Which is better 4 Vallees or Portes du Soleil?

Hi guys,

It's come a time in my life when finally i have decided to buy myself a chalet

I am looking in Verbier because it's in the 4 vallees giving 412km of pistes. I then have the advantage of skiing to the 8 different resorts of the 4 vallees, like Nendaz which i really like.

Then i am thinking of Morgins or champery in the portes du soleil or other resorts but staying in the swiss part of the portes du soleil.

The thing i really like about the the 4 vallees is that the highest peak is 3300m where as the portes du soleil is 2500m and 615km of pistes. The 4 vallees has guarenteed snow during the winter months. because of how high you are, and because of the glacier at mont fort in the 4 vallees you have all year round skiing which is what i really like. But i don't believe this is the case for portes du soleil because of the highest peak being at 2500m.

The 4 vallees is superb for expert skiers, i am not quite sure about the portes du soleil. But in the portes du soleil the extra 215km of pistes compared to 4 vallees is really something which makes up for the lack of having a very high peak mountain.

I like the 4 valles also because as i am from the UK i can take a chatered flight straight to Sion airport and then it's a 20 minute journey to the 4 valleys.

How far is the airport journey to a resort like morgins in portes du soleil?

What are your views guys?

I have also noticed that the portes du soeil is far better value for money compared to the 4 vallees.


any help much appreciated


Many many thanks

They're both huge ski areas with access to just about every sort of slope you can imagine... so it's difficult to generalise.

Verbier is great for strong skiers, with Les Portes du Soleil maybe better suited for intermediates who want to do big miles. The Four Valleys is probably not as well linked as the PdS and getting from one valley to another (and back!) can challenge intermediates if not confident.

You're right to highlight the difference in peak altitude; if snow cover is poor, every skier in and near the PdS heads for Avoriaz which can mean very crowded slopes.

If you're considering buying a chalet in either, it'd be well worthwhile spending some time in each (they're not that far apart so you could easily split a week or two between them) and getting a feel for what's what.

Powderhound

Hi powderhound

Many thanks for your reply

You say that 4 vallees and pds are not that far apart

Do you know how many KM apart they are?

Maybe i will have to drive up there


thanks in advance

no contest verbier is the best the p d s is low and it quite often rains in morzine

It's over an hour from Sion to Verbier and involves two changes by public transport. Whilst you can get from Sion to Nendaz more quickly, it's no help if your chalet is in Verbier as you can't carry all you kit on the chairlift!