What’s New this Winter in Avoriaz?
Can you believe it’s just three weeks until the official start of winter in Avoriaz? The start of the winter season is coming round mega fast, so if you’re planning visit Avoriaz over the next few months, here’s all the new and exciting stuff going on in the resort for you to look forward to in our favourite car-free ski resort. We’ve even added in a few old favourites that you can fit into your winter holiday plans.
New Lifts
Some of the biggest news to come out of Avoriaz in the run up to this winter is that the resort is building two new ski lifts to create a brand new and more reliable link to Champèry – les Crosets on the Swiss side of les Portes du Soleil. The two high speed six-man chairlifts will take you from the Lindarets bowl to the ridge between Avoriaz and Les Crosets, the first a replacement of the old Léchère chairlift, and the second a brand new chair names Les Cases. This exciting new development will ease skier traffic on the current link via the Mossettes chairlift, as well as make the link to Switzerland a bit more reliable, as Mossettes is often forced to close due to high winds.
The new link to Switzerland will start from the Lindarets bowl.
New Pistes
As part of the aforementioned new lifts, Avoriaz will be creating a new piste to go with them. The new red run, Les Cases, will start from Pointe de Mossette and really open up that sector of the resort, especially during busy holiday periods. You’ll enjoy 2.5km of new slope, a 445m altitude drop and stunning views over les Dents du Midi.
New Touring Slopes
Avoriaz has steadily been building its ski touring and splitboarding network over the past few years, creating safe, visually pleasing trails for keen tourers to travel uphill away from the hustle and bustle of the downhill slopes. This winter the resort will be trialling two new slopes alongside its existing ones, so watch this space!
Avoriaz has been developing its ski touring network over the past few years. Photo: Avoriaz 1800
New Bowling and Gaming Bar
Remember the old bowling alley in Avoriaz? Over the past few years it’s had a complete makeover and will be reopening its doors this December. Gone will be the kitsch décor and clunky bowling paraphernalia, to be be replaced with sleek interiors, animated bowling lanes, arcade games, and most importantly, plenty of TV screens so you can watch the sport. Le Roc will consist of two bars: le Strike Roc which will house the arcade games and bowling, and le Lounge Roc, which was open last year and serves up delicious food, luxurious cocktails and hosts some excellent burlesque nights!
New Hotel
This winter Avoriaz is welcoming a brand new hotel, the four-star Mil8. Only the second four-star hotel in the resort, it will present a relaxed atmosphere and cosy deco, but also house a luxurious relaxation area, complete with an infinity pool.
This winter a new hotel and new bars will be changing the face of Avoriaz. Image: Avoriaz 1800
Rock on Spring
17th – 19th April
The Rock On Snow tour is a firm fixture on the Avoriaz winter calendar, kicking off winter with a bang. This winter welcomes the first Rock on Spring, which will take place over the one of the last weekends of the winter season. You’ll get to test a massive selection of next winter’s skis and snowboards, as well a a daily barbecue, activities and workshops.
And Some Old Favourites…
Rock on Snow
13th – 15th December
Rock on Snow is a three day ski and snowboard test, music and film festival that kicks off the official start of the winter season in Avoriaz. All the major ski and snowboard brands are there with this winter’s best gear ready for you to test by day, while by night you can enjoy live music, DJs and film screenings throughout the resort.
New Year in Avoriaz
31st December
One of the highlights of staying in Avoriaz is the incredible New Year celebration. Everyone in the resort flocks to the village centre for a huge DJ set from Fun Radio, one of France’s biggest radio stations. It’s all capped off with a massive fireworks display at midnight.
Roc the Pistes returns this winter for its 10th edition. Photo: JB Bieuville
Rock the Pistes
15th – 21st March
Rock the Pistes returns this winter for its 10th edition! Expect another week of exploring les Portes du Soleil and watching some of Europe’s most exciting musicians and artists perform directly on the slopes. This winter, Avoriaz is hosting legendary French hip hop group, IAM, while it’s just been announced that the Kooks will be playing in Morzine.
Snowboxx
21st – 28th March
Now in its sixth year in Avoriaz, Snowboxx takes over the resort for a week in March, bringing you some of the world’s best electronic artists, igloo parties and themed night, directly on the snow. Week-long festival passes are on sale now, and you’ll also be able to buy day passes or tickets to individual events. We’ll be running cabs between Morzine and Avoriaz for evening performances throughout the week so get your bookings in early!
Hey Shreddie! Photo: Oreli.b
The Stash
Avoriaz’s eco-friendly wooden snow park is an old favourite with some new additions; if you’ve been following Avoriaz Snowzone on Instagram you’ll know that the team has been busy over the past few months making sure the Stash is in tip top shape for winter, including some new features and reimagined old ones.
We hope you’re now suitably excited about your impending trip to Avoriaz! But don’t forget to book your airport transfers. We offer shared and private transfers from Geneva to Avoriaz throughout the winter, which you can book online right now. And of course, feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you have any questions. See you soon!