Our Apartment is located in Residences Les Armoises - a new building in Route du Boude, close to the centre of Chatel.
| Chatel is a major ski
resort in the French Alps and part of the enormous Portes Du Soleil ski
area, with one lift pass covering 13 French and Swiss ski resorts. The 45 mile road
transfer from Geneva Airport takes around 90 minutes. Located 1,200 metres above sea level at the top of the beautiful Abondance Valley, Chatel Village is located on a high alpine pass linking Chatel in France with Morgins in Switzerland. More than just a ski resort, Chatel is a genuine working community. In summer the high alpine meadows ring to the sound of cow bells, a reminder of one of the valley's principal products - the smooth and delicious Abondance cheese.
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A key factor in the success of Chatel is the geography south of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), which creates a unique micro-climate, where winds rapidly pick up moisture crossing the lake and become trapped in the Abondance Valley where it has no choice but to fall as rain/snow. As a result Chatel enjoys an unusually good snow record with over 13 feet of average annual snowfall.
Unlike higher resorts, Chatel has adopted a mix of low tech and high tech measures to ensure that it too can offer good skiing conditions throughout the ski season, even when snow cover elsewhere is limited. The predominantly north facing slopes help ensure good snow retention which is augmented by an extensive system of fixed and transportable snow cannons, which can be rapidly deployed to ensure any thinning pistes remain skiable.
Perhaps most important is the work undertaken over many years by local farmers to remove boulders and rocks from the underlying grass base of the main pistes. This both helps improve the cattle pasture and of course helps keep the slopes open longer and minimises the risk of damage to your snowboard or skis. 20cm of snow provides ample cover to open most pistes, whilst depths of over 1 metre are often needed at higher resorts, just to cover the underlying rocks.
Elsewhere screening trees have been relocated to shade slopes prone to excess sun exposure. Offering a sensible and sustainable solution to keeping the ski slopes open. Indeed in nine out of the last ten years, elements of the Chatel ski lift system have opened at least one week before the advertised Mid December opening week with the slopes retaining ample cover well after the normal closure date the last Sunday in April.
Full directions to the Chalet are on our Travel page.