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Chatel
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Poster:
A snowHead
Poster:
A snowHead
Hi Guys,
I'm off skiing to Chatel shortly and in light of the current conditions being a bit wet I was having a look around at neighbouring resorts as I'll get the full lift pass. Avoriaz seems to have better conditions but seems to be quite a distance from Chatel. Is it possible to ski over there from chatel and back in a day comfortably or is it too far? I am an average intermediate skier.
In addition to this i'd love to hear anyones hints and tips of where to go, good runs etc etc in Chatel as this is my first trip to the Portes du Soleil
Thanks
Mac
Obviously
A snowHead
isn't a real person
Obviously
A snowHead
isn't a real person
The_Mac_Daddy
,
I just got back yesterday from my first trip to the PdS and I'm sure you'll have a great time. There was lots of snow falling (above 1300m) the week I was there. Up high (especially Avoriaz), the snow is excellent.
I was based in Morzine but did head Chatel way one day. As long as you're prepared for a relatively early start (9ish) you'll get to Avoriaz and back no problem.
From my basic knowledge, you need to head to Pre La Joux (I suspect there's a bus service). It's only a couple of lifts then until you ski down to the Linderets area, the first part of Avoriaz. There are several lifts here that will get you to Avoriaz properly in about 7 minutes and its very scenic (even in dense cloud....).
Above Linga / Pre La Joux are some lovely red runs that contained some of the best skiing I had all week. There's an infamous black too (Le Renard) that is perpetually shut (avalanche risk) but loads of people were skiing it when I was there.
Other people on this site are based in the PdS and will have better in depth knowledge. It might be worth you searching the Avoriaz/Morzine/Les Gets/Chatel thread on the snow reports section as there's plenty of tips on there too that were very useful to me.
One thing I did notice - the piste map I was given had closing times of last lifts that are quite useful when planning return journey's but lifts are running later than suggested, which is worth checking.
If you get as far as Avoriaz I can thoroughly recommend Les Trappeur for a lunch stop (by the Stade and Boulevard lifts) but get there before 12 to bag a table.
Hope this is of some help, enjoy you're skiing...
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?
The_Mac_Daddy
- there's a regular, free bus service from Chatel to Pre La Joux and it's then a couple of chair lifts up and over to the Linderats bowl and then Avoriaz (although the snow around Linga / Plaine Dranse is still supposed to be very good). I reckon it's no more than a 40 minute journey over.
Do take a credit card though - just in case you get stuck
djrlewis wrote:
There's an infamous black too (Le Renard) that is perpetually shut (avalanche risk) but loads of people were skiing it when I was there.
Ah, my favourite run...and I've not been there for weeks...
It seems to be shut for one of three reasons:
- avalanche risk from the slope above (I saw someone cause a slide there about 8 weeks ago - so now understand why)
- it's rocky and takes a lot of covering
- they've just not opened it yet.
It's a run of two halves - the top section is invariably ok to ski as long as you take care (do pay attention for rocks though). The bottom half can be awfully thin - although you can bail out left to the red run. I'd recommend taking the chairlift (Chaux des Roses) over the run first to inspect it before you ski it.
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PhillipStanton wrote:
The bottom half can be awfully thin - although you can bail out left to the red run. I'd recommend taking the chairlift (Chaux des Roses) over the run first to inspect it before you ski it.
To add to this, the top half seemed fine (through the snow shower from the lift), but the entry to the bottom half was baricaded and as a consequence the rock had been exposed all along the top due to side-slipping as people tried to find an entry point. After this cover became good again and quite a few (including me) were actually coming over from the red (which was fantastic until this point) to avoid the slush moguls and crowds at the bottom.
As you stand in line at the TS Chaux des Roses I can recommend the resteraunt diagonally up to your left (couldn't see a name to it) - heaters going to dry your gloves and very good food and vin chaud.
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Poster: A snowHead
