Fresh snow in the Alps means the ski season’s not over yet
Looks like the European ski season is going to go out on a high, with fresh snow falling in the Alps.
Yep, a big dump was just arriving as I drove away from Morzine in France on Sunday. As I’d spent the previous six days shoving my way down slushy slopes in sleet and mist, I was kicking myself for booking a ski holiday during the first week of the school Easter break instead of the second, but it just goes to show that you never can predict skiing conditions.
Fortunately, from Morzine you can easily access the vast Portes du Soleil ski area, which offers more than 600kms of downhill runs, so you can pretty much guarantee your clients will find some snow whatever time they go.
Even when there’s little fresh snow around it manages to manufacture enough to keep a sufficient number of runs open, thanks to its investment in snow-cannons.
A total of 12 resorts make up the Portes du Soleil, which straddles France and Switzerland. Four of the resorts are on the Swiss side and the rest are in France, but they are all covered on the same area lift pass.
We were staying with Rude Chalets, a boutique operator with four properties in Morzine, but all the big guns in the ski business – Crystal, Thomson, First Choice, Inghams and others – also offer chalets in this buzzy French resort.
The Portes du Soleil is a great area for confident intermediates due to the variety of its runs – lots of wide easy slopes for cruising but also some thigh-burning steeps, tough mogul runs and oodles of lift-served off-piste.
The appeal for my family, which includes an over-confident 11-year-old who thinks his mum’s skiing is lame, was The Stash, multiple runs through the trees with rails and kickers of all heights and sizes for budding and expert freestyle skiers and riders.
There’s also a freestyle airbag where rookies can practice their jumps in safety.
All in all, it’s a good option for families with older children, mixed groups and anyone who wants a large, varied ski area and guaranteed snow – even as late as Easter.
Read Linsey McNeill’s ski blog here.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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