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skimoreworkless


Posts: 160
Joined: Feb 2010
Last Visited: 22:01
3rd Jan 2020
Chatel in France
Date Posted: 22.12hrs on Thu 26 Dec 19
Hi,

Has anyone skied in Chatel, is it worth a slide in January?

Also does anyone know how much it is to eat in Val Thorens can’t decide between these two resorts.
ropetow


Posts: 202
Joined: Sep 2006
Last Visited: 09:08
13th Apr 2021
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 15.57hrs on Tue 21 Jan 20
Skied through it on the PDS circuit. Its an hour-ish away from Geneva so good transfer times.
New chair TS Gabelou has improved connectivity with Linga and onwards to Avoriaz/Morzine etc. Previously you had to bus it. Has Savoyarde charm.Village is not particularly high at 1100m.

VT is high and can be very cold in Jan Feb - lunar landscape - no trees but has a glacier and some tremendous skiing. Longer transfer times. Part of 3Vallees so you can ski through Meribel to Courchevel 1650 for lunch and back which is a nice trip - or down to St Martin de Belleville if snow conditions permit.



Edited 2 times. Last edit at 17.00hrs Tue 21 Jan 20 by ropetow.
cmorrison


Posts: 1121
Joined: Sep 2007
Last Visited: 10:36
21st Apr 2021
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 09.41hrs on Wed 22 Jan 20
ropetow how was it doing the PDS circuit?
I'm planning on trying a circuit on Friday starting from the Super Morzine and ending at the bottom of the Prodains.
Do you have to really go fast to make it round before the lifts close or is there time to stop for lunch?
Hipennine


Posts: 1061
Joined: Dec 2005
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 12.56hrs on Wed 22 Jan 20
cmorrison Wrote:
ropetow how was it doing the PDS circuit?
I'm planning on trying a circuit on Friday starting from the Super Morzine and ending at the bottom of the Prodains.
Do you have to really go fast to make it round before the lifts close or is there time to stop for lunch?


Cmorrison, it's difficult to provide a good time estimate, because of the many variations of route around the PDS. There's also the problem of taking a wrong turn and having to backtrack. Which way round were you thinking of going? I have been around a few times, and on skis it can be a short as half a day. Try and figure out which lifts you will be using come 3pm. Some where there is no real alternative can get very busy after that time, and queue length anxiety may set in

Lunch on the swiss side can be a bit pricey, especially if you pay in euros instead of swiss francs.

As an alternative to going round the main PDS, you might want to try going from S.Morzine across to Chatel, then over the Morclan towards Torgon and then back into France towards Abondance. You come back the same way in reverse, but hardly ever on the same piste as outover. It's also usually dramatically quieter over that way.
cmorrison


Posts: 1121
Joined: Sep 2007
Last Visited: 10:36
21st Apr 2021
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 13.38hrs on Wed 22 Jan 20
Plan is to start from Super Morzine and head to Les Lindartes, then towards Chatel/Torgon, then Morgins, Champoussin and Les Crossets before heading back to Avoriaz, finishing with the long red/black down to Les Prodains and a bus back to the chalet.


Hipennine


Posts: 1061
Joined: Dec 2005
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 08.12hrs on Thu 23 Jan 20
cmorrison Wrote:
Plan is to start from Super Morzine and head to Les Lindartes, then towards Chatel/Torgon, then Morgins, Champoussin and Les Crossets before heading back to Avoriaz, finishing with the long red/black down to Les Prodains and a bus back to the chalet.



OK, my advice would be to keep an eye on the clock from 1.30 onwards and consider how many lifts you need to get on to complete your planned circuit. The backstop sounds to be you need to be at the crest of the swiss/French border above Les Crosets before lift closing. If time is against you by then, you could always go up to Les Mossettes and ski down straight back to Lindarets missing out the Swiss wall, Avoriaz and Prodains sectors. A taxi back from Les Crosets would be bankrupting!
awrightski


Posts: 158
Joined: Jan 2016
Last Visited: 10:02
2nd Dec 2020
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 14.00hrs on Thu 23 Jan 20
My overwhelming memory of the "circuit" which i have done both ways round is the time you spent sitting on lifts, usually old fixed grip lifts and even a t-bar at one point. i had heard so much about it but was so disappointed and frustrated. Before i start ranting too much PDS simply have no excuse. They do not invest in the infrastructure like 3v do.


If you are still deciding between 3v and Port du Soleil its 3v every day of the week. PDS simply doesnt compare. As example in almost identical weather conditions, and the same time of year, i skiied 180 miles in 6 days in PDS and 258 miles in 3v.

If it is more expensive its still much better value for money overall. some of the runs down into Chatel and around there through the trees are quite nice however.


tim1mw


Posts: 700
Joined: Nov 2006
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 15.19hrs on Thu 23 Jan 20
If you're doing the circuit, keep moving is my advice. I think the day I did it (2008 I think) is still my record distance for a single skiing day, though not my record vertical. I remember there being quite a few long tracks that piled on the miles, they were pretty, but not that exciting from skiing point of view. I also concur that it seemed to involve quite a lot of slow lifts.
cmorrison


Posts: 1121
Joined: Sep 2007
Last Visited: 10:36
21st Apr 2021
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 10.28hrs on Tue 28 Jan 20
We did the PDS circuit on Friday. The place was quiet so we had plenty of time and a lot of fun.
The Swiss resorts are pretty underdeveloped (Poma central) but some nice empty runs.

ropetow


Posts: 202
Joined: Sep 2006
Last Visited: 09:08
13th Apr 2021
Re: Chatel in France
Date Posted: 09.54hrs on Sun 9 Feb 20
Yes - the big issue with the circuit are the lifts in Champoussin and the 'temporary' drag lift going anti clockwise which replaced the point de Au chair. Local politics in play.
Btw - if you started an finished in Morzine you have missed Les Gets off the circuit. You need to start and finish at the top of Mont Chery and do the run down the back to L'Encrenaz as the first run. Its like the 3V run from VT to 1650 - now you really need to start it in Orelle. Lunch at Le Casserole in 1650 is obligatory though.
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