Winter (Mid-December - Mid-April)
Châtel is part of the biggest international linked ski area of the world, the "Portes du Soleil" and it consists of 14 different winter villages spread over 650 km of slopes on the boarder of France and Switzerland. The ski area is perfect for beginners and experts (you can choose between a big- and a small lift pass) and it\'s known as "off piste" area. In Châtel there are 4 possibilities to access the Portes du Soleil (Petit Châtel, Super-Châtel, Linga and Pré La Joux). From Pré La Joux you need 3 chairlifts to Avoriaz. There is an up-to-date system for the lift pass: the "hands-free" system. This means you slip through a gate and an electronic eye registers the validity of your pass. Châtel has 50 km of loipes for ski cross-country. But you can do a lot more sports: ice-skating, paragliding, hiking, bob-sledge and even helicopter skiing/snowboarding is possible.
Slopes info (1.000 m until 2.500 m):
650 km slopes - 2 countries - 14 villages
French villages: Abondance, Avoriaz, La Chapelle d\' Abondance, Châtel, La Grande Terche, Les Gets, Montriond and Morzine.
Swiss villages: Champéry, Champoussin, Les Crosets, Morgins, Torgon and Val d\'Illiez. 208 lifts and 288 prepared slopes: 28 black (heavy) slopes (100 km), 107 red (medium) slopes (380 km), 112 blue (easy) slopes and 41 green (very easy) slopes (170 km). 8 snowboardparks, 3 half pipes and 6 boardercrosscircuits. 520 snow machines to guarantee snow and 235 ski-cross-country slopes.
Summer (july and august)
Hotel Arc-en-Ciel is also open during the summer. It\'s perfect for walking (800 km of tracks), hiking, rafting, climbing, canyoning, parasailing and mountain biking (380 km (single) tracks). In the summer the Portes du Soleil has 24 lifts that are open, so you can take your bike up the mountain.
Since summer 2002 there is a new attraction: the Fantasticable. You fly in a harness at 120 km per hour from one mountain peak to another.
Water sports like sailing, (kite) surfing and wakeboarding are also possible on the Lake of Geneva. Of course all these sports can be done with professional assistants. Other surrounding cities like Chamonix, Geneva, Evian, Lausanne and Montreux are really worth a visit.