La Mongie - Great Value skiing for all the Family!! - perfect for beginners and intermediates!! - French Pyrenees - La Mongie, France

Set in the heart of the High French Pyrenees the Domain Tourmalet covers the Ski resorts of Bareges and La Mongie. They are separated by the famous Col Du Tourmalet (a famous tour de France accent) and combined have 125km of marked piste. This is made up of 69 pistes including 6 blacks, 21 reds, 19 blues and 23 greens and loads of off-piste skiing.

However, what really makes this area special is the relaxed feel, the people are friendly, the food is fantastic and authentic, well priced and served with a smile. The skiing is great with quiet pistes especially in the week and some big wide slopes to play around on. The resort of La Mongie is set at 1800m altitude and is compact in nature and is positioned perfectly for sun-bathing outside restaurants just 50m from the edge of the slopes.

Beginners can learn at La Mongie’s purpose built ski school area, only 100m from the center of the resort. and practise their skills on the local green slopes. As a beginner you can see a surprising amount of the mountains by sticking to the greens and easy blues.

Intermediates can ski all the way to the village of Bareges which is located over the famous Col de Tourmalet pass and represents roughly 15km of skiing from one side of the domain to the other.

For advanced intermediates there are plenty of challenging reds including moguls and some heart-stoppingly steep blacks! There are also some great little off-piste shortcuts to practise your powder skiing.

For the more leisurely skiers there are several restaurants in lovely sunny spots - conveniently you do not need to do lots of skiing between long lunch's and delicious hot chocolate with lots of cream on top biensur!

Mountain Biking - Chatel, France

Chatel, the most charming village in the Portes du Soleil offers you almost endless riding without frontiers on 650km of well-marked MTB tracks across France & Switzerland.
Tracks will take you through alpine meadows & forests using an extensive network of 24 linking lifts, all with the breath-taking backdrop of the French & Swiss Alps.
Chatel is situated just 80 minutes from Geneva airport. It is a beautiful alpine farming village set on the French/ Swiss border, mixing local traditions & rustic charm with a lively village centre with superb modern facilities.

FREERIDE, CROSS COUNTRY OR DOWNHILL
Chatel & the Portes du Soleil region has endless terrain on offer for all abilities - from gentle family outings through to world cup downhill runs. Adventure is guaranteed whatever your level.

ONE LIFT PASS
Chatel has it’s own 90km of marked trails & 2 bike parks but your Portes du Soleil lift pass gives you so much more with direct access to 650km of trails taking in 14 villages including: Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets, Morgins, Torgon, Champery, Champoussin & Montriond. Without doubt, the Portes du Soleil offers the best selection of riding anywhere in the Alps!.

VILLAGE FACILITIES IN CHATEL
Excellent child care facilities • Bars • Live music • Restaurants • Tennis • Bowling • Cinemas • Free navette busses running in around the resort plus much more.

Passportes Du Soliel 29th June 2008 - Morzine, France

Passportes Du Soleil has to be one of the most exciting “organised” MTB XC Rides in Europe with breathtaking scenery and ultimate trail variety, suitable for a beginner to expert. It was my first time doing it and I can honestly say, it was one of the best days Mountain Biking I have ever experienced in the Portes Du Soleil. 75kms in one day….awesome. Never thought I could ride to Switzerland and back in a day!

We started off early and left More Mountain's Chalet Robin at 7.20am with 12 peeps in tow, a combination of guests and friends, and guests who are now friends! Luckily for us we had prebooked everything so once labelled up and adorned with yellow wrist bands, plus the free T-Shirt we rode to the start at Super Morzine Telecabine.

Super M, down to the bottom of Chaux Fleurie and headed over to Switzerland via the Panoramic run through Satellite Trees. The Chaux Des Roses Chair was opened specially for the day to access a great rocky track leading down to Chatel with big drop offs all the way - we hit some snow at the top which was comedy! The Yellow wrist bands came in handy for a well needed foodstop which is all provided free of charge all day long. Our stop was Chatel ...Cheese, Ham, Raclette, Baguette, Saucisson, Sausages…stuff your face as much as you like and fill your rucksack with the free Muesili bars to keep you going for the day.

Finally looped to Morgins, followed by Champoussin and then on to Champery via Les Crozets, only to take the G5 back to Morzine from the top of Mossettes…brilliant, especially after a bit o’ Mutzig Mayhem at Robo’s. WHAT A DAY…

Great Ski Resort for All Abilities - Chamonix - Les Houches, France

Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley is a wonderful place to ski!
The pistes are wide, tree-lined, (rarely crowded) and welcoming to beginners and intermediates. For the more advanced and more adventurous - there is the World Cup downhill piste to challenge you.
Charming piste-side restaurants, enjoy the excellent views over a warming vin chaud!
Lift pass - 'Mont Blanc Unlimited' gives access to the whole valley, which includes 5 ski stations, the famous Aiguille du Midi (longest single-span cable car in Europe, and starting point for the Vallee Blanche), also the Montenvers rack and pinion railway - a delightful ride up the steep side of Chamonix Valley arriving at Montenvers Hotel and the fantastic views of the Mer de Glace.

The perfect village resort - Chatel, France

Winter or summer, an intimate break for two, a family holiday, an action packed weekend with your friends.....Whatever you choose to do in Châtel you'll find everything the perfect village resort has to offer.
A beautiful & lively village with modern facilities in the heart or the Portes du Soleil, perfectly preserved mountain architecture, skiing, boarding, mountain biking, white water adventures or perhaps a relaxing walk through mountain pastures to name but a few of the wonderful activities to fill your days.
In Châtel there really is something for everybody. The countryside is as magnificent as the old chalets in the valley..
Here, the atmosphere is a tempting mixture of a tranquil way of life, friendliness and fun!
Come & see it for yourselves!

MTB EVENTS, Les PassPortes du soleil - Chatel, France

Starting in Chatel, the most charming village in the Portes du Soleil,
open to all & a must event for any mountain biker, this event has been held in the portes du soleil since 2004 & has grown better & more popular year after year.
Originally a replacement for the Free Raid Classic, it is now better than ever.
Les PassPortes du Soleil is a lift-assisted 50-mile free ride mountain bike tour of the region in an atmosphere of festival and focuses on fun.
Descending nearly 20,000 feet & includes massive descents, traversing, & even a tiny bit of climbing. Riders can complete the circuit in one day, over the course of the weekend, or even ride its entirety each day.
Although the festival is technically headquartered in one of the 14 resort villages the starting and finishing points are completely up to the individual. Entry includes weekend-long lift access throughout the region, post race festivities, goodie bag & everything else that comes with attending a large mountain bike event—all for less than 40 Euro.
The summer 2008 'passportes' will be held over the 27-29 June 2008 and will mark the start of the summer season in Chatel.

VILLAGE FACILITIES IN CHATEL
Excellent child care facilities • Bars • Live music • Restaurants • Tennis • Bowling • Cinemas • Free navette busses running in around the resort plus much more.

ZERMATT SUMMER DELIGHTS - Zermatt, Switzerland

Zermatt grew up around summer tourism and today offers all the attractions of a Swiss alpine resort with its clean invigorating mountain air and choice of active or relaxed holidays.
Zermatt offers beautiful hill walks, cable-car excursions to the peaks, trips to the Italian lakes, heli flights around the Matterhorn and other fun activities.

Current Conditions - Bansko, Bulgaria

Mid-20's with clear skies all day. Still snow on the mountains and if you are prepared to trek then you can still enjoy some off-piste sking / boarding.

Grimentz The undiscovered Gem! - Grimentz, Switzerland

Described by Where to Ski and Snowboard 2008 as “Europe’s best-kept secret” and an “undiscovered gem” The Val d’Annivers consist of five charming villages with high, snow secure slopes together with spectacular scenery all within easy reach of Geneva.

The area is famous for its unspoilt villages; excellent and extensive off-piste skiing; its reliable snow cover and its uncrowded slopes suited to all levels of skiers. The skiing in the area is superb a modern lift system offering over 220km of pistes and snow secure slopes ranging in height from 1340 to 3000m. The area is suitable for all levels of skiers with off-piste heaven in the resorts of Zinal and Grimentz together with slopes in all five villages most suited to beginners and intermediates. As Where to Ski and Snowboard says “our advice is to get there fast before it has time to catch up with the 21st century !

Mountain Biking - Chatel, France

MOUNTAIN BIKING IN CHATEL & THE PORTES DU SOLEIL
Chatel, the most charming village in the Portes du Soleil offers you almost endless riding without frontiers on 650km of well-marked MTB tracks across France & Switzerland.
Tracks will take you through alpine meadows & forests using an extensive network of 24 linking lifts, all with the breath-taking backdrop of the French & Swiss Alps.
Chatel is situated just 80 minutes from Geneva airport. It is a beautiful alpine farming village set on the French/Swiss border, mixing local traditions & rustic charm with a lively village centre with superb modern facilities

FREERIDE, CROSS COUNTRY OR DOWNHILL
Chatel & the Portes du Soleil region has endless terrain on offer for all abilities - from gentle family outings through to world cup downhill runs. Adventure is guaranteed whatever your level

ONE LIFT PASS
Chatel has it’s own 90km of marked trails & 2 bike parks but your Portes du Soleil lift pass gives you so much more with direct access to 650km of trails taking in 14 villages including: Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets, Morgins, Torgon, Champery, Champoussin & Montriond. Without doubt, the Portes du Soleil offers the best selection of riding anywhere in the Alps!

VILLAGE FACILITIES IN CHATEL
Excellent child care facilities •Swimming• Bars • Live music • Restaurants • Tennis • Bowling • Cinemas •Events•Markets• Free navette busses running in around the resort plus much more.