Ski area in Avoriaz

A man-made resort created in 1966, based on the dream of Jean Vuarnet (downhill skiing World Champion and Olympic Champion), that there could exist a resort with no cars that skiers could literally take over. Designed so that apartment buildings, chalets and amenities intertwine with skiable paths, the vehicle-free resort was born with the Prodains cable car inaugurated in March 1963.

What's it like to ski and snowboard in Avoriaz?

• Snow sure resort at 1800m
• Fast modern lift system
• pedestrianised resort

There is something for every level in Avoriaz:

• Six snowparks
• Great area for beginners
• Good for families
• Very good intermediate and advance skiing
• 250km of blue and red runs
• Powder fields in Lindarets and Châtel
• Mulitple black runs
• The infamous Swiss Wall - experts only

Powder hounds will love the Hauts Forts sector and the powder fields in Lindarets and Châtel. Avoriaz is famous for having some of the best snowparks in the Alps.

If you are a beginner it's unlikely you would leave Avoriaz to venture down to Morzine Le Pléney and Les Gets; it's quite a trip, however you may make it down to the Super Morzine area. 

The Morzine and Les Gets ski area is loosely comprised of three areas:

• Pléney/Les Gets
• Nyon and Chamossière
• Super Morzine and the vast Portes du Soleil

You can buy a ski pass for either Morzine and Les Gets or Avoriaz, or if you want access to the whole area you can buy a Portes du Soleil ski pass.

Le Pléney/Les Gets

• Ideal for families
• Good beginners area
• Good intermediate skiing
• Easy access from town centre
• 120km of pistes
• pretty tree lined slopes

Les Gets

Les Gets is a charming and accessible ski area with beautiful tree lined runs and lovely views, especially from the top of Mont Chéry. It’s a great spot for cruising, with wide, scenic blues that are perfect for beginners and intermediates.

The Chavannes area offers a free beginners' zone and plenty of easy blues. Intermediates can explore the Chavannes Bowl, where five lifts access a mix of blues, reds, and two black runs, all converging at the bowl’s centre – ideal for groups with varied abilities.

Mont Chéry, on the opposite side, is a quieter mountain with steeper mogul runs, mostly red and black, and a sunny south-facing aspect. It’s a great option for advanced skiers but can get slushy in late season.

Nyon and Chamossière

• Very good intermediate and advance skiing
• Good selection of red and black runs
• Easy direct access from Nyon bypassing The Pléney area
• Several wide open blue runs

For those looking for more advanced adventures you will enjoy the slopes here (see the piste maps).

Pointe de Nyon offers advanced skiers the Aigle Rouge red run, a steep, winding descent with an Alpine pass feel. Skilled skiers can take off-piste shortcuts to rejoin friends on the piste below. It connects to the mogul-filled Aigle Noir or the wide, knee-friendly Combe red, both leading to the TS de la Pointe lift. Alternatively, continue down the Chamois red through the trees to join the Lièvre blue, which goes all the way to the Nyon cable car.

Access Nyon directly from the TPH de Nyon car park, which has plenty of space. Beginners may find the Nyon Plateau’s wide blues ideal, with more challenging options like Lièvre and Pâquérages further down.

Chamossière is compact but impressive, with the steep black Creux and the versatile red Arbis that starts narrow and steep, then mellows into a wide, good for carving slope.

Super Morzine

Located opposite Pléney, the Super Morzine gondola connects to Avoriaz and the Portes du Soleil. A full area pass isn’t necessary for beginners, but opens up extensive terrain for more adventurous skiers.

There's a whole load of skiing to be done across the Portes du Soleil. Literally translated as 'Gateway to the Sun', the Portes du Soleil takes its name from a mountain pass that connects Morgins to Les Crosets.

The Portes du Soleil offers snow sure skiing and is spread across 12 different ski resorts in France and Switzerland.

• 600km of pistes
• 307 pistes
• 30 snowparks
• 208 ski lifts
• 39 green runs
• 130 blue runs
• 105 red runs
• 33 black runs

Linga and Châtel 

These areas of the Portes du Soleil offer a great mix for all levels, with some challenging reds but no blacks. For experienced skiers, the steep reds in the Linga sector, accessible via the Chaux Fleurie lift from Lindarets, are excellent. Most reds funnel down to Plain Dranse into the long Les Rochassons run, except for Les Voraches. Off-piste enthusiasts will love the lift-accessible powder fields along the ridge between Pré la Joux and Lac du Montriond—just a short 10-minute hike from the top of Chaux Fleurie or Rochassons.

Further into Châtel, the TS des Combes leads to the red Le Linga, a long, top-to-bottom descent into Villapeyron. From here, you can explore more with the Gabelou and Portes du Soleil lifts, which take you around Châtel with plenty of runs and button lifts.

Châtel also has a good freestyle park, featuring an airbag and modules from the Nike Chosen Series. For powder seekers, this area has quieter fields, though watch out for rocks and trees. Remember to catch the last lift back to Lindarets to avoid an expensive taxi home!

The Swiss resorts of the Portes du Soleil

• Les Crosets
• Morgins
• Champoussin
• Champery
• Val-d'Illiez
• Torgon

The Swiss resorts in the Portes du Soleil are accessible from Avoriaz or Châtel but require more planning if coming from Les Gets. Expect snowparks, steeper reds, and the notorious Swiss Wall—the toughest run in the area, with a 1km un-pisted mogul descent and a 331m vertical drop, strictly for experts.

Les Crosets

The largest resort in Swiss sector, Les Crosets is easily reached from Lindarets via the Express Mossettes lift. From here, a long red run descends all the way to Champéry, and there’s a large snowpark accessible via TS Crosets II.

Morgins and Champoussin

Further out, Morgins and Champoussin can be reached by following the long blue run from Mossettes. Morgins offers enough terrain for a full day’s skiing, but be mindful of the last lift back to France.

For a quieter experience, Torgon is often overlooked and has fewer crowds. It’s reachable from the Châtel sector, and offers empty pistes and stunning views, especially from the Morclan summit. The Tronchey chairlift area also has a fun freeride section when conditions are right.

If you head over to the Swiss resorts in The Portes du Soleil, ensure you leave enough time to reach the lifts you need to get home - taxis home aren't cheap.

St Jean d'Aulps

St Jean d’Aulps is a quieter, stand-alone area in the Portes du Soleil, though not connected by lifts or pistes to the main resort. Just a 20-minute drive from Morzine, it’s a hidden gem covered by a full area pass. With mostly blue and red runs, plus one black, it’s ideal for mixed abilities. The high points, Col de Grayon and Grande Terche at 1,800m, offer scenic, long red runs back to the base.

The winter season usually runs from mid-December to mid-April, with any early lift openings depending on snow conditions (check ski lift opening dates for this winter's schedule). 

Whenever you choose to come, as long as the lifts are open, the local pisteurs will make the best of the snow (real and/or artificial), and groom the pistes to perfection so that you get the best possible conditions.

If you're coming skiing early or late in the season

It's a good idea to check which lifts are open in Avoriaz. You might want to check the Avoriaz webcams too, for an up-to-the minute view of conditions on the ground.

The Avoriaz ski area is famous for offering some tougher terrain with runs on the Hauts Forts and down to Les Prodains including the World Cup downhill course.

Hauts Forts

The Hauts Forts region is a popular spot for freeride skiers, offering long, steep black runs like Combe du Machon, Arête des Intrets, and Combette, ideal for expert mogul skiing. For a less intense but still challenging experience, Bleue d’Arare and the Le Crôt home run provide an exciting descent.

The Swiss Wall

For advanced skiers, the notorious "Swiss Wall" offers one of Europe’s most challenging mogul fields. This 1 km, 331-meter vertical drop has steep, unpisted moguls and is rated beyond black, attracting only the most skilled skiers. It can be partially bypassed by skiing along the sides, where moguls are slightly gentler.

Secteur Chavanette

Above Avoriaz, Secteur Chavanette is ideal after fresh snowfall. Its wide bowl-like terrain includes patrolled but unpisted areas with rock drops, natural gullies, and kickers, perfect for freeride practice. Accessible by two express lifts, this area offers long, challenging runs and is known for intense, leg-burning descents.

When the cloud comes in and the snow starts to fall, it helps to know where to head to. 

The trick is normally to head for the pistes that are tree-lined, as they help provide definition when everything else seems to be white. Although sometimes when the lower areas have a white-out, the top of the mountains can be bathed in glorious sunshine. 

It's always a good idea to check out the webcams in Avoriaz, and you can read more about where to go on our dedicated bad weather page.

Avoriaz is an ideal resort for beginners, offering a special pass for beginner areas to save on full-access fees.

Beginner-Friendly areas and slopes in Avoriaz:

• Kids’ club in the resort centre and another beginner slope by Le Chapelle Park.
• Proclou: Wide, flat, and next to Mini-Stash snowpark.
• Seraussaix: A mellow blue run through pine trees.
• Qu’mont & Gernues: Gentle blues for building confidence.
• Ecoles Piste: Designed for first-timers, with two slow drag tows.
• Advanced blues like Stade d’Arare, Bleue du Lac, and Bleue d’Arare A offer more challenging options for improving skills.

You can read more detail on our dedicated beginner ski areas page.

There’s plenty of off-piste to be found within easy reach of Avoriaz, and for those happy to put in a little bit of effort, you can reach the gentle open powder fields above Ardent, the big open face above Vallée de la Manche, the open pitch from Pointe de Nyon and the shoots and couloirs into Crosets.

You can read more about where to go on our dedicated off-piste page.

Always check avalanche conditions and consider hiring an off-piste guide for safety.

Avoriaz was one of Europe's first snowboard-friendly resorts, creating a vibrant freestyle scene that continues today. Most Portes du Soleil snowparks are based in Avoriaz, managed by the expert Avoriaz Snowzone team, which carefully designs and maintains these fun zones for all skill levels.

The Avoriaz Snowzone areas consist of:

• Snowpark de la Chappelle    'Baby park' for beginners to intermediates
• Snowpark Arare    Known as the 'big park', features for intermediate to advanced riders
• The Stash    Natural and man made features in the trees of Lindarets
• L'il Stash    Smaller version of The Stash for beginners to intermediates

In addition to the snowparks in Avoriaz there are four snowcross pistes that are ungroomed but are marked and secure slopes.