Champery Ski Area

Champery Ski Area

Champery is not a ski-in ski-out resort. The pistes are above it at Planachaux and to reach them it’s necessary to ride the Telepherique cable car up from the village in the morning or take a bus to the Grand Paradis fast Chairlift.

Apart from the two red runs descending to the bottom of the Grand Paradis chair, the local slopes are above the treeline and mostly between 2000m and 2300m. They tend to face East or South East so are at their best mid-morning.

Some of Champery’s blue pistes are actually quite steep, most notably the ones beside the Ripaille Drag Liift. Beginners and nervous intermediates who want a gentle start should initially stick to the area around the Planachaux, Louis and L’Echereuse lifts.

Those actively seeking out the toughest challenges should warm up on the short and sweet red run beside the Marcheuson drag lift. Then if they are brave enough, advanced skiers can head for the Swiss Wall under the Chavanette chair. This is a steep and usually heavily mogulled run, marked as an ungroomed itinerary on the map. If you lose your nerve when you’re at the top, you can ride the lift down.

Much gentler, much longer and much more beautiful, is the Grand Paradis red run which curves around the Pointe de Rapaille red run and descends all the way down to the bottom of the Grand Paradis lift. It’s a lovely and popular way to end the day but it’s even nicer in the morning when you may well have it all to yourself. There are also various off-piste variants that a guide can show you.

Les Crosets Ski Area

Les Crosets is reached from Champery either directly from the Champery-Croix de Culet cable car (red or blue routes down), or via the Pauvre Conche lift at L’Echereuse which accesses a blue piste. Again, just like in Champery, the blue runs here are steeper than in other resorts. For intermediate level skiers and above, that makes them more fun, but beginners might need some help.

From Les Crosets, lifts span outwards in a semi circle. At their top you either return to Les Crosets on North-East, East and South-East facing red or blue pistes, or you cross over the respective ridge and ski onto Planachaux, Ardent (a small valley, technically part of Morzine but with lifts connecting it to Chatel and Avoriaz), Champoussin or Morgins. Experts who want something more challenging than a red will probably want to explore between the pistes, on both sides of these ridges. There are some steep couloirs (and even steeper cliffs, so watch out) but they are not always skiable so hiring a guide is recommended.

Les Portes du Soleil

Champery is also a gateway into the wider Portes du Soleil area. including Avoriaz which is just over the Pas du Chavanette from Champery and often has the best snow. Advanced skiers will also relish it excellent black runs above Les Prodains.

The Swiss side has less variety to it – it’s almost entirely composed of shortish blue runes above the tree line which are perfect for less confident intermediates.

The clockwise and anticlockwise Portes du Soleil circuits

Avoriaz is  the first stop on the clockwise Portes du Soleil circuit which takes in Ardent, Pre la Joux and Linga (part of Chatel’s ski area), Chatel itself, Morgins and Champoussin, before returning to Les Crosets and Champery. It’s hard work completing it in a day, but certainly possible, and good fun for strong fit skiers.

The anticlockwise Portes du Soleil circuit is better for weaker intermediates because you can skip out all of Champoussin (instead take the lovely long blue run from the Col des Portes du Soleil all the way to Morgins) and all of Avoriaz (take the Mossettes lift from Ardent to Les Crosets). You also avoid the steep reds coming down from Tete de Linga, which are a highlight for more confident skiers. Advanced skiers doing the anticlockwise circuit who actually want tougher challenges should make a couple of small detours to include the ungroomed itinerary from Pointe de l’Au and the red and black runs from the top of Comebois.

Morzine and Les Gets

Most of the Morzine-Les Gets ski area is on a spur away from the main Portes du Soleil circuit, but it can all be reached from Champery or Les Crosets and returned from before the lifts close. As long as they keep an eye on the time, intermediates can just wander around, sampling the nearly endless array of short red and blue runs. Many of the pistes are tree-lined which makes a welcome change from the open bowls of Champery and Les Crosets.

Advanced skiers who want steeper slopes should head towards the Pointe de Nyon, Chamossier and the North face of Mont Chery on the far side of Les Gets.