 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, been to the PDS a couple of times staying Morzine/avoriaz. I know my way around and to Les Crosets and Chatel.
Looking at the map now what I can't work out is the area around Morgins, Champoussin and the other side of the road in Chatel (tour De Don side?).
It looks quite a hassle getting from there back to Avoriaz area, and quite a bitty area. Would be on piste - I guess my question is, is it worth trying to get there and back, or is it a fair trek for not much gain over what is available closer?
Am going in mid Jan so shouldn't be too busy. We're boarding so prefer hills to be hills...
As a footnote - how do you get back?? Zig zag through Champoussin to drop into Les Crosets via Pointe de l'Au?
Any thoughts appreciated!
Couldn't care less about doing a circuit, but like trying new areas
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We ski to Morgins and back to Avoriaz starting at Super Morzine. Mossettes - long boring blue, chair up and zig zag back.
Ive been corrected by my husband - we started at Prodains and took chair down Swiss wall. We were there and back in under 5hrs including two coffee stops.
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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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Starting from Morgins I can get to the far side (i.e. Fornet/Grandes Combes area) of Avoriaz in about an hour and a half going in either direction, it's really not complicated. Going towards Avoriaz via Champoussin and Champery uses five lifts to drop down from Mossettes into the Lindarets area, the first of which has just been replaced with a brand spanking new (opened today) gondola at Foilleuse )i.e. from the middle of Morgins village) which will shave five minutes off the uplift time.
Coming towards Morgins can be even simpler, skiing all the way from Mossettes to the village, although if you're on a board you need to be good, as there's quite a lot, as in several km, of shallow gradient to negotiate. My mate Neil who I've skiied with for years can manage it in all but the worst conditions, but many boarders will find three or four sections where they may need to unclip and scoot or walk for a couple of hundred metres. The zig-zag return tom Morgins is a bit of a hassle, including a log steepish T-bar, again most boarders are fine, but some find it difficult.
In the other direction the links between Morgins and Chatel quite often don't open until late January, and may close early March in a bad season. But there's a regular free bus service taking just a couple of minutes between the car park at the lac de Vonnes, where you take one of two chair lifts to and from the Linga or SuperChatel areas and Morgins (runs as an extension of the existing Morgins Navette service) so in practice there's never really an issue.
The Tour de Don/Torgon/Abondance area is often overlooked by Avoriaz-ites but is well worth making the effort to ski. It should be regarded as a side excursion from SuperChatel, gve yourself at least a couple of hours there to make it worthwhile. But starting from Avoriaz proper you could easily get there and back in am hour each way, so there's plenty of time to not be in a hurry once you get there. Nothing particularly bad for boarders, just one flat area between drag lifts below the Chalet Neuf area which even skiers often struggle on, but only for a couple of hundred metres max.
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Thanks both that's super helpful.
@chaletbeauroc I'll have a look at the map again and might have the odd further question so thanks!
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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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The old 3 man chair that has now finally been replaced was the first ski lift I ever went on so naturally I have a real soft spot for Morgins. Not much to add to the great info above. I really enjoy the Swiss side and it's often quieter than the French. When travelling from Morgins to Avoriaz you'll see the Swiss Wall above Les Crosets, worth a look if nothing else and can be a lot of fun on a board if the conditions are right. The long blue back to Morgins is not to be underestimated and was my nemesis for several years, you can't really scrub any speed if you have any hope of not having to unstrap.
Edit: Read your OP properly and see you're familiar with Les Crosets - my bad.
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Alpage La Chaux is the one we like to stop at.
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Thanks again!
That tedious flat blue into you're describing doesn't sound particularly fun - presumably I could just drop down through Chatel from Chaux Fleurie and either:
- get the bus from TC du Linga to Petit Chatel, drop into Plan de Croix and across
- bus to TC Super Chatel and accross
- get the gabelou lift and then up Super Chatel and accross
Then back to Les Crosets through Champoussin.
Does that sound about right and any of those options sound better/worse than others? Obviously if ok for time could explore a bit around Super Chatel/Petit Chatel.
Also - I'm pretty sure last couple of times I've been there the Avoriaz side Mosettes chair hasn't been running; bad luck or fairly typical?
Thank you again!
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@ja203, I’d always go the Gabelou route given a choice - down from Chaux Fleurie, up Chaux des Rosés, over to the Les Combes chair then drop down Linga and keep bearing right til you get to Gabelou - quick shuffle over to the other chair (Portes du Soleil?) at Vonnes and you’re in the Super Chatel area.
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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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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| @ja203, I’d always go the Gabelou route given a choice - down from Chaux Fleurie, up Chaux des Rosés, over to the Les Combes chair then drop down Linga and keep bearing right til you get to Gabelou - quick shuffle over to the other chair (Portes du Soleil?) at Vonnes and you’re in the Super Chatel area. |
This. Better than faffing with the bus and having to hike uphill from the church square to the Super Chatel telecabine.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| @ja203, I’d always go the Gabelou route given a choice - down from Chaux Fleurie, up Chaux des Rosés, over to the Les Combes chair then drop down Linga and keep bearing right til you get to Gabelou - quick shuffle over to the other chair (Portes du Soleil?) at Vonnes and you’re in the Super Chatel area. |
Indeed, I'd only ever view the bus from Linga as an option if you need to get to the village centre or other stops en route, although there was a period last season with the reduced speed Gabelou (now fully operational again) where they were actually running a bus from the top to the bottom of the lift at busy times. I could imagine that if you're really short on time it might be marginally quicker to ski down to get the bus from the bottom of Pre la Joux, cutting out all three of those lifts, but obviously only as a last resort and knowing the timings.
| DJL wrote: |
This. Better than faffing with the bus and having to hike uphill from the church square to the Super Chatel telecabine. |
I'd never even considered this as an option, TBH. I mean, why would you? The bus goes to Vonnes anyway and the PdS chairlift is much quicker overall.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@ja203,
I love the area around Morgins, as I did my first full season there in 1988.
We regularly board round Tour de Don, Chalet-Neuf area, it's fine so long as you know the bits where you need a bit of speed. ( I was there yesterday ). Chermeau lift has been closed a couple of days lately so you need to go all the way up the the Bec de Corbeau to get back to Super Chatel (it's only 2 lifts instead of one, so no great shakes). It's all drag lifts in that sector, but if you're a half decent boarder than thats fine too.
From Avoriaz, the quickest way would be Mosettes, then the Col Du portes du Soleil, but that's a bit dull. Going via the Defago is a bit more fun, though still a schlepp along the forest road - these both put you at the bottom of La Fouilleuse, so you'd need to take the new lift up again (I've not been on this yet, so looking forward to that ).
Going Via the Pt De L'Au and Champoussin is more engaging on a board, and gets you to the Champoussin area that you mentioned.
There's some great spots for boarders there ( Gap in the Rocks and Forest above the main bowl, and also the Savolaire bowl and forest, but get a local instructor to show you these first )
Yesterday the off-piste around the Tour de Don was crusty for the most part, but I did manage to find some soft stuff in a couple of places.
The off-piste down the side of the black from the road into Crosets was death-biscuit central, so the hard pack black was more fun.
We had a dabble in the top of the right most gulley in LC, but it's crust, hard pack on one the shady side, and rock and grass on the sunny side, so would leave those till theres more 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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Perfect thank you. That's all really good info!
How tedious are the final bits of the Defago/road?
Crust and hard pack Vs rock and grass... Nice
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| ja203 wrote: |
How tedious are the final bits of the Defago/road?
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The road is fine, and nice and relaxing glide through the woods.
You won't need to skate if your board was recently waxed, or if you ride it flat, or you're nice and heavy. Perm any 2 from 3 and you'll be grand.
The area just to the right of the pisted part of the Defago rides pretty nicely after a dump, but try to carry a little speed for when you turn right onto the forest road.
I am hoping that with the renewal of the Foilleuse lift, that the 'O' resto at the top will up it's game.
@ChaBeauRo what's it like this season ?
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You know it makes sense.
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| ja203 wrote: |
How tedious are the final bits of the Defago/road?
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It joins the previously mentioned run from the Col des Portes du Soleil which is called Tovassiere, Skiing down Didier Defago, which has a gorgeous steep black run (or carry on round the corner to take the blue instead) cuts out perhaps half of the flatter part. It's actually a really pleasant run, mostly shaded until late in the season, but only has a couple of places where you could stop for a rest and restart without walking, IYSWIM. But it's not long enough that you should need to stop. Never done it on a board myself, but most boarders seem to cope just fine.
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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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As a boarder. I’ve done most of the PDS but never Champoussin as I’ve always dreaded the drag lifts. Is there a route to avoid them and just use chairlifts as I’d like to go there. I don’t mind the little drag Gueilly from Les Crosets as I think unless I’m wrong that’s the only way to get over there. If anyone could help I’d love to go there but don’t really want to do the drags if that’s possible
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Poster: A snowHead
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I see the first blue down from the Gueilly goes past (the map says it doesn’t stop there) the Pointe De L’Au chairlift. Is it possible to get on that lift from that run as if you carry on it looks like a drag lift back up. If I can get on that first lift I can see a way of doing quite a few runs via chairlifts and the going home happy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@simonsaysowot, Yes, the path from Gueilly comes out just above the Point de l'Au chair, which then allows you to ski down Didier deFago back to the village. Otherwise you need to take the very long and steep Derrier Pertuis T bar to get home.
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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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So I can get on that chairlift from that run then and I don’t have to go to the bottom and get the drag back up then? Is that right?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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And also is there anyway to get to that area (Champoussin) and not do the Gueilly drag lift please?
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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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| simonsaysowot wrote: |
| So I can get on that chairlift from that run then and I don’t have to go to the bottom and get the drag back up then? Is that right? |
Yes.
| simonsaysowot wrote: |
| And also is there anyway to get to that area (Champoussin) and not do the Gueilly drag lift please? |
Yes, you can walk;-) It's actually a really short and slow lift, fixed bars, so no taking off or jerking, easy as they come. Would probably only take ten minutes to walk up if you really could not do it.
It's always felt like a weak point in the lift system, but there is no other way of getting back except to take a bus, which I've done a couple of times when the wind had closed the Mossettes chair out of les Crosets.
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Thats great thank you very much. I can do drags as a boarder but hate the jerky ones as they usually press/pull on my hamstring which is a little weak. I can see from the map that I can do at least two chairlifts on the upper part of the resort but it seems if I go lower I will need to do drags unless anyone or you know differently from your experience
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@simonsaysowot, You need the one easy drag to get directly down to Morgins, and at least the one somewhat dodgy (for un-confident boarders) T-bar to go via Champoussin.
There are several lower slopes, including a gorgeous long practically unused cruisy blue round from underneath the start of the Pte de l'Au chair to the lower part of the village, which need further drag lifts to get back up to the chairlift level. Definitely worthwhile but not needed if you just want to get round as quickly as possible.
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That’s great thanks very much. It seems I would need as you say to do the Derrière Pertuis drag lift I think to get to other stuff such as Morgan’s etc
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