Not even winter, and already the snows have started falling in the Alps! Above, the scene across Avoriaz on October 21.
Across Europe's resorts, hopes are high that the 2018/19 season will be a good one, following on from the excellent season we had last time around – especially some the flurries of late snow that kept many resorts open into late-March and April.
There are a host of new openings and events planned for the new season across the Alps, from new lifts, more hotels, a looming price-war for flights from the UK, and some excellent gigs already planned. AS the new seasons starts, we will be following all the events and keeping you up to date on everything that can help you plan some fabulous ski mini-breaks in 2018.
Lift dates, 2017/18 season
The Porte du Soleil area, our favourite place for minibreaks, has just announced it's dates for the coming seasons. The official start and end of the 2017/18 season are 23rd December 2017 to 22nd April 2018, but individual ski areas have also released individual dates (confusingly):
Avoriaz ski lifts should open from the 15th December 2017 to 21st April 2018
Morzine ski lifts should open from the 16th December 2017 to 15th April 2018
Les Gets ski lifts should open on the 16th December 2017 to 15th April 2018
Some parts of Portes du Soleil may open on weekends ahead of the official start dates, if the snow cover is good enough. Always good to keep an eye on the live snow report reports.
Cost of passes
At Portes du Soleil, there are two main passes: the Portes du Soleil Ski pass (full area) and the Morzine/Les Gets Ski Pass (local area). The Portes du Soleil pass covers lifts connecting 12 ski villages from Les Gets all the way across to the Swiss resorts. The Morzine Ski Pass is for the Morzine and Les Gets area, excluding the Super Morzine, Prodains and Ardent lifts, which are part of the Avoriaz lift-system.
For the new season, a six day pass is:
Portes du Soleil €260
Morzine/Les Gets €199
You can buy your pass online here (and there is a discount of 10% if you buy early!).