It used to be that we would roll in to a resort and aim to be on that first lift by 9am then try to stay on the slopes until five for all six days of our ski week, but not anymore. For many years now, destination ski resorts have been reinventing themselves as “mountain resorts”, with the aim of offering multiple activities and, ideally, things they can offer year round.
Here’s the Love The Mountains list of eight of the best:
1 – The Flyer, Serfaus, Austria
Want to take to the air with three friends but can’t find a big enough paraglider ? The answer is The Flyer – a kind of giant zip wire at Serfaus ski area in Austria where four people are slung parallel in harnesses beneath a large paraglide-style wing, which itself is suspended below a zip wire – and away you go, hitting speeds of up to 80kph. Simple. Children must be at least 1.3m tall to go on The Flyer.
2 – Bobsleigh, La Plagne, France
The 1982 Olympic bobsleigh run at La Plagne is one of fewer than a dozen in regular use worldwide, and the resort offers a variety of high-speed experiences, including “taxi bob” – riding behind a professional driver in a proper bobsleigh, and the resort’s own self-steering “bob raft”, which goes a little slower but also costs less and which you can ride down in yourself with friends.
“It was a bit like a roller-coaster experience, with quite a lot of build-up and some instruction on how to ride the sled correctly, which all made the tension rise a bit,” recalls InTheSnow’s editor Patrick Thorne. “But once we were off, it was a great ride down and you quickly get into it. As soon as I was at the bottom – in less than a minute, I was shouting, ‘Again! Again!’”
3 – Tobogganing, Les Arcs, France
Tobogganing is, of course, possible on any snowy slopes, and in the Swiss and Austrian Alps in particular there have been wonderful long, classic toboggan runs open for a century or more at some areas – take the lift up, toboggan down.
But in recent years, some of the big French resorts have looked at “reinventing” tobogganing as a more high-speed, adult version. Les Arcs’ new Rodeo Park contains just such an “adults (well, over 12s) only” two-mile-long toboggan run on which helmet wearing is obligatory and high speeds, steeper slopes, jumps and bumps are the norm.
4 – Bungee Catapult, Tignes, France
Why just make a boring old bungee jump when you can ski, board or even sledge off a 30m-long ramp into a 40m void attached on each side to bungee cords ? Once you’ve stopped bouncing, the system locks and you travel back down a zip wire to the ground.
The new attraction, Bun-J-Ride, opened at Tignes last winter, and it wasn’t long before InTheSnow’s own daredevil Debbie Gabriel was there testing it out.
“There was something very surreal about standing at the top of the jump, peering over the edge into nothingness and voluntarily throwing myself off the ski jump. It was an incredible experience for someone who is a relatively conservative skier but somehow felt this was an acceptable experience,” recalls Debbie. “With my heart pounding and with the audience of skiers building, I had no choice but commit, and with a quick push from the staff I was off. It was only a few seconds of flying through the air, but my stomach was literally pushed to the top of my ribcage as I launched off the end screaming. A must-do !”
The jump is located next to the “Lac” blue run (Merles, chairlift) and is open to those aged at least 13 years and weighing over 40kg (bun-j-ride.com/en).
5 – Zip Wire, Val Thorens, France
The world’s highest zip wire opened above Val Thorens in France last spring. At 1300m (just under a mile) long and starting at more than 3200m above sea level, you ride through the air reaching speeds from 65 to 105 kph. The 105-second-long ride costs €50, taking you up to 250m above the ground, with the journey designed to mimic that of a flying eagle, connecting the Maurienne and Tarentaise regions. The zip wire is reserved for skiers and boarders only, who must be aged eight or over and be wearing a helmet.
6 – Ice Driving, La Clusaz, France
Driving on ice in a controlled environment = fun. Doing so in a conventional car = bad air and noise pollution in a pristine mountain environment. The answer = the new breed of electric cars!
Located on the edge of the village on the route des Confins, the La Clusaz ice circuit offers Renault Twizy cars to drive, specially equipped for driving on ice.
The cars are available to rent by groups of friends and, supervised by driving professionals, everyone can quickly learn all the intricacies of driving an electric car on ice.
7 – Ice Diving, Tignes, France
A number of ski schools offer the chance to dive down through the ice at several resorts in France.
Full instruction and scuba diving equipment are provided. You just have to be “up for it” (or should that be “down for it?”). You’ll dive down through a hole in the ice to watery winter wonderland beneath the frozen lake surface.
8 – Mountain Biking, Val Thorens, France
Downhill mountain biking is one of the commonest summer activities in ski resorts, but back in Val Thorens, they say “Why wait until summer ?” and offer biking descents on snow once the lifts close on three evenings each week.
Starting from a point 3000m above sea level at the foot of the Péclet glacier, bikers hurtle down 700 vertical metres on the Tête Ronde blue slope accompanied by a qualified biking instructor. The six-kilometre descent takes about 45 minutes just as night is falling.
