Frequently asked questions
Getting there
Morzine is about 90 minutes drive from Geneva airport which is served by many low cost airlines (visit www.easyjet.com). Easyjet operate flights from all over the UK to Geneva including from Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournmouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Gatwick, Luton, Southend, Stanstead, Manchester and Newcastle. Prices start from about £30 each way but they become more expensive as time goes on. Morzine is about 8 hours by car from Calais.
Accommodation
There are a range of options, including hotels, chalets, appartments or even AirBnb.
The Morzine Tourist Office are happy to assist with accommodation - visit www.morzine-avoriaz.com / www.resa-morzine.com). Call Sabrina on +33 450 74 72 72 or email to promotion@morzine-avoriaz.com and mention Livery Skiing.
About skiing in Morzine
Morzine is a great family resort, connecting with about 250 pistes offering a vast area of varied skiing to suit all abilities. Among the other resorts in the Portes du Soleil which straddles France and Switzerland are Avoriaz, Chatel, Les Gets, Morgins and Champery to name but a few. The ski pass for the entire Portes du Soleil area which includes all these additional runs does cost a bit more but may be worth getting if you are out for the whole week.
For the three days of competition, the Morzine/Les Gets pass will be all you will need. We get a fantastic discount on lift passes - details will be available on the Deals page nearer the time.
Morzine lies in the heart of the massive Portes du Soleil ski region of the French Savoie Alps, half way between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. The Portes du Soleil is the largest internationally linked ski area in the world with a total of 14 resorts to provide an enormous 650 km of skiing and therefore is suitable for mixed ability groups. Morzine has something for everyone; it is especially a true favourite for mixed ability groups, snowboarders and families. It is the closest of the major alpine ski resorts to Geneva airport with a transfer time of about an hour and a half.
The main and original ski area, which links with Les Gets, is easily accessed from Morzine by the Pleney lift. The ski area is a large but relatively gentle area with many easy greens, blues and reds plus a few blacks on Chamossière, La Rosta and Mont-Chéry. Once you have explored the three major areas of Pleney, Nyon and Les Chavannes, a short walk or free Snow-Train through Les Gets takes you to the bottom of the Mont-Chéry Telecabine. All these areas are covered by the Morzine/Les Gets ski pass. A good piste map can be found at https://www.onthesnow.co.uk/northern-alps/les-gets/pistemap.html
Are there any deals or discounts?
Yes - we have arranged some great savings & discounts on essentials like Airport Transfers, Ski Hire, Lift Passes and Insurance. Details for this year will be added to the site so keep checking back.
About Morzine as a town
Morzine itself is a picturesque old-style Savoyard town with a bustling town centre, which has retained much of its character, charm and strong French flavour with excellent facilities for après ski. The town offers a great selection of shops and over 30 restaurants as well as a good choice of non-skiing activities.
Who can take part?
Race entry is open to all members of Livery Companies and their guests as it is a great opportunity to bring friends and family along to race or watch and to show them what fun we have as members. We want to encourage skiers of all standards to compete, whatever their ability and age (minimum 18), so if you haven't raced before, now could be the perfect time to have a go! The emphasis is definitely on having fun in an atmosphere of light-hearted, friendly competition.
We will do everything possible to keep the costs low in order to encourage as many younger liverymen and women as possible to be involved.
Everyone races as an individual, but if your Livery Company has more than 3 members racing then the fastest 3 will get a team result as well as individual places. If a company has more than 6 members racing, they will get 2 team results etc. Guests may race as individuals but not as team members.
Standards in previous years have varied from highly appealing to fairly appalling and we hope this will continue! The event's popularity is increasing so don't delay in registering if you wish to take part as numbers are limited.
What charities does the event support?
As in previous years, the primary cause we support is the
Lord Mayor's Appeal.
However, because we all enjoy the mountains, and snow sports so much, we felt that it was a great idea to do something extra for a charity specifically to do with winter sports.
We chose
Snowcamp -
https://www.snow-camp.org.uk and, if you look at their site, I hope that you will agree that their cause is very appropriate for us. With their help, this year we will again hold the slightly 'different' event on the afternoon of Wednesday 22nd. It will take the form of a Team Distance Challenge. The idea is that teams have to see how far they can travel as a group in the time allowed. Teams will each carry a GPS tracker to verify their route and progress. There will be prizes - for the winning teams - but also for the teams that raise the most sponsorship. This proved hugely popular last time and we raised over £14,000 for SnowCamp.
How much does it cost to enter
We have not increased fees for racers or supporters this year, so it is still £150 and £100 respectively. Please note that these are ‘Early Bird’ prices for any registrations and payment received up to 20th December. From midnight on 20th December the price for racers will increase to £200 and for supporters to £150 although we may well be fully subscribed before then anyway. The cost of the 2 main social events shown below is included in these prices.
Thursday evening - Drinks and Canapés at the Palais Des Sports
Friday evening - Prize-giving Dinner including wine at Hotel Club le Cret
Can I wear my favourite lycra ski suit?
Sadly not to race in - but we can't stop you wearing it when not racing! We have decided to ban Lycra all-in-one racing suits for the competitions to emphasise the 'amateur' atmosphere we want to promote.
What is the standard of skiing?
Standards in previous years have varied from highly appealing to fairly appalling and we hope this will continue! As long as you are able to ski down a red run on an icy day you should be able to enjoy our events.
