Portes du Soleil
The Portes du Soleil has been one of the biggest players in world skiing for the last 40 years, with 12 linked resorts either side of the French-Swiss border just an hour from Geneva: Abondance, Avoriaz, Chatel, La Chapelle d'Abondance, Les Gets, Montriond, Morzine-Avoriaz, St Jean d'Aulps, Champery, Morgins, Torgon and Val-d'Illiez-Les Crozets-Champoussin.
This genuine Natural Powder Reserve at the heart of the Alps offers skiers unspoilt surroundings, mountain lifts that keep a low profile amid snowbound forests, pistes that wind their way through snow meadows, spruces and mountain chalets that have stood the test of time.
The vast ski area is captivating and provides challenges for everyone from beginners to advanced skiers and snowboarders. We have spent 8 years skiing the terrain and we still discover new pistes and tree runs each winter. It really is an amazing winter playground.
For those who are new to the ski area, we thoroughly recommend you go for a day's ski hosting with one of our team. This is not tuition or an off-piste guiding trip, but more to help you get to know the area, find where the best snow, hot chocolate, fondue or sunny slope is.
Despite recent bad press about rising prices of mountain food the Portes du Soleil perhaps due to the abundance of good mountain restaurants provides a number of great value and seriously good mountainside eatery's. We are happy to recommend our favourites.
The ski area enjoys exceptionally good snowfall from mid-November to the end of April, with an average of 8m of powder every year.
The Portes du Soleil ski area is open from 17 December 2011 to 22 April 2012.
The Portes du Soleil in numbers:
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283 slopes: 27 black, 104 red, 119 blue, 33 green
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197 mountain lifts
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650 km of groomed slopes
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10 snowparks
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90 slopeside restaurants