Mountain Layout — Skiing

Here is a larger, more detailed map.

This is a real skier’s area—over 650 km. of ski trails that are divided into 5 massifs. But not only is it challenging to ski the slopes; finding your way from resort to resort can test the skills of an Eagle Scout. The area does provide good maps outlining the 228 different lifts with suggested itineraries to make crisscrossing the region less difficult. (With such an expanse of skiing, no one map allows sufficient detail; when you arrive in a new section, stop and pick up the local lift map that shows runs in that area.)

NOTE: The lift system does not perfectly interconnect. In Châtel there is a shuttlebus between the Linga and the Super-Châtel cable car.

The Portes du Soleil benefits from the fact that most of the skiable terrain is pasture land during the summers rather than rocky mountainside. This allows excellent skiing without the deep snow depth resorts such as Chamonix require. The locals claim that with only few inches of snow they can be up and running.

Experts can strike out in any direction but will most enjoy the World Cup section of Avoriaz, yo-yoing through the Plaine Dranse and Linga, and daring the Swiss Wall. No expert will feel complacent after any of these experiences. On a powder day, locals swear that since most visiting skiers stick to the trails, they can find untracked snow up to four days after a storm.

Intermediates should be ready for an endurance test of the first order. Forget any idea of skiing every run on a week-long vacation; it is just not possible. There are plenty of intermediate circuits that will provide a very full day of skiing. Try from Champéry to Avoriaz and back, or vice versa; on another day, take intermediate runs from Avoriaz to Châtel and return.

Beginners will not have a chance to really enjoy the expansive skiing of Portes du Soleil. Their best bet is to stick to the slopes of Planachaux and les Crosets on the Swiss side of the resort.

Mountain rating
Score this one as a test for any expert, extensive enough for every intermediate on your list, and more than any beginner can handle.

Beginners taking the tram up from Champéry have a limited area in which to ski. Champoussin may be a better bet for beginners, but without the village atmosphere.

Intermediates will have a wonderful time criss-crossing the resorts on the Swiss side of the region, from Champéry to Champoussin to Le Crosets and down to Morgins.

Chavanette, also known as the Swiss Wall, between Avoriaz and Les Crosets, has lured experts for decades. Standing at the lip of the drop, skiers cannot see the slope that falls under the tips of their skis. Once dropping off the rim, it’s a wide-open, expert steep with either ice or giant moguls, depending on the weather. Don’t be ashamed to take the path around the Wall at this point—many skiers choose this option. The black runs above Avoriaz are good and new lifts have eliminated many of the bottlenecks.

One serious recommendation for intermediates or experts is to limit your range unless
you are in good physical shape. If you are already exhausted and someone in your group points to a distant mountain and announces that you have to return to that point before quitting, you will arrive very, very tired. As we all know, that’s when the snow snakes seem to strike. Be careful. This is one of the few areas in the world where you can ski too far to get back home.