BY ANYA POPE
Wiped out by the recession? Sick of swine flu? It’s been a long old year and we’d like some good times now, please. But if the only highs we’re likely to get this winter are going to be wallet-friendly, healthy ones, they have to provide the ultimate “top of the world” feeling. Our quest for some positive mental altitude takes us to Grenoble, which offers more than 20 lofty mountain resorts, all just waiting for us to hit the snow (and by this we mean the wet, frozen stuff) and reach a higher state of mind…
PIPE UP
First stop on our plight for height is Les Sept Laux, half an hour north-east of Grenoble. Being that we’re up in the mountains, 6m may not sound like much, it’s the height of the Olympic-standard half-pipe in the resort’s HO5 Snowboard Park (www.ho5park.com).
Created in 2006, HO5 has leapt to the top of the freestyle scene, becoming something of a mecca for board junkies, and was voted best freestyle area in France in itsfirst year. With four difficulty levels and runs ranging from a beginners’ zone – where we race each other down a course of obstacles, banks and turns – to a full-on professional course complete with pyramids (like vertical-running speed bumps), rails (pipes to grind on), tables (jumps with flat tops) and big air (cliff-edge ramps that offer jumps more than 30m high), the park offers some serious height for air addicts. At less than €30 per adult for a day pass, we’re handing over our hard-earned for a chance to rub boards with local regular, junior world half-pipe champ Sophie Rodriguez.
Les Sept Laux Tourism Office, Prapoutel; tel: +33 (0)4 7608 1786, www.les7laux.com;
ARTIFICIAL HIGH: Take the Pincerie cable car to 1,850m to Le Chalet de Pincerie bar for a “green chaud” – hot chocolate with a kick of Chartreuse. Tel: +33 (0)4 7608 3922.
HIGH AS A KITE
Our next stop is Autrans, situated 1,050m up on a plateau in the Vercors mountain range, 34km west of Grenoble. The drive up through the stomach-turning Gorge de la Bourne, a literal cliff-hanger of a road also known as Vertigo Valley, gets the adrenaline running ready for what Autrans does best: 1,000m2 of kite-ski piste and winds of up to 35 knots, thanks to its north-south position.
Once we’ve donned our skis, the people at kite-ski company Gliss Kite strap us into 12m2 of lightweight, high-performance kite, hurl it up in the air and give us a push. Soon we’re whizzing across the piste, powered by the wind – once we’ve learned how to harness it with our kites and mastered the tricky turns! Those with good ski-to-kite coordination can go in search of greater heights – a good gust of wind and some bendy knees can result in jumps of up to 2m. Pretty fly. Two-hour free-ride sessions cost from €60 per person, including equipment.
Autrans Tourism Office, www.ot-autrans.fr;
Gliss Kite, tel: +33 (0)6 6143 5423, www.gliss-kite.fr
ARTIFICIAL HIGH: A gulp or two of fresh alpine air and homemade Génépi liqueur – the result of 40 mountain herbs, 40 cubes of sugar and 40 days’ fermentation – is more than reason enough to make the 1,600m snowshoe trek up to the restaurant at Autrans’ Gite d’Alpage de la Molière. www.gitedelamoliere.free.fr
SNOW LIMIT
Whoeverfirst stared out of their window one icy October, saw a frozen waterfall and thought, “Yeah, I’ll give it a go climbing that,” had to be on something. Nevertheless, it’s people who think like this who run the ice-climbing school at La Grave, 80km south-east of Grenoble.
Our guides are ice-climbing specialists who know the Oisans area like the backs of their high-tech gloves and promise to have us scaling multi-pitch falls like pros. We’re skeptical, but after two days of belaying and rappelling and learning our knots from our nooses and our top rope from our, well, rope, we’re ascending 3,200m on the cable car to the Girose Glacier. A snowshoe trek takes us to the foot of the climb – the 3,667m Pic de La Grave mountain. Terror and euphoria merge as dreams of hanging off a 3km wall of ice become a very vertical reality. If that isn’t a natural high, we don’t know what is.
Safety equipment, ice axes, harnesses and ropes are provided, but you’ll need your own mountain shoes, helmet and, of course, those crampons you’ve been meaning to get out for so long (also available to hire from local sports shops). A group of four costs €225 per person, meals and transport not included. Bureau des Guides de la Grave – La Meije, tel: +44 (0)4 7679 9021, www.guidelagrave.com
ARTIFICIAL HIGH: Take refuge at 2,400m with a slice of tartiflette – calorific comfort food made by drowning sliced potatoes, bacon and onions in cheese and cream – on the sundeck at Le Refuge Chancel, La Grave. Tel: +33 (0)4 7679 9232, www.refuge-chancel.com
ALTITUDE SLICKNESS
Heading to the famed high-altitude ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, about an hour south-east of Grenoble, it’s time to take things up a notch. At 3,330m, the Pic Blanc is the highest peak in the Grandes Rousses Massif and overlooks pupil-dilating views of nearly one-fifth of France, including Mont Blanc, the Écrins National Park and across to the Italian border.
The well-acquainted with their skis can cruise down the longest black ski run in the world: the 16km Sarenne, which takes in a pulse-racing 2,200m of vertical drop. For that extra buzz, check out Sarenne with night ski sessions (see website below for dates of planned excursions). At €65 per person it’s not the cheapest thrill, but after a sunset meal at 3,330m, followed by a moonlit descent through snowy peaks, you’ll be reaching for the stars faster than a nostalgic S Clubber.
Alpe d’Huez Tourism Office, tel: +33 (0)4 7611 4444, www.alpedhuez.com
ARTIFICIAL HIGH: Stop off for a mid-ski snack with a view to thrill at Les Marmottes, an on-piste restaurant at 2,300m. Tel: +33 (0)4 7680 3236
TAKE YOUR PEAK OF OUR OTHER TOP DESTINATIONS
GENEVA
If you’re planning on getting high in Geneva this winter, take a 90-minute detour to the “rooftop of Europe”, otherwise known as Chamonix, located at the foot of the mighty Mont Blanc, which soars 4,810m. It has one of the world’s highest cable car systems and, if you’re feeling brave, you can tackle the mountain or simply explore the Mer de Glace ice grotto.
Chamonix Tourism Office, tel: +33 (0)4 5053 0024, www.chamonix.com
MALAGA
At nearly 3,400m, Veleta is one of the highest peaks in Spain, towering above the Sierra Nevada ski resort, south of Grenada, and about an hour and a half from Malaga. Ski the red and black runs for views of the Med far below.
Andalucia Tourism Office, tel: +34 (0)9 5822 5990, www.andalucia.org
TOULOUSE
No traveller with a serious head for heights should miss the peaks of the Pyrenées. Nip across the border to Andorra, less than two hours from Toulouse, and take your pick from over 25 resorts. La Massana, in the north-west of the tiny mountain state, hosts the 2,942m Coma Pedrosa, the highest peak in the principality. A snowshoe trek up this geological giant will reward you with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Breathtaking.
Ski Andorra, tel: +376 805200, www.skiandorra.ad
