maybe there'll be a new contender after this season wink

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@Fridge03 - absolutely get your point - we get a day in pretty much any French ski area on our season passes, and 4 days in Verbier so we do need to spread our wings. But having skied Flaine, Espace Killy, 2 alpes, deux alpes, les arcs and alpe d’huez (oh - and St Anyon) over the last 20 years or so we decided on Morzine.

But I can absolutely get what you mean - if you were going to choose an area to ski for a week it might not be the first choice.

PS - just seen the point about value: €500 for the season for PdS.

You know it makes sense.

@Fridge03, Enjoyed your reports snowHead

My gang went to the PDS in early 2020 in good conditions and really loved it. Staying in Chatel, the new 2-way Gabelou lift link to Linga made us feel we could explore the whole area.

I believe that lift is borked atm due to a weather incident and without that, and with some runs closed, the scope of the area is severely restricted.

They could do with a link from Super-Morzine to Pleney but perhaps that's a bridge too far

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

@Fridge03, I sympathise with your overall verdict on Portes du Solais. Somehow it feels disconnected. Obviously that is true of Mont Chery, and of the Pleney-Les Gets area compared with the rest, but somehow Avoriaz feels different to Chatel, and most of the Swiss side resorts feel separate. Obviously that is true of many mega-resorts (for example the fact that there are Three Valleys tells you so) but the place is somehow not quite satisfying.

But then the positives of easy access for Geneva, very English for the xenophobes, and a thriving summer season as long as you are a mountain biker.

@red 27, does anyone know what came of the plan to build a new gondola connecting Morzine town to Prodains for Avoriaz? The idea was for an underground "magic carpet" connecting the new station with Pleney. But I haven't been there for a while, so I don't know whether that remains on the back boiler after Covid.

A snowHead

@Fridge03, good to read your reports, and interesting to see your thoughts on the area.

I visited Jan 15, Jan 19, Jan 20, Mar 22, 3 times in Morzine, once in Avoriaz.

Feel like I know the area pretty well now, but still lots of the area I've barely skied, particularly the Super Chatel, Torgon side of the area. Have also not touched St Jean D'Aulps, La Chapelle d'Abondance or Abondance at all.

I think you're right re altitude and vertical metre's of piste, but something about the area brings me back, partly the super convenience, also knowing some people out there, and the familiarity of knowing an area.

What I love mostly about the area, is that feeling of travel, and I feel similar in places like the Sella Ronda. We're currently in Tignes, and the altitude works wonders on a week like this, albeit we're not actually lift/piste skiing, but having been here before, you don't get that same sort of travel as you do in the PdS, imho. Probably due to the fact the ski area is predominantly an East to West layout, where as the PdS is more of a loop.

Each to their own though of course, and it would be really boring if we all just liked the same thing!

A snowHead

@j b, I hadn't heard of that plan - it would be helpful.

They could really do with a Vanoise Express type thing going from super Morzine bubble top station right over to (say) the Des Mouiles (sp) lift but it's hardly practical for obvious reasons

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@Fridge03, Great report and enjoyed reading your perspective on the area. Think you were very unlucky with the conditions which were not ideal to get the most from the area and your excellent central location.

Perfect storm of busiest European holiday period (all countries on holidays this week), lack of skiing below 1500m, no skiing in Super Chatel, Morzine(?), broken Châtel link, and convergence of skiers from lower resorts all contributed to the carnage. Contrast this from when there are excellent conditions, which is mostly every holiday period, crowds either stay local or disperse quickly making good skiing between 11-3 when everyone has settled into an area.

We chose PDS as our 2nd home due to year round multi-sport options and proximity to GVA that has many flight options from Heathrow as we live in west London. We go there a lot for short stints as able to work from home on some days but agree may not be the best place for a week-long holiday when the snow is dodgy. PDS is ideal for out lifestyle. We did 3 x 2 week stints last season and we probably had 5 days of rain in total of which 3 were too wet to leave the house and probably bad everywhere in the northern alps.

Looking forward to your next report.

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@red 27, that was clearly an active project in 2019 when we were thinking of buying an Alpine bolthole, there was a detailed scoping document on the Mairie website. The town lift station would be near the current bus station, with the link magic carpet under the road opposite the Pleney entrance. There still seems to be a summary description on line here https://elevationalps.com/proposed-improvements-for-morzine-to-avoriaz-connection/

But then Covid. No idea whether it is still a possibility. (And we ended up buying in St Gervais, so haven't followed the story).

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@Ozboy - yes, the election was basically a referendum on the new gondola and it was fairly strongly against I think. The new maire have said they’ll look at ways of relieving the bus traffic by (maybe) extending the Super Morzine gondola up to the Lindarets ridge.

But yep - covid.

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Thanks for your counter points everyone.

Just to be clear again, we still had a fab time. And when we stayed on the Swiss side a couple of years ago we had some wonderful skiing. 1 metre of overnight snow gave us one of the best days skiing we’ve ever had. And then the next day, it rained…all day….
So I guess it all comes down to what you want from a resort. Which is something I love about the sport and mountains. Something, somewhere for everyone.
I really see the attraction as a second home or a perfect spot for a short escape (as we did ourselves!).

And I fully appreciate that this a bit like moaning about winning a brand new car in competition but you aren’t too keen on the colour! Very Happy

After all it is free

Great revue @Fridge03, we are going back for holiday 4 now with Family Ski, based out of Ardent so are well familiar with Hotel du Lac lovely little spot.
I think with any ski holiday now it's so weather dependent, and it seemsnlikenPdS has enough different aspect slopes to cope and as others have said not even the high resorts have escape the rain.
We drive down so having the car opens things up a lot.

Help!!

Trip Report - Montriond/Avoriaz/Morzine 23rd - 27th Dec

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