With the official start of winter in Avoriaz just three weeks away, and a number of Portes du Soleil resorts already partially opening at the weekends, what better time to whet your appetite for winter than with a rundown of our favourite winter events in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets? Whether you’re yet to book your winter holiday, or you’ve got your dates locked in, there’s an event for everyone on the horizon. Put these in your diaries!
Avoriaz: Rock on Snow
13th – 15th December
Start the winter season in style with this classic ski and snowboard test event in Avoriaz. By day you’ll have the opportunity to test a range of skis, boards, boots and accessories, while by night you can enjoy film screenings, live music and DJs.
Christmas in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets
Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets each pull out all the stops during the Christmas Holidays, so look out for Christmas parades, torchlit descents and fireworks displays in each resort. Both Morzine and Avoriaz put on spectacular Christmas extravaganzas that kids and adults will love, while in Les Gets, discover Santa’s secret grotto, hidden deep in the forest!
New Year in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets
31st December
As with Christmas, New Year is also a spectacular time to be in Morzine, Avoriaz or Les Gets. Each resort celebrates differently, with a family friendly fireworks display in Les Gets, fireworks and a late-night DJ at the Morzine Office de Tourisme, and in Avoriaz you can join the FunRadio DJs in the resort centre and party the night away, complete with fireworks at midnight.
Les Gets: La Grande Odysée
14th January
Always a spectacular event to watch (especially if you like dogs), la Grand Odysée is a French dog sledding tour and Les Gets hosts one of the races. For one night only you can watch some of Europe’s best mushers battling it out for the title, a great opportunity to experience such a niche sport.
Les Gets: Let’s Get Comedie – NEW
20th – 24th January
That’s right! Les Gets is getting its very own comedy festival this winter and we can’t wait. On the agenda so far are the hilarious Marcus Bigstocke and très drôle Paul Taylor, with more acts to be announced. The event will be taking place over five days in January, which coincidentally, is also one of the best months to go skiing and snowboarding!
Morzine: Women’s European Alpine Skiing World Cup – NEW
29th – 30th January
The stepping stone to the World Cup, the European Cup will see some of the best female ski racers in Europe competing to take home the title of European Champion. All the race action will take place on the Pleney so it’ll be really easy to watch, and you can have a few drinks at the Tremplin after!
Avoriaz: Avoriaz Snow Carnival
8th February – 9th March
Every Thursday throughout the school holidays Avoriaz puts on a spectacular snow carnival that you can follow around the snowy streets featuring bucket loads of colour, light, sound and fun. And every other day of the holidays, the resort will be offering loads of fun activities for kids, from electric snowmobiling to sledging races.
Les Gets: Red Ski Show
12th February – 4th March
Every week throughout the school holidays, come and see the Red Ski Show, a torchlit descent with as difference. Put on by the Les Gets ESF instructors and pisteurs, you’ll get to enjoy some synchronised skiing, safety demos and light shows. Plus, watch out for the charity torchlit descents, that YOU get to be a part of!
Morzine: Morzine Pampers You
9th – 13th March
Morzine’s annual wellness week is always a treat, and its flexible schedule means you can fit relaxing wellness activities around your time on the slopes. From cooking workshops to meditation sessions, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Rock the Pistes
15th – 21st March
The most unique music festival in the Alps, Rock the Pistes encourages you to explore the entire Portes du Soleil on skis or a snowboard, with a huge act performing in a different reaort in the ski area each day. On the agenda this year is Deluxe in Châtel, IAM in Avoriaz and the Kooks in Morzine.
Avoriaz: Snowboxx
21st – 28th March
Following on from Rock the Pistes is Snowboxx festival, one of the biggest music festivals in the Alps. Taking place in Avoriaz, Snowboxx gives you the chance to dance the nights away to some of the best electro artists and DJs on the planet and ski, snowboard or brunch by day!
Les Gets: Spring Lounge Music Festival
21st – 29th March
After a successful run of summer Lounge Music Festivals, the Spring Lounge Music Festival returns to Les Gets for a second year. This fantastic event sees a massive range of artists perform all over Les Gets; in bars and restaurants, in the town centre and even up the mountain. It’s completely free and has a casual, family friendly atmosphere so you can see as much or as little of the music as you like.
Avoriaz: Rock on Spring – NEW
17th – 19th April
Avoriaz is closing out the winter with the all new Rock on Spring, which takes a similar format to Rock on Snow but at the end of the winter instead of the beginning. The focus of Rock on Spring is next winter’s equipment, as well as ski touring and splitboarding gear. There will be lots of touring workshops, safety demonstrations, and of course plenty of live music and après.
That’s just a small taster of what’s on offer throughout the 2020 winter season in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets, we hope it helps you plan your trip! If you’d like to know more about what’s going on in les Portes du Soleil this winter check out our events calendar – we’re updating it all the time. If you have an event you’d like to share you can even add your own HERE.
