Morzine-Avoriaz scores highly for freestyle. Morzine’s park is average and bettered by the offering from neighbouring (and connected) Les Gets. However, riders need look no further than Avoriaz for the real freestyle deal. With two strong parks, a great halfpipe and the wood-themed Burton Stash, Avoriaz is properly switched on for freestyle. There’s even a small park for beginners.
The most popular spot is the Chapelle park. Serviced by a dedicated drag, it’s designed for everyone from beginners through to strong freestylers, with three kicker lines and plenty of jibs. It has a vibrant scene, reflecting the work that the shapers put in: music playing, well groomed hits, daily re-shapes, and fresh design. Avoriaz’s trump card is perhaps The Stash – one of only two in Europe. Originally built for advanced riders, they’ve since added some more routes, including ‘Main Street’, so the Stash now caters for all levels of freestyle ability. However, with ski schools going through it, and deliberately little maintenance, things can get very rutted. There are easily 20 hits from top to bottom: rails and boxes made from logs, picnic benches, rainbows, wall-rides, powslashes, hips, even jumps through trees – awesome.
For the truly bold, the connected resort of Les Crosets – just on the Swiss side of the border – has a monster park, full of unfeasibly large hits.
