Get the official map
- Châtel’s official trail maps include interactive maps and downloadable versions for the local area and the wider Portes du Soleil.
The official PDFs checked on September 28, 2026 are labeled winter 2025/26. Check for the 2026/27 edition before traveling, then save it to your phone for use without a signal.
How the area is laid out
Châtel's local skiing is sold as the Espace Liberté: five linked sectors (Super-Châtel above the village, Linga and Pré-la-Joux farther along the valley, plus La Chapelle d'Abondance down the valley and Torgon over the Swiss border), totaling 69 runs and 56 lifts. The tourist office currently quotes 120 km of pistes; check the map for the sectors covered by your ticket.
On the map, the ski areas sit on both sides of the valley:
- Super-Châtel, reached by gondola straight from the village: the gentle, open side: greens, blues, the Grand Plan cruise, the la Belette fun piste, and the crossings toward Morgins and Torgon in Switzerland.
- Linga → Pré-la-Joux, along the valley: the serious, north-facing side: the Linga run and race stadium, the red Chaux Fleurie, and the chairs that feed the wider circuit.
- Vonnes links the two sides. The Portes du Soleil and Gabelou chairlifts connect Super-Châtel with the Linga side. Check those lifts on the map before choosing between skiing across and taking a bus.
Which side you'll ski most should also decide where you stay, and compare monthly conditions in the snow & weather guide.
The lifts that matter
- Télécabine de Super-Châtel: the village gondola and the only one on the Châtel side; your beginner-day and bad-weather workhorse.
- Télésiège du Linga + Écho Alpin: the pair that opens the north-facing side: top in about eight minutes, the best part of 800 m of vertical back down.
- Télésiège de Pré la Joux, then Cornebois and Rochassons: the ladder into Avoriaz and the full circuit. Pierre Longue fills in the sector.
- Portes du Soleil + Gabelou at Vonnes: the inter-sector link described above.
The Pré-la-Joux sector is also where the marked Rando Parc touring itineraries start: they're on the map too, drawn as ascent routes rather than pistes.
Into the Portes du Soleil
The full Portes du Soleil pass opens 12 resorts across France and Switzerland: around 600 km of pistes, 308 runs, 209 lifts, and from Châtel the way in is over Pré-la-Joux toward Avoriaz, or across Super-Châtel into the Swiss resorts. The circuit day (the full loop through Avoriaz, Champéry and back) requires time and confident intermediate skiing; start early, watch the last-lift times printed on the map for each border crossing, and remember the pass you bought determines which sectors you can use.