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Les Gets - Which Pass and How far can I go?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
We (two families) are going to Les Gets this year (Feb Half term week). We've skied for a number of years now, and the kids (girls 11-13) are comfortable on any blue, and will go down a red (if I don't tell them what colour it is when they start Smile ). (Wives aren't so gullible... so generally we're stuck on Blue Sad )

I'm wondering which ski pass to go for? Will we get frustrated with the Les-Gets sector pass, or are there enough blues within that area so that they'll be happy?

Are we realistically going to spend more than a day over in Avoriaz?

Last year (La Plagne) I dragged everyone from Plagne1800 over to Les Arcs 2000 and back again. This year, I've suggested we ski from Les Gets (fra) over to Switzerland (probably Les Crosets) and back. Is that realistic? The route from Morzine to Avoriaz looks like a bottleneck. Bear in mind that the wives and children don't ski as fast as most others.

Any advice would be appreciated.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Welcome to snowHeads jamescollings.

Les Gets and Morzine sounds ideal for your group. With the group you describe then I'd stick with a Morzine/Les Gets pass, but make sure that I got over to Mont Chery which is covered by the Morzine/Les Gets pass.

Les Crosets and back is eminently do-able. I reckon it would take you about 2-2.5 hours with the skiers you describe. But the good thing about doing "there and back" is that you can set a time limit and just turn around when you hit the time limit. Probably the hardest part of the journey is the run down from Mossettes to Les Crosets.



Edit to remove incorrect statement about Super Morzine being on the Morzine / Les Gets pass.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 19-12-11 17:34; edited 1 time in total
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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?
FlyingStantoni, Super Morzine is not covered with a Morzine/Les Gets pass you need an Avoriaz pass for this one.
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jamescollings, frustratingly the Les Gets/Morzine pass doesn't give the option for an upgrade to the Portes du Soleil pass - you have to buy a full PdS day pass. If you only do it once you are better off then having got a 6 day PdS but as soon as you do it twice you would have been better off getting the wider area pass in the first place.

... that said I think that your group will be very happy on the local pass given good conditions. Lots of nice cruisy blues along with a few more challenging bits for those that want them.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
ctskifam wrote:
jamescollings, frustratingly the Les Gets/Morzine pass doesn't give the option for an upgrade to the Portes du Soleil pass - you have to buy a full PdS day pass.

I thought I read here somewhere that it is possible to get a discount on a one-day PdS pass if you turn up with your LGM pass. I seem to recall something about only being able to get it in Les Get and on the day before. Must do some research...
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snowandtrek wrote:
FlyingStantoni, Super Morzine is not covered with a Morzine/Les Gets pass you need an Avoriaz pass for this one.

Thanks for the correction.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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ctskifam, andyph, we have had a small discount on an Avoriaz day pass by buying the night before in the Maison de Gets office. You have to leave your LGM pass with them until you get back from Avoriaz. This doesn't work however when you leave it until you get to lift office at Ardent where the grumpy lady there denies all knowledge of any discount for LGM pass holders "that's up to Les Gets if they want to give a discount" Twisted Evil

We are going to book our passes this evening, spent sometime dithering last night over LGM v's PDS. In reality we will probably go to Avoriaz twice and maybe a day in St Jean to escape the New Year crowds Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Lou, is that deal published anywhere, or is it just down to bare-faced cheek/the luck of the Irish? wink
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Lou, don't you just love these customer focussed organisations ...
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andyph wrote:
Lou, is that deal published anywhere, or is it just down to bare-faced cheek/the luck of the Irish? wink


Can't say I've seen it anywhere Laughing OH got it just by asking so he gets to sort it out every time now Toofy Grin
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ctskifam, Laughing always grumpy at Ardent imo

Now we have many many old hands free passes which we always hope will give us a free day or two. That's his next project. We've asked several times but they don't seem to count for anything but others mention redeeming 'points' Confused
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Lou, on your PdS "hands free" pass, somewhere in the blue printing on the back, along with the date, type of pass etc, will be the word "bonus" and a number. This number goes up every time you put more days on the card, and once it gets to 200, you can get a free day's full area PdS pass on that card.

It can get hard to read it, especially when the card has been overprinted a few times, but you can always ask the friendly local pass office Very Happy "combien de bonus?" (yes, yes, I know, I'm fluent)

Importantly though, you can't combine points together from different cards, so you need to pick the ones with the highest totals and use those. We fell foul of this as well, ending up with about 20 cards with 15 points on each. Now when friends visit, we lend them a card and get their bonus points.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
sanman, You're spot on on the bonus points.

We have about 15 cards and I always recharge to fullest ones until they tip over the 200 mark and earn a free day. In fact I rarely buy a PDS pass. I just charge up one of the cards on a day we have decided to just ski Chatel or Morzine / Les Gets and use the free ones for PDS days. You'ld be surprised how much skiing you can do without the full PDS pass.

The real afficionados can take it to another level. Don't charge the card which is fullest, select one (having worked out how many points our selected pass will earn) that takes you just to 200. That way you don't waste any points! Then again I am a Yorkshireman.

I think the equation is 10 one day PDS passes = one free day.

Noticed that there is a 9 day non consecutive PDS pass this year that runs over the whole season. Looks a good option for someone like me who can't quite justify a season pass.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
sanman, DJL, thanks both, I am off to scrutinise now Very Happy
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Right.... after much research we've decided to just buy full PdS passes for the whole week. This will let us go over to Morzine and all the way to Les Crosets on any day we choose (depending upon the weather when we wake up at Les Gets, and the weather that we see when we got to Avoriaz). The "buy the night before" was tempting, but the cynic in me thinks it is doomed to failure. With the full PdS passes we could just pootle around at Morzine if we feel like it, too.

Remaining question then:
Looking at the piste map again, I can see that there are three routes over to Switzerland
1) Over the top of Chavanette which is black
2) Over the top of Ponte de Vorlaz which is red
3) Over Pointe De Mossette which is blue

Is that correct? Or have I missed a sneaky Red that will catch us out on route3.. or alternatively a helpful blue on route 1/2? Puzzled
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
jamescollings, the route you are saying "Over the top of Ponte de Vorlaz which is red" (which isn't actually over the Pointe de Vorlaz, but I'm guessing you mean the one near the Cubore chair) has been remodelled and rather helpfully has a black, red and blue in that order dropping off a path. I'm a big fan of the black, which is nice and steep, but pisted, so you can really attack it. The blue is a path and a doodle to get down.

That whole bit of hill is really nice now as the runs diverge and converge with little off-piste bits in between and the lift on the Swiss side has been upgraded and is really fast. Personally, I could spend a day just on that section of hill Happy

The route over Mossette has also been remodelled and now has a black and what is either a steep blue or a red. (summer might want to confirm as it's her side of the hill!)

Chavanette is the infamous "Swiss Wall" and is one of the few lifts you can download on as a matter of course.

The easiest route down is the first route.

Hope that helps.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I should also say that to get to the first route you have to go up Mossette on the French side and then turn skier's left off the lift and follow the path. There used to be a drag lift on the French side, but that has been removed. The Swiss side of the hill shows two chair lifts - it's now just one.
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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?
Thanks for the detailed answer FlyingStantoni I just wish the piste maps were uptodate (although the iPod/iPad app "PortesduSoleil" is pretty cool at showing what is open or not.

So my "there-and-back blue" route between (by lift name) would be (using http://www.avoriaz.com/station-alpes-france/modules/plan-des-pistes/index.php?lg=uk) as my guide:
Leave Avoriaz on the Blue Mossettes run
Take the Mossettes-France chair lift up
Follow the Blue Abricotine run around the ridge on the French side until we get to the Cubore chair lift
Take the Cubore chair lift up
Ski down the Blue Pauvre Conche run into Les Crosets
Then
Take the Mossettes-Swiss chairlift out of Les Crosets
Follow the Blue Abricotine run all the way down
Take the Brocheaux chairlift up
Follow the Blue La Crete back towards Morzine.

Sorry to be a pain on this... but if I don't get it "right" and mistakenly lead them down a black, then they'll break my legs while I sleep Shocked
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jamescollings, I think your route back looks correct but if it were me I would go:

Super Morzine lifts up to the ridge between Avoriaz and Lindarets (or you could get here from Montriond if you have transport) then head into the Lindarets valley keeping as far skier's right as possible until you end up at the bottom of French Mosettes then up this lift and follow the track round to the left to the top of the new Grand Conche chair then down to Les Crosets. You dont want to go towards Cubore unless you want to get into the Fornet bowl and do the down load over the Swiss Wall.

That's the way we went with Flying Stantoni on the Snowheads family day and it gives options at every grade of run.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
That piste map is both wrong and mis-leading wink

From Morzine

Up Super Morzine bubble

Up Zore chair

Down Serraussaix

Up Proclou chair

Down Prolays and then turn right onto the Mossettes (be careful, it's easy to miss the turning!)

Up Mossettes (France side) chair

Abricotine along the ridge on the French side until you get to the top of Grand Conche (piste map is mis-leading) (this isn't as far as the Cubore chair)

Hang a left and choose your black, red or blue (piste map out of date around here)

If you want to take Pauvre Conche you need to head skier's right where the black, red and blue re-meet - again, it's easy to miss the run. Alternatively, down to Les Crosets, up the 8 man chair Crosets chair, turn right and follow your nose down the ridge

Up Ripaille drag lift

Down the Ripaille blue run to Chavanettes chair (you can't go Pauvre Conche directly to Chavanettes)

Up Chavanettes chair

Follow your nose back to Avoriaz village

Up Tour chair

Straight ahead along ridge, turn left and then right (through nursery slopes) to go down Proclou run

Up Serraussaix chair

Turn left and pole along traverse (stay high)

Zore or Tetras back down to the top of Super Morzine bubble

Beer

All blues
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jamescollings, i don'tthink you need take the Cubore chair, that goes back into Avoriaz. On some piste maps this is misleading.

Fro the top of Mossettes (coming from France) ski to the right along the ridge and you will come to the top of the "new" grand conches lift up from Crosets, as FlyingStantoni says there is then a blue trail down into Crosets.

The slow parts of the journey will be crossing Morzine - waiting for the train, although you can walk - and the runs from the top of "super Morzine" into Avoriaz, which are slowish, especially in the return direction. Make sure you leave nice and early.
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Haha FlyingStantoni beat me to it, must type faster and not get distracted by work
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Absolutely fantastic.

This is why Snowheads is such an essential forum for all skiers. Where else can one find out this sort of exact information about a resort?

Snowheads - more accurate that Google earth snowHead
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The 150km or so at Les Gets as more than enough for a group of four of us, all intermediate boarders who just wanted to do some on-piste cruising with a bit of off-piste higher up the hill. Even though snow conditions were deteriorating (hot weather in day and cold at night, end of March) all but the lowest runs into Morzine were fine - the low runs suffered freeze/so were really icy first thing then turned to slush late on. The main bowls in LG and Mont Chery were fine for variety, Mont Chery being great because it was effectively a massive pile of snow that you could go anywhere on. We ended up doing a lot of the Chamoissure runs and the main bowl down into LG from Ranfolly. Loved it Smile
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jamescollings wrote:
Absolutely fantastic.

This is why Snowheads is such an essential forum for all skiers. Where else can one find out this sort of exact information about a resort?

Snowheads - more accurate that Google earth snowHead

Or are we just trying to get your legs broken?????

wink
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jamescollings wrote:
Snowheads - more accurate that Google earth snowHead

Interesting you say that. I just noticed that Google have updated some of the pics aound Chatel and Pre La Joux so that they now have snow! Madeye-Smiley

I really must get around to finishing that Google Earth PdS piste map...
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