Portes du Soleil

Portes du Soleil

Overall Rating

Portes du Soleil

Portes du Soleil4/54
Portes du Soleil4 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
  • Recommend
    100%
  • Would Revisit
    100%
Ski Tours in Europe

Portes du Soleil Resorts

French

Avoriaz
Chatel
Les Gets
Morzine

Swiss

Champery-Les Crosets
Champoussin
Morgins
Torgon

PduS Maps & Stats

    Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map
  • Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map
  • Vertical (m)
    950m - 2,277m (1,327m)
  • Average Snow Fall
    8m
  • Lifts (208)
    12 Gondolas
    71 Chairlifts
  • Opening Date & Times
    December to mid-April
    8:00am to 5:00pm
  • Terrain Summary
    Runs - 600km (incl. routes)
    Longest run - 11km
    Advanced - 12%
    Intermediate - 35%
    Beginner - 53%
  • Lift Pass Price
    Day Ticket 24/25
    Portes du Soleil Lift Pass
    Adult (26-64yr): €56 to 70 (CHF61.20 to 79)
    Senior (65-74yr): €51 to 63 (CHF55.25 to 71)
    Youth (16-25yr): €51 to 63 (CHF55.25 to 71)
    Child (5-15yr): €42 to 53 (CHF45.90 to 59)
    Senior (75yr+): €27 (CHF26)
    Child u/5yr: Free

    Local Resort Lift Passes
    Adult from €25 to 54+
    Child from €20 to 41+
    Child u/5yr - Free

    All passes are cheapest if purchased online & cheapest passes are in early Dec & April
    French Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map
  • French Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map
     Swiss Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map
  • Swiss Portes du Soleil Ski Trail Map

Portes du Soleil - Reviews

Portes du Soleil - Reviews

Hard to Beat For Snow, Terrain, & Value

05/10/2023

POWDERHOUNDS EUROPE

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  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Telemarker
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Month Visited:
    January
  • Admin Rating
    5

Hard to Beat For Snow, Terrain, & Value

05/10/2023
Its hard to beat the Portes du Soleil (PduS) for the combination of size, snow, lifts, terrain, and value. That it is so close to Geneva and straddles two countries only adds a little more to the positive equation. That it is one the largest integrated ski resorts in the world just screams - visit me! And the intriguing thing about PduS, is that, Avoriaz aside, it never seems to carry the hordes of people one is used to coming across in other gargantuan resorts like in the Dolomites, the 3 Valleys or KitzSki.

During this visit in January 2023, we predominantly skied Champery - Les Crosets in Switzerland & Avoriaz in France. We took the train to Champery to access the resort, which if coming from the Swiss side of the hill is the way to go. Got first cable car up every morning, the first one straight off the train to the lift!

Aside from the high numbers of skiers in & around the incredible village of Avoriaz, the broader resort was very quiet. Snow quality in a difficult season was excellent. Powder was found & skied with ease out wide in the Champery sector and in the Avoriaz sector, far skiers left on the long descents off the Grands Combes. Elsewhere, wind-blown untracked powder could still be got even close to Avoriaz village.

We spent one afternoon skiing powder laps in the Ripaille-Grand Paradis sector of Champery and ending with some grogs & tunes at 'Black Out'. The long descents, great snow, lack of people, incredible views up to the Dents du Midi, and combination of on & off piste make it an easy place 'get lost in'.

On one day, an early lunch of scrumptious savoury crepes was taken in Avoriaz village (at Le Yeti). Aside from highlighting the differences in the price of meals between France & Switzerland (its so much cheaper in France!), the stop gave me the opportunity to fully explore the place in depth. Such a fascinating design, and so beautifully executed. Have never stayed there, one can easily see the attraction, particularly if a novice or beginner. Horse-drawn sleighs everywhere, loads of bars & restaurants, everything ski-in ski-out. Learn to ski areas in the absolute centre of the village, and protected by the surrounding infrastructure. I wasn't too taken by the design of the buildings the first time I visited Avoriaz, but on closer inspection, it is a bloody marvellous creation. Just too popular for our liking! So we stay in Champery, Morgins or Chatel instead. Or if taking the train to Champery it is easy to stay somewhere else in the Rhone valley (St Maurice, Aigle or similar) for a fraction of the accommodation price.

Portes du Soleil integration from resort to resort is already marvellous, but it will improve further with the replacement of the ancient double chair out of Morgins to La Foilleuse. Having skied there previously, we know how much it will improve the ski experience at Morgins. Elsewhere the plan to replace (in 2024) the shitty old Plateau triple chair in Avoriaz village with high-capacity gondola will change the game there for everyone.

A testament to the resort's size is that even after a few visits over the years, we still haven't skied the lower elevation sectors of PduS around Morzine & Les Gets. We will get there in 2024 if time allows and we don't get distracted in other sectors of this fabulous ski area.
See our video here

Joyous Skiing at Les Portes

19/07/2022

Jean Bouthillier

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy

Jean Bouthillier

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  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    70+
  • Month Visited:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    3

Joyous Skiing at Les Portes

19/07/2022

I've had the joy of skiing in Les Portes a few years back and loved every part of it. My wife and I got a place in Champoussin, on the Swiss side (which is literally the far end of the entire Portes Du Soleil entire map coverage). When you need a ski map, there are four of them to cover both France and Switzerland.

Getting to Champoussin is a challenge but also an adventure. If you dream of ski in/ski out, this is THE place: we stepped out of our building every morning and skied down to the one and only access T-bar to go up into the first mountain (don't worry, it is never crowded and very reliable). I would recommend Champery, if you want to stay near "ski civilization", but, if you are a true powder hound, I can't think of a better start to my ski day.

Being on the far end of an "8 resort" region is both amazing and challenging. While we are not young or ski racers, we can ski fast and anything (reds and blacks) that Les Portes offers, except "The Wall/Le Mur". Even from far away, you can tell, it is long, moguled and STEEP.

What is amazing is that it is impossible to go from one end (Champoussin, Swiss side) of the region to the other in France (way past Morzine) in one day. So, you have to plan your ski day and know where you are going, stop for a bite and, turn around and ski back. What a blast! No time to do the same run twice.. it is GO GO all the way and back!

We had booked another trip during COVID and it was cancelled (winter of 2020). One final image: it is the only place, other than when I heli-skied, where I felt that I was skiing in the middle of nowhere and on top of the world... truly a dream.


See our video here

Wow Factor at Portes du Soleil

01/10/2019

POWDERHOUNDS EUROPE

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador

POWDERHOUNDS EUROPE

Powderhounds Ambassador
Powderhounds Ambassador
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Telemarker
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    5

Wow Factor at Portes du Soleil

01/10/2019

WOW. The largest interconnected trans-national ski resort in the world certainly impressed us. Portes du Soleil has so much to love; but with its immensity comes a few things to loathe as well. We skied it in early February when crowds were at their peak & some fresh snow had fallen. A more perfect time to check it out could be had. The backdrop of Montreux & Lake Geneva to the north, the peaks of the Dents du Midi to the southeast, cold dry powder in the Torgon steeps, the world’s best hot chocolate, and mile after mile of diverse skiing are just WOW.

We adore Portes diversity - 2 countries, all terrain types, & loads of villages that will suit everyone’s proclivities. We love the great snow in the high alpine, affordable lift passes, ease of access on the Swiss side (to Champery) and the fact that from one end to the other, one can still find quiet, untracked, ‘old school’ ski areas (like Torgon). And we love the distance one can travel. On one long day we skied over 80km distance with relatively little effort, and that included some fine powder snow hunting & a long lunch as well! Simply wonderful, and reason enough to come to Portes du Soleil.

We loathe that there are too many people in a few of the resort areas (Avoriaz for example) and that it leads to piste trails getting smashed in those locations to a point where it is impossible to believe it had been groomed earlier in the day! Thankfully, we are powder hounds and so such things concern us less, but we are in the minority when it comes to the skiing world! It is also a shame that skiable verticals are not greater, but again, that it relative - fun on snow is fun on snow whether its a staggering 2000m vert or a more comfortable 400m vertical (as is usually the case at Portes!). We do worry that in a changing climate the lower sectors of the resort are becoming snowless earlier in the season. Pleasingly though, it does get massive dumps of snow from cold winter storms.

Regardless of the things to loathe, Portes du Soleil is an area best explored in totality, as a sum of its many parts, rather than just sticking to one country or sector. Unlike some mega-resorts, it is the combination & complex interlinking of resorts that make the experience so good.

Where to stay is the vexed question. If after busy, bustling & popular stay in Avoriaz or Morzine. If seeking high alpine quiet, look to Champoussin. If wanting public transport convenience & classically Swiss, try Champery. For affordability, try Torgon or even better, Morgins. If after a mix of all of the above, Châtel is the place!

We say it often of European ski resorts and here is another. Do yourself a favour & ski here for a week at least once in your life. Take you time, explore, eat, drink & soak it all in. You’ll think WOW too.

You can see our thoughts on the pros and cons on the Portes du Soleil overview page and also see our European ski resort ratings page regarding how we score it compared to other skiing areas.


See our video here

Amazing place!

Mr. Michaels
20/09/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

Amazing place!

Mr. Michaels
20/09/2019
Portes du Soleil (PduS) is the only place I have skied in Europe, fortunately several times over the years, so my only basis of comparison is the big Canadian hills in BC (Fernie, Whistler, Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Red) and Quebec (MS Anne, Le Massif, Tremblant). Lift tickets and rentals are generally less then 1/2 the price they are in Canada. Canadian skiing is more rugged and wild, and less crowded in general (maybe not Whistler) compared to PduS, but the amount of terrain at PduS is unparalleled. Truly stunning. Just an endless number of lifts and runs and places to explore (some nice off-piste too, but I only did a little...there was too much snow to feel completely safe!), all with a different feel and different scenery and different terrain. Also loads of restaurants and cute little cafes on the hills, often at the top, the middle and the bottom of a run. Best to have an experienced guide though, it would be very easy to get lost in this paradise.
See our video here