To the Sun - Portes du Soleil

1/An "interesting" ski resort - Avoriaz

It's cold outside today! Sitting under an inversion layer in Araches and Les Carroz it's a dreary morning. Given that we are not yet up to skiing we thought we'd take a reconnoitre to some of the neighbouring ski areas. So after Graeme had his locks trimmed by "Phillipe" this morning [ now's there's a story to be told! - "mai pas maintenant" ] - we headed off to the Portes du Soleil ski area.

This ski area, whose name means "The Gates of the Sun" is immense. 209 lifts with 650km of ski trails crossing back and forth between France and Switzerland! Quite mind blowing. But apparantly over the last few years they have suffered from lack of snow due to the relatively low altitude of many of the areas.

The main 3 ski areas on the French side of the Alps are Les Gets (only about 30 minutes drive from Araches), Morzine and the highest Avoriaz (at 1800m). Heading in search of the sun we decided that Avoriaz might be worth a look.

All I can say is that the architecture is quite interesting. The Lonely Planet guide book describes it as looking like a "Smurf Town". The huge concrete tower blocks have been disguised with wooden cladding set at different angles. Graeme liked it. I'm still ambivalent. I think I still prefer the traditional Swiss/Haute Savoy chalet architecture. But certainly Avoriaz is much better looking than our own high ski resort of Flaine (aka concrete jungle). I suspect that both resorts were built around the same period ...but Avoriaz won the design prize and Flaine finished well down the list!!

3/ The "Sleigh Rank"

4/ These sleds really canter along!

One of the great things that Avoriaz has done is ban motor vehicles from the village. To get around you have to walk, ski or take one of the many horse drawn carriages. The village square also has a quaint merry-go-round for the kids.

To escape the cold we snuck into one of the cafes where I enjoyed the best chocolate chaud (hot chocolate) to date. Generally, the ol' hot chocolate has been a bit of a hit and miss affair. The worst was a weak brown cup of dishwater that I was served at the top of Les Grand Montets and the best was today's in Avoriaz. I think it was actually pure melted chocolate. Delicious!! It must have been good, as Graeme kept wanting a taste. Thank goodness it was a big cup!!

We are back at french school tomorrow afternoon. Wish us luck!