GIN Ski Day – 15 January 2026, Portes du Soleil

Well, it’s half-past January already, but the 2026 ski season has now got under way, notwithstanding an earlier outing to Flaine some five weeks ago.

In the event, four committed regulars – Joe, Mark, Mervyn & Stephen – signed up for what promised to be a sunny ski day in the eponymous Portes du Soleil.  Others proffered the usual excuses for absence – sickness, injury, lack of fitness, travel, etc – but a ‘tonic’ winter wander to Le Vermailley scheduled for the same day might have held more appeal for some of the uncommitted. Just saying. 

An early start, picking up Mark and Joe en route, saw us parked at Champéry by 09:30 and at the café at the top of the Mossettes chairlift soon after 10:00 for our coffee rendezvous with Stephen. He had been mostly resident in Morgins since Christmas and his skiing fitness soon showed as he led us, at pace, down almost empty and beautifully manciured blues and reds to Brochaux, Linderets, over to and around Plaine Dranse and finally the bottom of Lingua.

After more than two non-stop hours of that we were ready for a much needed refuelling stop and chose the delightful auberge de montagne Chez Denis in Plaine Dranse for lunch. Old Denis has given up his day job as a shepherd for the easier(?) role of restauranteur. His somewhat brooding and taciturn mien (maybe he’s spent too long alone with just sheep) belies a very welcoming traditional venue. As we sat close to a roaring log fire sipping local beers we perused the appetising menu which comprised a tempting selection of highly calorific dishes. Stephen and I chose the Berthoud, a bowl of molten Abondance cheese with all the trimmimgs; Joe selected a poellée montagnarde (akin to a tartiflette). while Mark opted for a plain croute – for reasons that need not be divulged here. Whatsapp messages and photos were exchanged with our hiking bretheren who were ensconsed in the aforementioned Vermeilley, enjoying a return of the much-missed fondue trifon. Delicious desserts and coffee completed our feast.

The afterenoon’s skiing took us back over to Linderets, Avoriaz, down the Coupe du Monde (now recassified from black to red), Arare and finally to Mossettes. Here we bade farewell to Stephen for him to return directly to Morgins whilst we remaing three descended the now distinctly softer snow on the south facing Swiss slopes to Les Crosets and thence to Col de Croix, to catch the cablecar back to the carpark.

We departed slightly later than planned at 16:15, but our anxieties about the rush hour motorway congestion around Lausanne and Morges this time turned out to be unwarranted, much to the relief of the driver and his long-suffering passengers.

Vital statistics for the day, according to Joe’s app (unverified):

Distance skied:  54.6km,  denevilation: 10’600m,  max speed: 59.6km/h,  time in skiboots:  6h 45m,   weather:  grand beau.

Thanks for joining me and looking forward to more outings this season with more of you.