Morzine Snow Report: 11th December 2011
Brilliant snow to kick off the season
At last, the season began properly on Saturday. The lifts were open and the majority of the Avoriaz and Linderets Secteur runs and lifts were at our disposal; a major bonus, as the snow was brilliant!
I can’t say how chuffed I was to have sorted my pass in advance, as we strolled past the rather large ticket queue at the bottom of the Verare télésiège in Prodains. The latter chair lift was running, meaning we did not have to suffer the telepherique (not my favourite!) A quick blast down the Gouilles rouges confirmed what we had hoped, the snow was great. The piste was nicely groomed with a lovely soft forgiving layer on top. Surprisingly, the off piste, well the “just off the edges of the piste” is what I really mean, was super soft and nice, not light enough to billow up in your face but great none the less.
The Grande Combe télésiège swiftly got us to the top of the Hauts Forts from where we headed down my favourite blue run of all time; Bleue d’Árare. Wide but quite steep, the ski racers barricade off half of it for their high speed fun but not today; we had the whole run to ourselves. Maybe I’ve made the gradient sound a little alarming for those still a touch challenged by some blues but the piste is so wide you can slacken the gradient. For something a little easier try the Bleue du Lac.
We did a couple of laps of the d’Árare, alternately opting for fast big GS style turns and popping on and off the edges of the piste into the deeper snow. It was time to move on and investigate the Secteur Chavanette supported by the Choucas and Fornet télésièges.
The Chavanette is a big wide bowl with a range of blues and reds plus a couple of Snowzones, the Marmotte and Canyon du Pschott. The latter are patrolled, off piste runs and offer some superb natural terrain to play in. Cliff drops and gullies interspersed with wide open areas and you can easily avoid the former if that’s not your thing. Today we opted to stick to the pistes and the edges as there are still a few rocks poking through in the un-pisted areas and some of the group were sporting brand new equipment.
It was time for a rest, we had lasted longer than I thought given the lack of ski fitness but legs all around were beginning to crumple. A coffee in Chez Flo just below the Prodains telepherique was in order (to your left as you ski to the Stade and Lac Intrets chair lifts). A nice drink in the little Gazebo outside the main restaurant sorted us out as we watched everyone slide past!
We did a little more skiing in the Linderets Secteur, which was good but not quite as nice a snow as higher up in the Chavanette, but we were just about done. The last thing on the agenda was a wander around the ski test area directly in front of the exit to the Prodains telepherique to check out all the new kit. A brilliant showcase of everything new and shiny but I didn’t want to hang around too long ogling ski kit (snowboards too) much less test them. That way lays the empty wallet!
To finish we down lifted in the telepherique as we know the last 100m vertical into Prodains was un-pisted snow, thin on the ground with stones here and there. Not ideal after enjoying all that great snow higher up.
Bon Ski!
