Family Ski Trip To Morzine – In Photos

Come rain or snow, summer or winter, the Alps is a wonderful getaway. In late December, we travelled by road to Morzine in the Portes du Soleil resort, spending New Year there. We had an overnight stay in Epernay on the way down and Dijon on the way home. Check out my short film of the road trip below.

This season the snow came late to the French Alps, very late, but that didn’t spoil our holiday. Not one bit. With two children in tow we didn’t ski as much as we have done in the past. But when we did, the skiing was still good. Two months without snow meant some bare mountain tops and reduced runs but the snow was not nearly as bad as we feared. The first few days we were there the sun shone brightly. I took the photo below as we were driving down the mountain from the Les Gets resort.

On the piste, it was busy in places but considering it hadn’t snowed since the beginning of November (and this was end of December), the Portes du Soleil had exelled at keeping the resort running. They had moved snow from place to place and made it, when the temperatures were right, by using snow cannons. Here is my husband, Paul, standing next to one in action on the piste in Avoriaz.

Obligatory skiing selfie!

Although there was snow high up, down in Morzine village the lack of white stuff was palpable.

Instead of skiing many took to the skies, parasailing. Mrs T loved spotting them and excitedly calling out the colours she could see.

On the slopes, bare patches were revealed. At times my daughter headed off to the side of the nursery slope and went crashing into mud! This photo shows that contrast as the sun beats down on the chair lift while lumps of snow lie waiting to replenish the piste.

Then suddenly it snowed! My daughters were transfixed by the snow falling with my oldest, Mrs T, giving a running commentary on the snowflakes settling on the ground while my youngest looked on, mouth open. At seven months old it was the first time Cheeky had seen snow. A special moment.

Despite the thin layer of snow, I decided to go for a jog in the mountains (I know, I’m a bit crazy!). It was cold and hard work but you can’t beat the fresh mountain air. You certainly feel alive as the wind snaps at your bare hands. As I ran, the clouds started to clear and the sun peeked through. Here, a break in the clouds revealed a wonderful sight…blue sky!

A few days later, it snowed some more and the Portes du Soleil was transformed into a winter wonderland. This is the view from the highest point in Avoriaz (2,400m), looking down at the village.

The warm, sunny weather we had at the beginning of the trip meant it was great conditions for teaching our four-year-old daughter to ski and daddy acted as ski instructor. It was a delight to see her progress and after a couple of days she perfected that snow plough!

Mrs T managed to look pretty cool on the slopes wearing her Muddy Puddles snow gear (check out our review here).

With a seven month old in tow, there were restrictions on our ski trip but we still took her up the mountains where she watched her sister ski, joined us for lunch and posed for photos! Here’s me and my girls in Les Gets.

I really like this photo of Cheeky and I too. You’ve got to love that smile!

One day, we headed up to the other side of the mountain in Les Gets for lunch at Les Chevrelles where they do a great tartiflette. This is the view from Mont Caly. I love the wisps of cloud clinging to the mountains. In the distance is Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

In the evenings, the centre of Morzine had a number of activities. The carousel was obviously a highlight for my daughter and although we didn’t take to the ice on this occasion, she loved watching the other children ice skate at the outdoor rink.

The most important thing about our trip was engaging in some family time and in that respect it was a resounding success. My husband and I even managed to have a couple of nights out with the grandparents babysitting. New Year’s eve was sat eating and drinking (rather a lot of) wine. Erm, I think these pictures say it all. The top left picture was clearly at the start of the evening. 

The holiday though was really all about these two gorgeous girls and some family time. The lack of snow didn’t matter, we still got to do a bit of skiing and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh mountain air.