Avoriaz - World Snowboard Guide

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Dan Wakeham

British Olympic Superpiper

Avoriaz is a winter wonderland and if someone asked me where would be good to take the family I would say there; no cars in the village just horse sleighs.

However to do it on a budget you are best off staying in Morzine which is the lower village, accessible by lifts. The Portes du Soleil is a huge area and it has just about every type of terrain that you could expect. Avoriaz and Les Croset are the best places to ride parks. Les Croset is just across in the next valley but on the Swiss side.

Apparently you should carry your passport when crossing the border but I have never been stopped while on my snowboard, I always thought that this would be the best way to smuggle drugs across the border, you can fit a lot of dope in a rucksack and since you can but weed cheaply and easily in Switzerland you could make yourself a lot of cash (this isn’t how I fund my season!)

All around the Portes du Soleil you can find steeps and tree runs. in Morgins you don’t really get to much traffic (just local weekend warriors) so you can find powder weeks after snowfall.

Avoriaz is easily one of the best, French snowboard resorts and is seen by many as the snowboard capital of Europe. The management have been very positive in promoting snowboarding here since day one. For instance, Avoriaz was one of the first areas to have a snowboard-only section, including a pipe and park with lifts of their own. Furthermore, the resort has been producing a snowboarder’s passport, covering all aspects of Avoriaz, for a number of years.

Avoriaz's 153 km of pistes links up with Les Portes du Soleil, a group of resorts straddling the French/Swiss border, creating one of the largest circuits in Europe with some major off-piste to shred. The terrain on offer in Avoriaz is excellent with something to suit every level and style of rider: trees, big cliff drops, powder bowls and easy, wide flats - it’s all here. And for those who fancy the odd day off to do something other than riding, Avoriaz puts on a choice of services that are normally found only in US resorts: quad-bike riding, snowmobiling and climbing are all an alternative buzz.

Avoriaz Chapelle terrain park
Photo: Gavin Hope

This mountain is definitely worth exploring; with a few tips and pointers in the right direction you can find a little bit of everything. And if there is no new snow you can head to one of the many parks and jib all day instead. It's popular with British seasonnaires, it has a strong snowboard scene and is complimented well by town of Morzine and adjacent resorts of the Portes Du Soleil. Being close to Geneva it's also a synch to get there. And if this isn’t enough, Chamonix is only one and a half hours drive away, and Flaine, Les Cluzas, Samoens and Morillion are similarly close.

New for season

2007/8:"The Stash". In conjunction with Burton, Avoriaz opens "the Stash", a piste with a mix of log jibs, pow slashes, high speed turns, jumps and drops all mixed up - the funnest route down the hill!

2007/8:"The Stash". In conjunction with Burton, Avoriaz opens "the Stash", a piste with a mix of log jibs, pow slashes, high speed turns, jumps and drops all mixed up - the funnest route down the hill!

05/06: 5 million euros spent on a new 6-seater chairlift, 'The Fornet'
04/05: new Zore 4-seater chairlift. Zore and Tétras runs improved, new training area and an extension of Gazex; the avalanche triggering system.
Portes du Solei area has an additional 3 new 6-seater chairlifts.

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Resort Statistics

Resort Type: Alpine
Winter: Dec to April
Summer: None

Lifts

Total Lifts: 37
Cable cars: 1
Gondolas: 2
Chair lifts: 18
Drag lifts: 16
Max people per hour: 47,000
Board Leashes required: Yes

Mountain

Total pistes/trails: 50
Total ride area: 95miles (153km)
Longest run: 3miles (5km)

Top lift: 2466m
Vertical drop: 1466m
First lift: 1000m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 54%
Red runs: 33%
Black runs: 13%

Lift Passes

	Low Season		High Season
	EUR	GBP	EUR	GBP
Day Pass	0.00		32.00	29.06
6-Day Linked area Pass	161.00	146.22	189.00	171.65

	EUR	GBP
Season Pass:	724.00	657.53

Lift Passes:
Day pass to snowboard park area: 15.7 euros
Full day pass: 30.5 euros (Saturday 19 euros)
Day pass to Ports du Soleil area: 36euro,
6 days: 176 euros
Lift times:8.30am to 4.00pm

Snowfall

Average annual snowfall: 9m
Artificial snowmaking coverage: 17%

Facilities

Snowboard Schools: Lessons from 35euros/hr
6 days from 150 euros
Snowboard Hire: Board hire from 150 euros/week
Night Riding: : No

Other activities

Heliboarding: : Arranged for nearby Italy with a minimum of 4 people, from 240 euros/pp excluding guide
Snowmobiles: Not available

Further information

www.avoriaz.com/
Email:info@avoriaz.com

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Summary

Good resort with excellent freeriding and carving areas. The main problem with Avoriaz are the crowds and long lift queues.

ON THE SLOPES: Very good
OFF THE SLOPES: Okay
MONEY WISE: This is a very affordable place if you take a package tour trip. Prices for all main services are reasonable.