New Lifts & Events in Morzine & Avoriaz for Winter 2014

What to look out for in the Portes du Soleil this Winter season

The most obvious new changes to Morzine and Avoriaz this winter are the super-slick new lifts on the Pleney and Prodains. Gone are the quaint, rickety lifts that might have seen a Roger Moore era James Bond tackle the slopes and in their place are new, fast modern bubbles.

The Prodains lift, connecting Morzine to Avoriaz, opened in the very last week of the ski season last year so this winter will be the first proper opportunity for most skiers and snowboarders to make the most of it. I rode it in the last few days of April and it is a HUGE improvement to the old telecabine.

The new Prodain bubble is capable of moving 2400 people an hour, it's so much faster and quicker than the old bubbles and should completely eliminate lift queues from the Prodains although it has eaten up a lot of car parking space but you can always get the bus.

The ride in the bubble is smooth and quick, 4 mins bottom to top, and although I loved it the floor to ceiling glass might un-nerve those with vertigo.

The other big new addition is the Pleney Bubble. Work on this has been ongoing since May this year and it looks like it will be completed on schedule and ready for the opening weekend in Morzine on the 13th of December.

Each new bubble can hold ten people and promises to move 3000 skiers an hour up to the top of the Pleney. This should, again, almost eliminate queues on the Pleney and make Morzine and Les Gets a much more attractive ski option.

The last new lift is in the Swiss sector of the Portes du Soleil in Champoussin. The replacement for the old two-person chairlift running up the Pont de l'Au will be a four person affair and will link Champossin to Le Crosets.

Once you are up on the hill there are new modules to enjoy in The Stash in Avoriaz. Shreddie and the park shapers have been wielding chainsaws and building away like eager beavers and there are three is a new Pyramid near the top, a step-up step-down and a new wall ride in the middle of the run.

There are some pretty cool events coming up this winter that you might want to include in your holiday plans.

The season opens with one of my favourite events; The Rock on Snowboard Tour, 14th &15th December. This is a board test and there are usually some cool comps and parties. If you don't know what you are going to be riding this winter this is a great chance to try before you buy so you can ask Santa for your weapon of choice this season.

We're also looking forward to the return of the AM Chapell Comps and the Shreddie Feature Jams. These have been getting better and better over the last few years. They are fun competitions that are open to all. The Shreddie Feature Jams are particularly good fun. Join a group of riders in The Stash and ride. There's no bibs and no pressure, just ride with a group of like-minded people and enjoy the run. The organisers of these events are meeting on the 14th of November to finalise details so we should have dates in the calendar soon.

The Cavern 24/7 film competition will be back this year and it's open to anyone. Shoot and edit a 4min film in a week and enter it. It can be about anything and doesn't even really need to make sense. Budding film makers and show-offs will love this one as your film gets shown on a cinema sized screen to a room full of people. The competition starts at the bgining of March with the creenings and party happening in the middle of the month

The Rock the Pistes Festival returns again to the Portes du soleil and this year the line up looks better than ever. From the 26th -30th March there will be live performances from Mad Professor feat Lee Scratch Perry, Mass Hysteria and The Skints.

[SkiwitheaseSkiSchool]

Great video, thanks for keeping us updated!

[jimsmith]

Morzine is crap.  I want to eat all the snow and build a damn so the currents fall from green jackets into the pool.  Never liked it in Morzine, the nightlife is so testosterone smelled.