Avoriaz & Portes du Soleil Lift Pass Options - Winter

This all depends on how much, how often and how far you want to ski. There is plenty in Avoriaz to keep you occupied but if you wish to explore the wider area - and it is a wide area! - then the Portes du Soleil pass may be more your style. 

Local Area Pass - Avoriaz
It is possible to buy a lift pass that covers just the Morzine/Les Gets ski area OR just the Avoriaz lifts and pistes.  These passes will suit you if you are a complete or advancing beginner or if you prefer to ski at a more leisurely pace and don’t necessarily want to pound the pistes all day, every day.  However, each local pass still covers a significant area:
Morzine/Les Gets: 49 lifts and 64 pistes (approx. 120km)
Avoriaz : 45 lifts and 49 pistes (approx. 75km)

Much of the Morzine/Les Gets area is tree lined making it a beautifully picturesque area to explore on skis.  The highest point is Chamossiere at 2002m and you can ski all the way back down to Morzine at 1000m.  Avoriaz, being that bit higher (1800m), is generally above the tree line which can make visibility tricky at times in bad weather.  Having said that though, the snow quality is generally better for longer here and you can ski from 2466m all the way down to Les Prodains on the valley floor (1160m).  The Avoriaz pass can only be purchased for a maximum of 2 days, after that you will have to renew it.

If you are holidaying with children, inexperienced skiers, or just fancy taking it easy then the Avoriaz pass will probably offer more than enough; there is a nice variety of intermediate pistes on which to cruise from one lunch spot to the next, as well as a few more challenging runs for those who need to work off their tartiflette afterwards! 

Full Area Pass - Portes du Soleil
Anyone of intermediate skiing ability and above would generally go for the full Portes du Soleil area pass, which incorporates 12 linked resorts and 650km of marked pistes.  With this pass you can ski in both France and Switzerland and enjoy the full extent of one of the world’s largest ski areas.  

There are 5 resorts on the Swiss side: Champery, Les Crozets, Champoussin, Morgins and Torgon, and 7 in France: Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz, Montriond, Abondance, St Jean d’Aulps and Chatel.  The Portes du Soleil is an intermediate’s paradise with 100 red and 106 blue runs, as well as a good number of challenging blacks such as the infamous “Swiss Wall” and over 30 cruisy green pistes.  Park rats and freestylers will be in their element here as the full area has no less than 10 snow parks, including The Stash in Avoriaz, a 100% natural snow playground in the Lindarets forest. 

If all you are interested in is bigging it up in one of the fabulous Avoriaz snowparks, then there is a special lift pass just for that!

Available weekends only, the snowpark pass gives budding freestylers unlimited access to the the Chapelle and Arare snowparks, The Superpipe, "The Stash", the Trashers beginners park, the boardercross and and the "Canyon Piste".

This in turn gives you access to the following lifts only:

• Prodains Cable Car (return)
• Stade chair
• Surf drag
• Arare drag
• Tour chair
• Lac Intrêts chair
• Snowpark drag
• Chapelle drag
• Ecoles 1 & 2 drags
• Trashers drag

For more info on the snowparks and freestyle areas in Avoriaz and the Portes du Soleil, check out our Insiders Guide...

It is now possible to buy a 6 day family pass for the whole of the Portes du Soleil area.  Various versions are available depending on the make up of your family: 2 adults + 2/3/4 children or 1 adult + 3 children, as long as they are all under 18 years of age (normal child pass rates apply to 5-15 years). The family pass option represents a saving of 10% on the total cost of buying the passes individually and it is valid for any 6 day period throughout the season.  For example: 2 adults + 2 children = €616 for 6 days instead of €684 (based on 09/10 prices).  However, the family pass rate is not valid in conjunction with any other special offer rates (eg/ early bird purchase or early/late season rates).

Avoriaz itself does not offer group or family discounts on its local area lift passes though, however the age bracket for a child's pass is 16 years and under which is a few years older than most resorts.  There is also a reduced-rate beginners lift pass and the unders 5's ski for free. Please see here for the full range of Avoriaz lift pass prices.

The resort does however, have a "Family Activity Card" which costs €25 and gives you the choice of 5 admissions to the ice rink, fitness centre (Altiform), gym (Body Form) or spa facilities. You can buy them at the Tourist Office.

If you fancy a change of pace you can get a 6-day lift pass, which gives walkers and cross-country skiers discounted access to the following cable cars and chair lifts:

• Ardent Gondola (return)
• Super Morzine Gondola (return)
• Prodains Cable Car (return)
• Zorre Chair (return)
• Léchère Chair (ascent only)
• Plateau Chair (ascent only)
• Lindarets Chair (ascent only)

You can also purchase a day pass or individual tickets (one-way or return) on the above lifts, so there is no need to miss out on a high-altitude lunch at a mountain restaurant or the stunning views over the Haute Savoie! For details of this season's prices please go to Lift Pass Prices.

Early Purchase Discounts
If you buy a lift pass of 5 days duration or more before 1st December, you will get a 10% reduction off the full price.  This offer is valid for all dates including Christmas and Half Term.

Concessions Children under the age of 5 and adults over the age of 75 qualify for a FREE pass. You may have to provide proof of age so take along a passport when collecting your pass. The initial €3 charge still applies.

Weekend Bargains Avoriaz and Morzine/Les Gets offer Weekend or Saturday only passes at a slightly reduced rate. The slopes are also often quieter at weekends as many people are just arriving or leaving so it’s a good time to enjoy shorter lift queues and less piste-traffic! You can find prices on our Lift Pass Prices page. Why not have a look at our Last Minute Offers to see if you can bag yourself a cheap weekend in the snow?

Off Peak Rates There are reductions available to those visiting at the start or end of the season; the snow condition can't be guaranteed perfect but the pistes will be quiet, there won't be any lift queues and best of all you won't have to wait long to be served in the restaurants! There are a number of areas that usually open early for which passes can be purchased at a discounted daily rate. These areas are:

Secteur d’Arare
• Bleue d’Arare
• Bleue du Lac
• Stade d’Arare

Secteur des Lindarets
• Prolays
• Stade des Lindarets
• Combe à Floret
• Champ de Ski Plateau
• Boulevard des Skieurs
• Mossettes

The Portes du Soleil offers reductions to those arriving before and after the peak season, please go to Lift Pass Prices for details.

So, if you keep an eye on conditions via our Snow Report you might be able to book a cheeky last minute break and bag yourself an out of season bargain!

What else do I need to know?
It goes without saying that you must be properly insured before taking to the slopes, but you can also purchase insurance on a daily basis as you buy your lift pass. ”SnowRisk” is the instantly recognised mountain sports insurance in France that covers you for:

SnowRisk insurance costs just €3.00 per day for adults (€2.50 for children).

Photographs All passes over 8 days require a passport sized photo. The lift office can scan the image from your passport or drivers licence if you do not have a photo with you.

Loss of theft of your lift pass When you purchase your lift pass be sure to ask for a receipt - many resorts can use the serial number off this to disable the first pass and then reissue you with another one. Once you realise the pass is missing go immediately to the lift pass office as the sooner you report it missing the sooner you can sort out a new one, if you wait until the afternoon they may only issue one starting on the following day and then you have lost a day on the mountain. The best advice really is to avoid losing it by always keeping it in the same pocket of your ski jacket, try not to keep anything else in there, and always make sure you have it at the start and end of every day - not rocket science, but it may save you the hassle of replacing it!

All lift passes for Les Portes du Soleil region can be purchased here. Full details of lift pass terms and conditions can be downloaded here.