Châtel – Avoriaz/​Les Gets/​Morgins/​Champéry/Morzine (Les Portes du Soleil)

The ski resort Châtel – Avoriaz/​Les Gets/​Morgins/​Champéry/Morzine (Les Portes du Soleil) is located in the Val d’Illiez (Switzerland, Lemanic Region, Valais (Wallis)) and in Portes du Soleil (France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Savoie Mont Blanc, Haute-Savoie). For skiing and snowboarding, there are 580 km of slopes available. 170 lifts transport the guests. The winter sports area is situated between the elevations of 985 and 2,254 m.

Has the climate crisis and the higher temperatures affected snow conditions in Châtel – Avoriaz/​Les Gets/​Morgins/​Champéry/Morzine (Les Portes du Soleil)?
Look at the statistics and graph of historical snow depths for the ski resort.
For the last 5 years, week 6 has been the most insecure with 152 cm snow depth on average in Châtel – Avoriaz/​Les Gets/​Morgins/​Champéry/Morzine (Les Portes du Soleil).
The measurement is made as an average of the snow depth at the highest and lowest point of the mountain.

Unlike most resorts linked to major ski areas, Chatel remains relatively unspoiled and retains a very French feel, with a life outside tourism (there are still around 30 working farms). It is also right on the huge Portes du Soleil circuit, very close to the Swiss border; and last season, at long last, its two local sectors of slopes were linked by new lifts (a fast quad and a six-pack) rather than just by bus. And for the coming season there will be a new blue piste down to those lifts from the Super-Chatel sector. Chatel is a much expanded village near the head of the wooded Dranse valley, at the north-eastern limit of the huge French-Swiss Portes du Soleil ski circuit. It has two separate sectors of slopes, one linked to its French neighbour – high, purpose-built Avoriaz – and the other linked to two resorts in Switzerland: Morgins (which is on the Portes du Soleil circuit) and Torgon (which is not on the circuit). A few kilometres down the valley is rustic La Chapelle-d’Abondance, with lifts into the Torgon slopes – covered at the end of this chapter.

PROS:

• Very extensive, pretty, intermediate terrain on Portes du Soleil circuit, with good local slopes
• Wide range of good-value accommodation including family-run 2-star and 3-star hotels
• Pleasant, lively, traditional, French-dominated village

CONS:

• Low altitude and exposure to westerlies means some risk of rain and poor snow
• Still mainly slow lifts at Super-Châtel and over the Swiss border
• Few packages offered by major UK tour operators

Source: Ski Club of Great Britain

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