Pistes Review for Les Gets and Morzine
Les Gets & Morzine Area
Portes du Soleil
Les Gets / Morzine Area
Les Gets and Morzine share their ski area. You can roughly divide it into 5 main areas
These are circled on this Les Gets and Morzine Piste Map for you.
Les Gets Chavannes Slopes
This is the home run back to Les Gets. Half way up is the beginners area with a magic carpet. Also on this face is the Grand Cry, an area of the mountain dedicated to children only. It is themed around trappers and Indians, and has 2 drag lifts along with totem poles, snakes egg and all sorts of other things for the littler skiers.
The Good:
Home run is a surprisingly good run and pretty quiet in the middle of the day.
The Bad:
Very busy at the end of the day, and can get quite moguled later on too.
Les Gets Bowl
This is the first main area out in Les Gets. With five lifts all radiating out from the bottom of a gentle gradient bowl, this a a perfect intermediate skier's playground. The runs are mostly reds and blues, with one black. There's plenty of off piste tree runs between the marked runs for the more adventurous, mostly funneling back onto the slopes at the bottom. The red run "Melezes" leading off the right hand side of the bowl is a great run and well worth a go, though watch out in early and late season as it goes quite low.
The Good:
Lots of gentle off piste tree runs.
La Rosse'taz Restaurant (at the top of La Rosta Chair lift), that's definitely my favorite restaurant in Les Gets ski area.
Views of Mt Blanc from the top of La Ranfolly Lift
The Bad:
Morning ski schools can make it busy.
Mt Blanc Range from Chamossiere
Chamossiere and Point de Nyon
These are the 2 biggest hills at the back of the area, providing some incredible views. They hold the best snow and have some great off piste on both. Watch out though for the cliffs and avalanches on these steeper slopes. Usually this area is quieter and with the best snow it's well worth a look.
The Good:
Quiet
Great off-piste
View from the top of Chamossiere is possible the best in the alps.
The Bad:
Watch out for lift closing time or you will end up in Morzine!
Powder Day on Pointe de Nyon
Morzine Pleney Slopes
This north facing area looks over morzine village. It's made up of wide blues and reds, great cruising territory.
The Good:
Wide, even gradient blues and reds
The Bad:
The blue runs can be a bit busy with ski schools in the morning
This is the lowest part of the area, so early and late season snow can be inconsistent at the bottom.
Mt Chery Views over
Les Gets and Mt Blanc
Mont Chery
This lone standing hill is Les Get's hidden secret. It is on the other side of the village from the rest of the skiing and as such is not discovered by many. It houses 7 lifts over mostly red and black slopes, with a park including rails, jumps, boarder-cross and a jib-district. This place is always quiet and a great bet for first lines.
The Good:
Always quiet!
For lunch with an amazing view try the restaurant at the top of the bubble up.
The Bad:
Snow on run home can be thin in late season as it's south facing (you can always bubble down though)
The Rest of the Portes du Soleil
Getting to Avoriaz
At 650km of marked pistes, this is the largest ski area in Europe! The skiing just goes on for mountain after mountain. Most of the area is linking by reds and blues, making 'doing the circuit' a great day out for the enthusiastic intermediate!
The first part you hit after leaving Les Gets is Avoriaz. This is a high (based 1800m) snow sure resort. It offers some great challenging skiing as well as blue cruising runs. Look of for the Coupe de Monde black run, a world cup piste which is great early on in the day whilst it's still perfectly pisted. Avoriaz is also renowned for being one of the best places to snowboard. It has many parks, boarder crosses, a forest rail park and 2 half pipes.
For those looking for fine dining on the mountain check out Goat Village, it has a collection of the best restaurants you will find on a ski hill (though you pay for what you get!)
The Good:
High and Snow sure
Challenging skiing
Efficient Lift system
The Bad:
Busy in early and late season when people from the lower resorts move higher up.
Getting to Avoriaz from Les Gets
Avoriaz is the gateway to the rest of the Portes du Soleil. There are 3 main ways to get there:
1. Up the Chavannes Chair then the Folliets Chair, then take any of the slopes going all the way down into morzine village (blues and reds). Take the petit train or walk across the village (5 min's walk) then up the Super Morzine.
Good: Least time off the slopes.
Bad: the skiing above Supermorzine lift is pretty flat until you hit avoriaz village, so not a great idea on fresh/sticky snow or a snowboard.
2. Ski down into morzine, walk one block into town and you will see the large bus stop. Take bus A to Prodains (free, every 10 to 15 min's, bus ride is 10 min's) then take the big cable car up.
Good: Takes you straight into the heart of the good skiing.
Bad: Sitting on a bus!
3. Drive to Ardent then take the bubble up from there. This puts you in Les Linderets valley, which is in the Avoriaz ski area and the valley in between Avoriaz and the rest of the Portes du Soleil.
Good: this is the best way to access the further reaches of the Portes du Soleil, as generally if you ski all the way from Les Gets then you have to turn around to get home again before you've reached the other side of the ski area.
Bad: Bus services between Ardent and Les Gets are not great, so you need a car, or Ski Transfers offer a shuttle bus direct to the door of your chalet, definitely worth considering for the big days out on the Swiss side!
Further into the Portes du Soleil
Chatel is next on the french side after Avoriaz. The valley running towards Avoriaz from Chatel village is probably the best area for those looking for wide cruising reds and blues. The lifts are fast and it holds it's snow late into the season due to it's north facing aspect. Definitely worth checking out.
Super Chalet is the next area down the Chatel Valley. It's got some great runs, beautiful views and tends to be quiet. The lifts are a bit old over the back side of Super Chatel though and you do have to get a bus down the Chatel valley to get to it (free, every 15 min's). Also remember to leave plenty of time to get home as it's several hours ski away from Les Gets!
From the top of Super Chatel you can cross the swiss boarder and drop down into Morgins. Through Morgins leads you through the swiss side, eventually looping back up to Avoriaz. The Big Lap of the Portes Du Soleil! A great day out for the enthusiastic intermediate, but leave early to make it home in the same day!
The Swiss side is like stepping back in time. The lifts may be older, but the pistes are quieter and it's just more peaceful. This is the contrast to the well developed french side, it may still have T-bar lifts but the pace of life here seems far more relaxed. There is though some great off piste to be had and being quiet there are fresh tracks to be had long after the snow has fallen. There are many large sunny bowls, worth hitting in the mornings as they soften up earlier than many areas. Morning is definitely the time to hit the swiss side in late season where mornings are great there before hitting the more shady areas of Avoriaz and Chalet which hold their snow better into the afternoons.
Look out for the infamous Swiss Wall (off the back of Avoriaz), reputedly the hardest mogul runs in Europe! If you just fancy a look at it you can take the chair lift down over it to watch the entertainment below!
There are many other linked resorts in the Portes du Soleil. Torgon, Morgin, Les Crosets, St Jean D'Aulps, Chapelle D'Abondance, Champery, the list just goes on. After 2 season here I have still not reached the far side of this immense ski area.
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