Haggerty In The Hague

Les Portes du Soleil

July 25th, 2010

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Lindsey and I went snowboarding with a group of friends for a week in Chatel, Les Portes du Soleil in the French and Swiss Alps. Les Portes du Soleil is a group of 12 resorts all linked together by ski or lift access and is huge: over 400 square miles of terrain!

Heaven in Portes du Soleil

Our group (12 of us in total) stayed at a private chalet with our own chef, a hot tub, sauna, and was walking distance to some slopes. We commonly started our skiing at another resort nearby, so the chalet owners drove us over to another starting point and went skiing themselves. Sometimes the ice sheets in the parking lots would melt during the day, leading to unintended collisions!

Car collision due to melting ice

During the days we sampled the local cuisine by eating lunch on the mountain. This dining style was quite different than the cafeteria-style eateries I’m used to at West Virginia ski resorts. While the weather was nice, we sat outside enjoying the sun and taking a few hours break to eat and drink. We sampled local French dishes, ate delicious croutes, warmed ourselves with gluhwein, and even drink wine poured out of a keg.

Literally, this was probably the best meal I've ever eaten

They told us the snow we were skiing on would eventually become Evian water

The croutes were delicious omelet-type things

Gluhwein is warmed wine with spices, served here in the sweet little mug

The skiing conditions were very good, just not fantastic. There was a decent amount of snow when we got there, but it warmed up during the week and didn’t start snowing significantly again until the end of the week. We found some places at lower elevations that had dirt exposed on the runs, while other places higher up, hidden in the valleys had fantastic powder. Everyone was saying that the whole year hadn’t been a fantastic snow year, but we still had a blast with what we got!

One of the fantastic powdered valleys near Avoriaz

Avoriaz - cool town with no driving. Only walking, skiing, or horse drawn carriage.

Self photo at Les Tetes du Midi

Lindsey kicked butt (and made it down this whole run without falling)

Apres ski was filled with rest and relaxation after a tough day of skiing. This usually involved some combination of the following: a book, alcoholic drinks, the sauna, and a long time in the hot tub. After our relaxation came the 4 course dinner which was prepared for us by the loving Czech couple. Every night had something different and the meals were delicious. My favorite part was the nightly local cheese sampling that came after dinner.

Part of the group, relaxing in the hot tub

Nice view from the hot tub

Some nights we stayed in and relaxed. Other nights we went out on the town. The town, Chatel, was a good size - not too big, not too small; and it seemed like every night had a different “spot” to be at. We managed to find a pretty cool local music festival, an abondance cow, and some interesting drink containers..