Skiing to Switzerland - 2 routes - Intermediate level

Want a change from skiing the same slopes? That's why we love to go on a grand circuit of the Portes du Soleil, never skiing the same piste twice (unless you really want to) and dropping into Switzerland for lunch with stunning views of the Dents du Midi for company.

We give two routes in this article, both are excellent and mainly on blue runs.

 

You need to head for Chatel, so drop down into Morzine and take the little train to Super Morzine.  From here find your way to the Chaux Fleurie chair lift which will pop you into the Chatel area, and make your way to the Linga Piste. This is a red piste and quite steep, but never fear as there are little blue runs to the right of the piste so all levels can get down.

There is a lovely little restaurant just beside the top of the gondola half way down Linga, and if your time is around eleven o'clock then reward yourselves with a Vin Chaud. From here take the blue run (not the red as the blue is a better slope) and make your way to the two new chairlifts which will whisk you to Super Chatel and from here pop down to Morgins via a little track that will take you into the heart of this pretty little village. By the way welcome to Switzerland!

A good place to have lunch is the Buvette du Sport in the village (across from the intermarché supermarket - they don't have their own website but details are on the Morgins Tourist Office site). This has a large veranda and you can usually sit in the sun. All cafés /restaurants will take euro notes (not coins) and your change will be given back to you in Swiss Francs, or use your credit card.

You need to now take the Foileuse chairlift and at the top of this you will be rewarded with a spectacular view of the stunning Dents du Midi. Now zig zag your way to Les Crosets- Champery where you can either cross back to France via the Chavenette chairlift over the famous Swiss Wall or take the Mossettes chairlift from Les Crosets where you can stop for a celebratory drink at the famous Cookie Café, the highest altitude restaurant in the Portes du Soleil. From there make your way to the Prodain gondola in Avoriaz. At the bottom of this run, jump on the free bus to Morzine (15 mins) and hop on the main gondola in Morzine in order to grab the Belvedere chairlift. This is an important link as from here you can now ski back all the way into Les Gets without taking another chairlift. Watch you time for this lift and do not leave it too late.

OR... try doing it the other way around...

Starting from Avoriaz, take the Mosette lift to Les Crossets.  There is a restaurant at the top of the lift called the Cookie Café, which is the highest restaurant in the Portes Du Soleil at 2277m. It is run by a Brit and an Australian and has been voted to have one of the best mountain views in the world. The picture is just outside the Cookie Cafe.

You then ski into Switzerland. You immediately see that the pistes and queues at the lifts are quieter. Take a blue run from Les Crossets to Morgins, this is 7km long and has wonderful views – a ‘must see' in the PDS. To get from Morgins to Chatel, there is a new lift – this means you can now easily ski the whole of this route. From Chatel you can get back to Avoriaz using three lifts.

Learn more about La Point de Mossette and the Cookie Café in this blog article.

Ski Map of Portes du Soleil