View riding a down lift into the French area of Châtel. Image: Brett Ploss.

Report from January 10-11, 2024

Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland

Portes du Soleil is the second-largest ski area in the world. With about 600km (375 miles) of pistes spanning over 12 connected ski resorts, there is a lot to explore.

The area lies on the border of Switzerland and France with part of the ski area on either side of the border. It’s about a two-hour bus ride from Geneva or three hours by train from Zurich. The most famous resorts are on the French side, Avoriaz 1800, Châtel, Morzine, and Les Gets.

Related: Ski Resorts Where You Can Ski or Board in 2 Countries in 1 Day

Avoriaz 1800 is famous for having a village where all of the streets are snow. The main forms of transportation are surface ski lifts throughout the village, sleighs pulled by horse, and walking.

Lift tickets are around $77 USD/day and are not connected to any major US ski passes.

Portes du Soleil Trail Map. Image: Portes du Soleil Website.

Skiing

Day 1

I stayed in Champéry on the Swiss side because it was the easiest to access. The French resorts all require a bus or personal car, but the Swiss sectors are connected to the train system.

It was quite easy to take the train from Luzern to the station in Champéry. Just like most Swiss ski areas, the train finishes at the tram station.

I was able to stay close which made traveling by train with my skis very simple.

The first day, I saw the trail map and decided to try part of the Tour des Portes du Soleil. Since I was staying on the Swiss side, it made sense to ski south then cross the border and make my way to Avoriaz 1800.

View of Champéry runs from top of the tram station. Image: Brett Ploss.

The Swiss resorts were quiet with older lift infrastructure. Similar to lifts we find in the U.S., many were fixed grip and slow. Because of this, the areas were empty and on piste it stayed groomed until at least 11. Getting across the town of Morgins required a quick five-minute walk, but my lift pass worked at all Portes du Soleil lifts which made it easy.

Button lifts found alongside fixed grip quads on the smaller Swiss side. Image: Brett Ploss.

I made it to Chapelle d’Abondance before deciding to turn around and head back on the French side. Getting stuck in the wrong valley after the lifts closed would have been easy, and quite costly. Public transportation back to another valley would take hours, so the best option is to get another hotel if you finish on the wrong side.

The Swiss resorts were small, but Châtel and Avoriaz felt like mega resorts. Both extended far and had a variety of terrain. But the crowds decided to follow, especially people from the UK.

View of the village of Avoriaz 1800. Image: Brett Ploss.

Last lifts range from 4:15-4:45 p.m., so I decided to leave La Folie Douce by 3:15 to be safe. Getting back to Champéry took about 40 minutes without lines so the timing was perfect.

The valley does not have tons of snow, so getting back required taking the tram down but I couldn’t complain since my hotel was next door to the base of it.

Photo spot at Châtel. Image: Brett Ploss.

Day 2

I wanted to try Morzine and Les Gets, so I skied in that direction. It took about two hours to get to the far side of Les Gets from Champéry. This includes a seven-minute walk across the town of Morzine. Also some down-loading of lifts since lower elevation snow coverage was low.

Both resorts were incredible and had access to some insane in-bounds off-piste free-ride terrain.

Remember, anything off piste in Europe is generally considered out-of-bounds and avalanche terrain. It’s always good practice to ski with someone and have an avalanche kit.

Public transportation in Avoriaz 1800, the streets are all snow. Image: Brett Ploss.

Up high, conditions are incredible. You can tell France had a great early season. Coverage is great, and many trees are snow covered near the top.

Since Portes du Soleil ranges in elevation, snow is degrading fast down low. Soleil is the French word for sun, and the resort gets a lot of it. Up high in the colder temperatures, it isn’t a problem. But down low, the snow melts quickly.

Many of the gondolas and trams between resorts were downloading only due to low coverage at lower elevations.

All of the famous resorts were skied out quickly due to the number of tourists and skiers. On the Swiss side, even groomers stayed well-maintained throughout the day. My favorites were Morgins and Torgon since the pistes were wide open without crowds.