 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, I’m in morzine from Saturday with a nervous skier who only took up skiing in her mid 40s (kudos)
We were in Les Gets last year and she most enjoyed the wide blues under Chavannes and the easiest blues down into the bowl. We got over to morzine at one point but piste B and some of the others off the pleney got a bit stressful.
Looking at the weather and the likely snow conditions, I need a plan for Avoriaz that she’ll enjoy coming up on the super morzine lift.
I’ve never skied there so wondered if there was an enjoyable and (very) easy loop on blues that we could do? If not a loop, which of the blues down to lindarets might be an option?
Mega busy slopes are a problem too but I don’t suppose there’s much can be done about that!
Grateful for any advice or suggestions please, many thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Proclou is about as gentle a blue as you could find anywhere.
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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 Proclou has a steep-ish hundred metres at the start, but is long and gentle for the rest- and it's quite long. The Combe Floret down to Lindarets has a little steep at the start, but is so gentle you have to pole a bit later on! If you can already ski (had lessons?) you should be fine on those. Later in the week, the blue off the top of Choucas is a lovely wide (mainly) and long one.
At the bottom of Proclou, there is the Serausaix (sp) lift and the run is a few km, and also very gentle. At the top of that lift is a nice bar/bistro to have a well earned rest at.
On kudos, we were 58 and 54 respectively! 
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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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Following with interest as Avoriaz is one of our contenders for next season.
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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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Agree about the runs off Serausaix (or how ever you spell it) too, in fact the little blue to nowhere down to the drag lift there (Baron) is a bit steeper but a consistent pitch, usually nicely softened up (gets sunshine) and almost always deserted.
The blue boulevard under Plateaux chair is also fairly steady but gets chopped up a lot as the day goes on so get on it early.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@IndigoJoe,
Tetras in Super Morzine Area is nicer than Zore.
If the full length of Zore piste Opens then the very bottom section can turn steep and choppy and Tetras is nicer.
Sometimes the pisters (ski-patrol) open the 3/4 length of Zore piste then they funnel you over to Tetras via a short-cut.
Stick with Tetras in that area ahead of using Zore.
As others have said, Proclu is nice and wide.
Moving up a notch in difficulty.
Prolays is wider but steeper and will bring you to Les Linderets.
Blues to Avoid…..
Crot (the run that takes you to Prodains).
Grand Plan under ‘Chaux Fleurie’ lift out of Linderets. Gets narrow and very choppy.
Patchets piste under Ardent gondola is probably steep and another one to avoid for a nervous skier.
Top tip for next week and all the new forecasted snow………
Get on the slopes early (very early) before they have become mega chopped up. If there is lots of new snow they will become more choppy (and challenging) as the day progresses.
P.S. you might need some ‘hot hands’ hand warmers next week
As it’s forecast to be cold.
P.P.S. Ski tree lined slopes in a white out to help with visibility/perception/flat light.
P.P.P.S
In the French resorts all piste market poles have an orange tip on the skiers RIGHT HAND SIDE of the piste.
The ones on the skiers left don’t have an orange tip.
So if you go through two piste markers with Orange Tips you have gone off piste to the right.
If you go through two piste marker poles without orange tips you have gone off piste to your left.
Explained here…….
https://www.latania.co.uk/blog/2019/04/08/poor-visibility-and-the-piste-markers-with-the-highlighted-tips/
have fun.
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| @247snowman wrote: |
@IndigoJoe,
P.P.P.S
In the French resorts all piste market poles have an orange tip on the skiers RIGHT HAND SIDE of the piste.
The ones on the skiers left don’t have an orange tip. |
Not sure that's universal across all French resorts. Not even sure it's the case in (all/any?) of the French Portes du Soleil areas.
There is a nearly-universal system in Switzerland though, including in the PdS, whereby the skier's right side of the piste has a long orange tip and the left a short one. "Left is less" is an easy way to remember it. Worth remembering for those white-out days.
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@Chaletbeauroc,
I sometimes have a chuckle when I come out of Morgins and into the Chatel Neuf sector and see the piste marker orange tip system change and have a visible sign I’ve changed countries.
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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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Thanks to all for the tips.
I’ve mostly been watching the weather info on here this week but what a brilliant site this is for people taking the time to share useful knowledge.
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Depending just HOW nervous your friend is you may want to take the A bus to Prodains and bubble up the first day. The reason I say this is while 99% of the run between the S-M and Avoriaz is either green or beginner ski school blue the first 30m off the top of the Proclou chair to loop back onto the Proclou run can be a bit...intimidating so maybe not the first piece of non-green skiing to drop a really nervous skier into. If you go the bus route you can drop down and take the Lac Intrets chair up and you're in a bowl of mega wide blues that drop back down to the same place so you can usually find a quiet line even wien it's busy.
You can then ski back, taking the Tour chair up from the bottom of that bowl at which point you have the slightly intimidating section at the top of the Proclou chair - but at the end of the day when confidence is hopefully up and setting you up to ski across the next day rather than at the start, potentially knocking confidence before 10am.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Proclou has a steep 100m start? Any shallower and you'd grind to a halt. You need that tad of slope at the start so you actually have a hope of making it to a chair at the bottom of Proclou without poling/walking.
Admittedly, there is a little bit of a kerfuffle at the start of Proclou given folk descending from Falaise as well as coming in from the side tunnel/bridge, but after the 20m wide starting piste it then spreads out into a 60-90m wide flat piste, with funky options off to the right (roller coaster, etc.). With such a wide piste, collisions can only occur between those who set out to prove them possible.
For early intermediates up, Proclou is the best start to the day - especially if you have any doubt as to your ability.
Tetras and Zore are delightful, my favourite runs in Avoriaz. They can be performed at a slow/sedate pace and will be relaxing. Alternatively, with skill, and some vitesse, they can be pleasantly challenging. In the right conditions - ecstatic.
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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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Hi,
I just wanted to thank you for all the information on this thread. I am a nervous skiier and wanted to test out my ski legs on this holiday before having some lessons next time I get to go. We just had a few days in Avoriaz and were fortunate enough to get some lovely snowfall while there. This made the previous day of slush and ice much more worth it!
Anyway for any future nervous skiiers in Avoriaz here's my input. As others have said Proclou is great. The top section, off the Proclou lift, is slightly intimidating for a nervous person as it's at a junction with the nice La Crete run. However, this is the steepest section of the whole run and is definitely manageable - no wobbles even from my wobbly legs! The whole thing was a pure joy and I did it so many times while we were there. As my confidence grew, I even enjoyed the slush (kind of) and the ice as I was able to go faster - something I never thought I'd say! And after the snowfall, it was like skiing on a cloud! So Proclou is a definite nice one.
La Crete is also a fine one - it's not that wide but is mostly a gentle slope with just a short slightly steeper section (much like the start of Proclou) but nothing too scary - it's also really useful as a connecting blue to get you from one piste to another in a non-scary way.
The other nice one was Combe Du Floret. This is mostly fab - the start looks steepish but actually is fine and then there is lots of lovely tree skiing and even a flat bit near the end where you have to pole along a bit. At the bottom of that, you end up in the Lindarette area.
A nice (not scary) option from there is to get the Lechere lift up and descend on a very manageable green of the same name. That got a bit annoying for the last 2 markers as it was a bit uphill but it was a good one to learn to 'let go' and allow yourself to go faster downhill to get further up the uphill bit. Again you end up in the Lindarette area so you can repeat the green or take the Prolays lift up and do La Crete either back down to Combe Du Floret or the other way to go down Proclou again.
Other people have said the runs through town can get cut up and busy - true. The Dromonts green run was gentler and less busy (than the blue Boulevard de Skiiers) but again some uphill pole work needed after the tunnel. If you can put up with that, you can head down from that onto a very short and manageable blue called Melezes - this takes you to a chair called Tours which takes you up to La Crete where you can choose from Proclou or Combe Du Floret.
Finally, when I was feeling a bit more confident, I headed down Cavagnes (some call this Prolays as it follows the Prolays lift). It did have a couple of steeper sections but these were wide and you could select shallower parts of the slope to turn. I did the same on the Parchet run down to the Ardent parking area. I did these last two twice and didn't exactly enjoy them but felt OK (and pleased that I'd managed OK).
Sapinette was really steep at the start and really scared me so I avoided that! The 3 blues off the top of the Lac Intrets lift had steep, exposed and partly icy bits. Same with Grand Plan and Abricotine and same with Crot (though Crot was the kindest of these).
I know lessons are key but I hope this note gives other nervy people confidence to try some of these pistes.
Finally, just a note to say that as we were there late in the season the final blues down towards Super Morzine were closed. From memory, Tetras is lovely and manageable though.
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All, this is a really useful thread - thanks to everyone who contributed. I'll be testing all this out ni a few weeks.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
| @247snowman wrote: |
@IndigoJoe,
P.P.P.S
In the French resorts all piste market poles have an orange tip on the skiers RIGHT HAND SIDE of the piste.
The ones on the skiers left don’t have an orange tip. |
Not sure that's universal across all French resorts. Not even sure it's the case in (all/any?) of the French Portes du Soleil areas.
There is a nearly-universal system in Switzerland though, including in the PdS, whereby the skier's right side of the piste has a long orange tip and the left a short one. "Left is less" is an easy way to remember it. Worth remembering for those white-out days. |
Left is less works with the French system too.
I saw a warning about this on top of Mossettes last week, no idea why I never noticed these.
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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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So, to be clear, in Avoriaz the markers on the right hand side of the piste have orange tips?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Yep.
- France has nothing on the left, short orange tip on right.
- Swiss has long orange tip on the left, long orange tip on right.
It's only relevant in very bad weather!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Owlette wrote: |
| Following with interest as Avoriaz is one of our contenders for next season. |
Avoriaz is brilliant and you wont have any regrets booking there for next year! Snow sure, pedestrianised village, lots of varied slopes for all abilities, access to a wider skiing area and lots to do off the slopes!
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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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| patrick! wrote: |
Yep.
- France has nothing on the left, short orange tip on right.
- Swiss has long orange tip on the left, long orange tip on right.
It's only relevant in very bad weather! |
AdH uses an orange disc attached to the right hand pole rather than a coloured tip, but it has the same meaning even if the mnemonic doesn't work. Perhaps "right is 'range" but you have to say it in the ridiculous accent of the old Cointreau Christmas advert (showing my age).
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FAQ
