Morzine has opened a new lift, vastly increasing capacity on the crucial Prodains Express that links Morzine with Avoriaz. The old Prodains Express chairlift is fifty years old, a relic of a more rarefied era. The new lift will whisk skiers, hikers and mountain bikers up to Avoriaz from the Morzine valley in a speedy four minutes.
The project has cost the Portes de Soleil €25 million. Thomas Moulton, who ran a chalet in Morzine before becoming a senior member of our sales team, views this as money well spent: "The new lift brings Morzine up to speed with its rivals in France, like Val d’Isere-Tignes and Meribel-Courchevel, which tend to have a more up to date lift systems than the Portes de Soleil".
Updating the Prodains Express is an important step in the process of boosting the popularity of Morzine as a world class ski destination. But Morzine has the advantage over rivals of not being as reliant on snow to function as a mountain adventure holiday resort. Legions of mountain bikers that head to the Portes de Soleil over the summer season, making the most of the extensive lift system.
The new lift will have considerably enhanced carrying capacity for both skiers and mountain bikers, taking over 2000 people an hour up the mountain, compared to 450 per hour for the old lift. As Mr Moulton says "this is an excellent investment in the future of Morzine".
By Bernard Goyder
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