Dust off your skis and snowboards – the Portes du Soleil opens early

This week has seen significant snowfall across many parts of the Alps, with the early winter covering creating some picture-prefect scenes throughout the vast Portes du Soleil, which comprises 12 varied resorts spanning the Swiss-French border. As a result, many of the region’s mountain lifts will be going into operation earlier than scheduled, with the slopes of Avoriaz 1800, Les Gets and Saint-Jean d’Aulps set to open in France this weekend (4-5 December), alongside much of the ski area in Switzerland’s beautiful Région Dents du Midi.

Most of the Portes du Soleil was due to start the winter sports season in mid-December, with the early openings coming as welcome news for skiers and snowboarders, many of whom missed out last winter. The pandemic may still be with us, and travel to Switzerland currently more challenging, but these images taken this week from the Portes du Soleil are whetting our appetite for the season ahead, with more of the white stuff forecast for next week.

(Main image above: La Foilleuse near Morgins Switzerland)

Morgins, Switzerland