Transfer to Alps: The Essential European Ski Resort Guide
Oct 5, 2026 · 22 min · 9 segments
Ready to slide? In Episode 5 of Transfer to Alps, hosts Liam and Chloe take a deep dive into the massive, six-hundred-kilometre snowy playground that surrounds Avoriaz 1800. As the highest and most…
And when it comes to Avoriaz, you aren't just talking about a couple of local hills and a handful of drag lifts.
This is one of the largest, most spectacular interlink ski domains in the entire world, and the sheer scale of it is actually quite hard to wrap your head around if you've never been.
Oh, the scale is just massive.
We are talking about a mind-boggling 600 kilometers of linked pistes.
Some maps even list it up to 650 kilometers of slopes.
It connects 12 different ski resorts across two different countries: France and Switzerland.
You've got about 200 lifts running constantly across the whole domain, and Avoriaz sits right in the absolute dead center of it all.
Its geographical location is the real secret to its success.
Because Avoriaz sits on that high-altitude plateau at 1,800 meters, it acts as the central turntable of the entire region.
And to the south, you can ski straight over the peaks into the Swiss resorts of Champéry, Les Crosets, Morgins, and Champoussin.
Because of its height, it gets the absolute best, most consistent snow cover in the entire domain.
Even if the lower valley resorts are struggling for snow in late April, Avoriaz is almost always fully open and snow sure.
It is.
But Liam, the absolute best thing about skiing here is the cross-border adventure.
There is something incredibly cool and slightly James Bond-esque about starting your morning in France, skiing across an international border without ever taking your skis off, having lunch in Switzerland, and skiing back to France for your afternoon tea.
It is a brilliant day out.
There are no physical border controls or passport checks on the mountain anymore.
You just ski past these old abandoned customs wooden huts on the ridge line.
But the cultural shift when you cross that border is fascinating.
You ski from France into Switzerland, and suddenly the currency changes from euros to Swiss francs.
The mountain huts change too.
On the French side, you're stopping for a heavy tartiflette or a fondue, but the second you cross into Les Crosets or Morgins, you are stopping at a traditional Swiss wooden buvette for a proper crispy Swiss rösti topped with fried eggs and bacon.
And when it comes to Avoriaz, you aren't just talking about a couple of local hills and a handful of drag lifts.
This is one of the largest, most spectacular interlink ski domains in the entire world, and the sheer scale of it is actually quite hard to wrap your head around if you've never been.
Oh, the scale is just massive.
We are talking about a mind-boggling 600 kilometers of linked pistes.
Some maps even list it up to 650 kilometers of slopes.
It connects 12 different ski resorts across two different countries: France and Switzerland.
You've got about 200 lifts running constantly across the whole domain, and Avoriaz sits right in the absolute dead center of it all.
Its geographical location is the real secret to its success.
Because Avoriaz sits on that high-altitude plateau at 1,800 meters, it acts as the central turntable of the entire region.
And to the south, you can ski straight over the peaks into the Swiss resorts of Champéry, Les Crosets, Morgins, and Champoussin.
Because of its height, it gets the absolute best, most consistent snow cover in the entire domain.
Even if the lower valley resorts are struggling for snow in late April, Avoriaz is almost always fully open and snow sure.
It is.
But Liam, the absolute best thing about skiing here is the cross-border adventure.
There is something incredibly cool and slightly James Bond-esque about starting your morning in France, skiing across an international border without ever taking your skis off, having lunch in Switzerland, and skiing back to France for your afternoon tea.
It is a brilliant day out.
There are no physical border controls or passport checks on the mountain anymore.
You just ski past these old abandoned customs wooden huts on the ridge line.
But the cultural shift when you cross that border is fascinating.
You ski from France into Switzerland, and suddenly the currency changes from euros to Swiss francs.
The mountain huts change too.
On the French side, you're stopping for a heavy tartiflette or a fondue, but the second you cross into Les Crosets or Morgins, you are stopping at a traditional Swiss wooden buvette for a proper crispy Swiss rösti topped with fried eggs and bacon.
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