Skiing Portes du Soleil

The Portes du Soleil ski region with slopes in both France and Switzerland is what European skiing is all about.  It claims to be the largest ski area in the world with 194 lifts on 13 different resorts in the two countries. Ski from mountain village to mountain village, resort to resort, even across international borders.  Savor lunch at charming mountain huts.  Discover wide-open slopes with nary another skier in sight.  Sail down trails through the trees.  Head “off-piste” for challenge.  Awesome indeed!

I’ve skied Portes du Soleil several times, most recently over the Christmas holidays.  As during previous visits, I stayed on the Swiss side of the Alps in Champéry, a picturesque old-world village with wooden chalets, interesting shops and restaurants, and a church whose bells chime frequently. Champéry has no slopes, but it’s a short walk from most of the town’s hotels to the  125 passenger Planachaux cable car for the ride to the top. There you can head off in one direction to ski Swiss slopes or the other direction to French resorts, including well-known Avoriaz.

Since it was snowing during the first few days of my visit and visibility was limited , friends and I stayed on the Swiss slopes and skied the blue and red (beginner and intermediate) runs above the village of Les Crosets. It was marvelous, with spectacular scenery and few other skiers to tarnish the natural wonder.

A few days later when the sun burst through the clouds, we ventured to France, to Avoriaz and beyond.  Avoriaz is a functional ski village with high-rise apartment complexes, lots of restaurants, and some futuristic ski lifts.  Express chair lifts whisk you to both red and black (intermediate and difficult) runs in Les Hauts Forts above the town.  We continued down the valley to Les Lindarets, skiing scenic routes bordered by towering pines. Our return to Avoriaz by the Prodains Express was impressive – a high speed, sleek lift with twelve 35-passenger cabins.  At the end of the four-minute cable car ride, an escalator awaits for the last leg of the ascent.

The ultimate Portes du Soleil adventure is to ski a circuit from village to village. If you’re a strong and fast skier, you may be able to hit all the resorts in one day, but with little time for lunch.  The Portes du Soleil ski map has a suggested circuit route with signposts on the slopes to those resorts. You need to begin early to make sure you arrive back at your starting point before the lifts close.  I tried this once years ago when I was with a ski club of Americans, military and civilians stationed in Germany and it was almost a disaster.  It was the last day of our skiing holiday and we were several lifts and slopes away from our departing bus. When we realized our time was running out, the fastest skiers raced ahead to hold the bus.  Since the rest of us held up the bus for half an hour, we had to follow tradition and buy all the waiting passengers a beer.

The ultimate Portes du Soleil challenge is the Swiss Wall (Chavanette).  My American ski friends called it “the wall of death.”  It’s long and steep, not exactly groomed, with a maze of giant moguls.  An American skier did actually perish on this slope some years ago.  He found the skiing too difficult and took off his skis to walk down, but slipped and fell, hitting his head on a rock.  No matter how difficult a slope, you are safer with your skis on, experts advise.

A long chairlift glides above the Swiss Wall.  On the ride up you can watch the action, usually lots of skiers falling.  But, there’s no need to ski this treacherous slope as you can ski the back slopes and avoid it altogether.  In my younger and fitter days, I skied the infamous Wall.  If you’re a good skier, it’s one of those legendary runs you want to say you’ve conquered.

While Champéry is without its own slopes, you can still end your day with your skis on, not crammed into a cable car for the descent.  From the top of the Ripaille lift, there is an intermediate trail to the Grand Paradis ski area adjacent to Champéry.  From there shuttle buses run from its parking lot right to the village.  It’s a perfect leisurely and scenic finale to a day on the slopes.

A mountain lunch is a highlight of any ski day. On the slopes above Champéry, we discovered   Chez Coquoz, a delightful, cozy retreat with a fireplace and terrace with sensational views all around.  The eatery features unusually innovative offerings, some made from mountain flowers and herbs. Proprietor Agnes Coquoz, a friendly soul who in her younger days was a member of the Swiss Olympic ski team, convinced us to try the day’s special, “hay soup,” made from dried mountain grass and other herbs.  It was quite tasty.  A few days later we returned for another savory and intriguing treat, this time gnocchi, which was also made with mountain grass along with cheese, cream and nuts.

Another highlight for lunch on the Swiss slopes of Champoussin, one of the 12 Portes du Soleil ski villages, was La Ferme à Gaby, where the specialty is a delectable farm to table cheese made with both goat and cow’s milk.  At the entrance to the woodsy chalet is a large chart listing the names of more than 100 goats and their offspring.  Be sure to order a cheese plate and try all the delicious varieties.

“Portes du Soleil is different from any other resort,” a spokesperson in the local tourist office said to me.  “There are a great many easy slopes suitable for skiing with the family, as well as challenging off-piste terrain.  You can ski a whole week without doing the same run twice. And crossing international borders makes it more interesting.”

I couldn’t have agreed more and look forward to returning.

www.champery.ch

www.portesdusoleil.com

 

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