Winter Sports in Portes du Soleil

T

he Chablais Region is the first of the Alpine areas after Lake Geneva and is dominated by the expansive Rhône valley to the East and the impressive peaks of the Dents du Midi to the South. Within the region lies the huge Portes du Soleil circuit and includes the Swiss villages of Champéry, Morgins, Val-d'Illiez, Les Crosets, Champoussin and Torgon and the French resorts of Avoriaz, Morzine, La Chapelle d'Abondance and Chatel. It claims to be the largest linked ski area in the world and there is tremendous variety in all the different communities clustered around the slopes, although the linkage between some of the slopes beyond the main Les Croset and Avoriaz areas is not always good and it is easy to find yourself stranded a long way from your home resort if you choose to explore the full extent of the ski pass. The Portes du Soleil is not as high or as challenging as some of the other large Swiss resorts, and arguably the best place to ride is on the French side, around Avoriaz, but it does feature one of the steepest marked runs in the world, the so-call Swiss Wall, La Chavanette, featuring moguls as big as houses. Well, almost.

Champéry is probably the best all-round choice of the Chablais resorts, and is easy to get to by road or rail. It's biggest weaknesses are that there are no runs down to the resort, and the slopes above it are probably not ideal for beginners. Les Crosets and Champoussin do better on that score, and Morgins is also a reasonable choice for beginners. Torgon is the first resort you reach from Lake Geneva, but also on the periphery of the circuit.

Where to Eat and Party

For an up-market lunch of local specialities try the stylish Crémaillière (+33 450 741168) in Les Lindarets, on the piste down to the Ardent gondola on the Avoriaz section of the circuit. More prosaically the Cookie Café (+41 244 791219) is a great gastropub at the top of the Mossettes chairlift in the Champery section.

Getting There

By Public Transport

The best destination to access the downhill slopes by public transport in this ski area is Champery. Station adjacent to cable car. The resort operates the Snow'n'Rail scheme, providing a discount on the combined travel ticket and lift pass. Click here for details of the Swiss Railways discount scheme.

• From Zurich the least travel time is 3 hrs 51 mins with as few as 2 changes going via Lausanne / Aigle.
• From Basel the least travel time is 3 hrs 57 mins with as few as 2 changes going via Lausanne / Aigle.
• From Berne the least travel time is 2 hrs 47 mins with as few as 2 changes going via Lausanne / Aigle.
• From Lausanne the least travel time is 1 hrs 36 mins with as few as 1 changes going via Aigle.

By Road

Please refer to a map and check local conditions for accurate routing information.

• The road distance from Zurich is around 244 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs 50 mins.
• The road distance from Basel is around 226 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs 30 mins.
• The road distance from Berne is around 122 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hr 25 mins.
• The road distance from Geneva is around 128 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hr 40 mins.
• The road distance from Lausanne is around 64 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hr.
• The road distance from Fribourg is around 92 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hr 8 mins.

Get road directions at Google Maps

Nearby Resorts

Destinations in the region include Champéry, Champoussin, Les Crosets, Morgins,Torgon and Val-d'Illiez.

Weather Outlook

View detailed snow forecast for Champéry at: snow-forecast.com

Latest Resort Report

MySwitzerland report for Morgins

Piste Map for Portes du Soleil