Snowparks in the Portes du Soleil

The Portes du Soleil not only has an abundance of snowparks, but also some of the best parks in Europe. These parks cater for all levels of rider; from complete freestyle novices to world class pros. Here’s a guide to them.

Avoriaz

Avoriaz Snowzone: Kids Parkway | Arare | La Chapelle | Superpipe | The Stash | The Mini-Stash

Avoriaz itself has a huge selection of snow parks, supported by Burton Snowboards, which are tiered to allow for rider development. Sometimes stoking the rad takes a little kindling… small sticks before you toss on the big logs. The series of snowparks in Avoriaz provide all you need; from short ride-on boxes, to little rollers, riders can get the feel of the terrain under them before stepping up to the medium size hits and rails off the ground. And once someone’s got the taste for air, they can light it up with gasoline and laser shows on the big jumps and in the Superpipe. Start small and learn big!

The Burton Kids Parkway / Trashers is the perfect entry level park for freestyle newbees. It has low-lying, wide boxes, very small jumps & rollers and is tucked away in a totally intimidation free zone!

Next is the La Chapelle Park  which is the perfect arena to learn, progress and hone your freestyle skills. Features vary every year, and throughout the season, but generally the Chapelle park has two blue jump lines, two jib lines as well as two green jump lines. Each line consists of 4 – 5 jumps or features. The jump lines range from tiny jumps to 10m table tops again with progression in mind. The jib lines include flat, wide boxes, a range or rails and other features.

The Arare Park contains much bigger features and there is a high level of riding to be seen here. There are usually a couple of smaller jumps at the top of the park which then lead into larger jumps ranging from 12m to 20+. There is usually a hip at the bottom of the park as well as an airbag which is free to use as well as a great way to learn tricks. The Arare park stays in the shade a lot of the day so landings can remain pretty solid mid winter.

Avoriaz is also home to The Stash, a creative & organic snowpark invention by Burton. The Stash is a wooded tree run in the Lindarets bowl which is scattered with natural jibs, gaps, features & transitions. In this park there are rails, wall rides, logs, picnic tables all made out of natural materials. It is a great place to head in bad light / low visibility and is great fun to loop with friends, connecting hits and getting creative. There is also a Mini-Stash  for the mini-shredders out there!