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Avoriaz for Skiing & Snowboarding
| Ski Areas in Avoriaz & the Portes du Soleil |
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The Portes du Soleil ski area is vast with 650km of piste and offers something for everyone. Comprising 14 resorts over France and Switzerland, the lift system of 209 lifts allows skiers and borders to freely enjoy this winter adventure park.
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| Avoriaz Ski Area |
Avoriaz is a vast ski area perched 600 meters above Morzine on the cliffs above the valley Ardoisieres. Access from Morzine is easy enough, either directly from town via Super Morzine and the Express du Zore or from the Prodains Valley. The latter offers two mechanisms of uphill transport; Prodains telepherique and TS du Verare and TS Combe du Machon. The former can get busy in the peak season and the latter is exposed to the elements but does take you higher up the Hauts Forts avoiding the busy Avoriaz town area.
For the more advanced skier with a penchant for steep fast blacks and long mogul runs the Hauts Forts is the place to head. There are multiple black runs dropping down to the TS du Crot and onward to the valley floor, amongst them the Coupe du Monde downhill course. For those wishing to take a more leisurely approach then drop down the Bleue d’Arare and onward to the home run of Le Crot. Both are excellent runs and not as easy as you may think. The former is used for ski races and the latter does not see much action until the end of the day so you can be relatively unencumbered by avoiding hordes of your fellow skiers and borders.
Further afield, above Avoriaz, sits the Secteur Chavanette. This is a huge ski area sitting above the tree line with multiple blues and reds. In addition the wide bowl geography of the area creates patrolled but un-pisted skier cross areas featuring vast natural terrain of varying degrees of difficulty. Lots of little and not so little rock and cliff drop offs, natural half pipes and a multitude of natural kickers to practice your slope style on. The area is served by two express lifts; Express du Fornet and Express Choucas meaning you do not have to wait long to return to your favorites. The runs here tend to be longer than average for this section of the Portes du Soleil as a function of a greater vertical drop and are great for those wishing to get the leg burn going on a top to bottom drop.
In closure proximity to Avoriaz there is an excellent beginner blue serviced by the TS Seraussaix lift and surprisingly it goes by the same name! The run is wide and not so steep meaning advancing beginners can move it on a level on a long run. Directly out of Avoriaz under the Express Lac Intrets is an excellent mogul run - Stade du Slalom. |
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last updated 18-Dec-2007 |
| Snowparks in Avoriaz & the Portes du Soleil |
Avoriaz and the wider Portes du Soleil has such a wide variety of terrain it is ideal for both skiers and boarders spanning the ability range from absolute beginner to advanced off-piste hero.
Avoriaz was one of the first resorts to welcome snowboarders with open arms and a legacy of this is that the scene is still strong to this day. There are two freestyle parks in Avoriaz; Snowpark de la Chappelle and Snowpark Arare plus, as the name suggests, a rather large half pipe opposite the Prodains telepherique known as the Superpipe.
Snowpark de la Chappelle is located under the Express Proclou lift adjacent to the car park. And right by the horse stables (for dragging the sleds around town) so you get the smell of the country whilst spinning those threes! This is an ideal park to develop your airborne skills as the jumps range from easy green through to fairly advanced blues. They come in rows of three so you get three jumps per run through the park before returning via the TK Chapelle drag lift. Fortunately it’s a rather sedate affair and will not rip your arms off leaving you sprawling on the floor for the amusement of the lift operator and the too cool for school crew in the queue. Keeping with the beginner to advancing intermediate park rat theme the other features are not too fear inducing and give you a chance to develop your skills without a do or die attempt at something way above your ability range. The rails, boxes, A frame and spine are not too far from the ground should it all go horribly wrong. For this reason the park is known as the baby park, despite this there are still plenty of riders performing some top draw moves, if not quite extreme channel standard, impressive none the less.
Snowpark Arare sits above Avoriaz and is accessed via the Express Lac Intretslift and the Bleue du Lac blue run. This is an altogether more serious affair. All the features are big in every way; air, height, speed and most definitely skill. The Red jumps are considerably bigger than the blues in the baby park; it’s quite a step up to clear these and another thing altogether to perform rotations, back flips, rodeos and the like. But that’s what you’ll see plenty of people doing up here. Whatever you do speed is your friend, the landings are perfectly graded, the only problem is if you bottle it and come up short, you’ll definitely get squashed on landing and lose an inch or two in height. The rails too are in another league; there is some drop if you get it wrong and don’t make the landing transition and jumping up onto the feature is a leap of faith the first time. There is also a Bordercross on the Arare area which is suitable for everyone.
The Superpipe is big. We're talking really BIG! Now 120m long (from 100m) and with 6m high walls (previously 3m) it takes some commitment to drop into. But there are plenty of good riders around making it look all too easy getting well clear of the top of the lip and performing tricks and spins to boot. With these latest changes in dimension to The Superpipe, it now means that the resort can host official pipe competitions.
New in January 2008 was "The Stash" - a 100% natural snow playground based on the US concept of the same name. Created in conjunction with Burton, the Avoriaz Stash run is the only one of its kind in Europe and it comprises 3 slopes of varying difficulty, punctuated with hidden wooden obstacles that riders happen upon with each descent. You have to ski or snowboard down the same slope many times to discover all the concealed modules. Suitable for everyone, the 3 slopes join up halfway down at a hidden cabin in the Lindarets forest, and then separate again to continue snaking through the pine trees. The message behind The Stash is one of environmental protection and preservation with the whole area being left unpisted and all the obstacles are made entirely from wood. (Total length = 1300m, vertical drop = 470m).
For kids and beginners, there is also the Trashers Snowpark in the Falaise sector of Avoriaz, with small jumps, slides and obstacles upon which to find your feet. Or you may like to try the "Canyon Slope", a piste that follows the natural terrain of the Pschott Canyon with banked turns, bumps and dips providing great fun for all the family.
The natural terrain in and around Avoriaz is abundant but mainly above the tree line. The Secteur Chavanette is probably the biggest natural fun park around. You can freely scope out the multiple lines as you take the Express du Fornet lift to the top of the ridge line marking the French/Swiss boarder. Natural half pipes, kickers, drop offs are everywhere you look.
Les Crosets offers a big Snowpark in the mould of Snowpark Arare above Avoriaz - more of an advanced affair. The park lies under the TS Les Crosets II out of the centre of Les Crosets and is well worth the visit for some truly big jumps and features. To return home simply get on the TS des Mossettes and you are back in the Linderets valley with only one more lift from making it home to Avoriaz. |
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last updated 3-Apr-2008 |
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