The Portes du Soleil ski area, nestled just south of Lake Geneva and straddling Switzerland and France, claims to be Europe’s biggest ski area.



Though Trois Vallées makes a similar claim, the skiing in Portes du Soleil is more unrefined. Where a skier in the Trois Vallées may be able to transfer easily from valley to valley, transfers
in the Portes du Soleil area take more time and effort. Where the lift system in the Trois Vallées forms a tight web linking miles of prepared slopes, the lifts through this region are gossamer strands linking far-flung pistes.

Here is the Champéry Resort Map.

I remember breathing heavily after a long morning of continuous skiing from Champéry in Switzerland to Châtel in France. Jean, my guide, asked me, “Do you see that peak over to the right of the stand of trees?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Do you know where that is?”

“Somewhere in France? Is it Mont Blanc?” It looked far, far away.

He chuckled. “It’s not that far away. That’s where we started this morning.”

“Oh, come on. There’s no need to exaggerate. I’m already
tired enough.”

“No, no, no, I’m not making a joke. I just want you to know that we have a long way to get back.”

Incredulous, I forgot any notions about a relaxed
afternoon cruising home.

The Portes du Soleil area is made up of about a dozen different resorts. Four lie on the Swiss side of the border: Champéry, Morgins, Torgon and Val d’Illiez-Les Crosets-Champoussin. The remaining eight are in France: Abondance, Avoriaz Châtel, la Chapelle d’Abondance, les Gets, Montriond, Morzine and St-Jean-d’Aulps. The key resorts are Champéry in Switzerland and Avoriaz in France. More than 50 mountain restaurants dot the slopes.

Champéry is a mountain village that is waking up to the fact that it has turned into an international resort. Les Dents du Midi majestically stand watch over the valley and provide dramatic views of jagged mountain peaks. The old chalets look lived in, the odor of cow manure wafts across the main street, a plucky kid (of the goat type) prances in the back of a station wagon, the discos look like a throwback to the 1960s, and no tour buses pack the center of town.

The other main Swiss towns that are a part of the Portes du Soleil don’t measure up to Champéry. Les Croset is isolated and once held promise as a resort, but today, is more fit for a skiing recluse. In the future with more stability, it has a chance of becoming a very convenient station. Morgins is far too quiet and most lodging is not very close to the two lifts up to the region.

Office du Tourisme,CH-1874 Champéry, Switzerland
Country code: 0041
Telephone prefix: 024
Telephone: 479 20 20
Fax: 479 20 21
Email: info@champery.ch
Internet: www.champery.ch
www.mychablais.com

Note: All prices are in Euros unless otherwise noted.

For more information on skiing and staying in the country of Switzerland, click the map.