BEYOND SKI
If skiing down a slope at 60mph doesn’t do it for you any more, James Wallman can suggest some wackier winter sports to try – plus a few gentle ideas for those who prefer to take it slow
SNOWKITING
If you… are a bit of a dare devil
Go uphill faster than you go down it? You can with snowkiting – the frozen water version of kitesurfing. The biggest pull, after the wind itself, is the freedom that the sport gives snowkiters to go wherever they want (and avoid lift queues). Almost anywhere there’s snow – and, of course, wind – you can snowkite.
It takes most people about two hours to grasp the basics, though one of the sport’s official bodies, the International Kiting Organization, recommends 12 hours’ tuition before you go off on your own. Two good resorts where you can give it a try are Obertauern, Austria and La Rosière, France.
In Obertauern (www.kiteschule.at), beginners can learn close to the centre of the resort. Once you’re getting the hang of it, there’s also a big open field higher up that’s ideal for practising free-riding basics, and a plateau at the top of the mountain for dare-devil freestyle and big air tricks.
At La Rosière, a new snowkite school opened this year on the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass (www.flymountainsnowkite.com), opposite Mont Blanc. At 2,188m altitude at the Italian-French border, regular winds – the key to the sport – are almost guaranteed.
You can also learn to snowkite in Mondsee, Austria and La Thuile, Italy (which also accesses the same Petit-Saint-Bernard pass).
PARAGLIDING & SPEED-RIDING
If you… need a legal high
Taking a tandem paraglide ride is a restful way to see your ski resort from a different angle, get closer to a local and, if you’re a man and unlucky, experience another dimension in pain – those harnesses can pinch in all the wrong places. For many, the tandem sky ride becomes a highlight of their ski holiday. For others it’s all a bit ‘scuba’: nice to have a look, but actually a bit dull.
If you fall into the latter category, there’s now speed-riding to keep you interested. Only available at three dedicated places in France, this is one for those in dire need of an adrenaline rush. Speed-riders put on skis, attach themselves to a harness seat and a small wing, and then get down the mountain as quickly as possible using a mixture of skiing and paragliding.
Speed-ride at Chamonix (Les Ailes du Mont Blanc: +33 (0)4 5053 9672, www.lesailesdumontblanc.com); Les Arcs (École Alérion: +33 (0)4 7904 1890, www.alerion.fr); and Valfréjus (Ataka Speedriding: +33 (0)4 7956 6176, www.ecole-speedriding.com).
Tandem paraglide rides are available at many resorts, including Alpe d’Huez and Courchevel, France; Valle d’Aosta, Italy; and Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
If you… want to explore snowscapes
Downhill skiers may not be able to understand why people push when they can let gravity do the work, but cross-country skiers know. Their low-impact sport exercises more than 600 muscles at the same time and burns up to 700 calories per hour. Moreover, langlaufen, literally ‘long running’ in German, or ski de fond, ‘skiing at the bottom’ in French, means you can quickly scoot around to parts of the mountain less visited by others.
At the edge of La Plagne, for example, there are 22km of cross-country pistes on the Champagny-le-Haut plateau that pass hamlets and forests: if you’re quiet you may spot the odd bouquetin, tawny-haired wild mountain rams with huge curved horns. Pick up maps from the tourist office in nearby Champagny en Vanoise (www.champagny.com).
Other resorts that are good for cross-country skiing include Pal Arinsal, Andorra; Arêches-Beaufort, France; Megève, France, which has 42kms of cross-country piste; and Val Thorens, especially on the Mont d’Arbois plateau for the fantastic views of Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountain range.
SKIJORING
If you… like being taken for a ride
Skijoring is essentially the noble art of putting on skis and using a horse like a draglift. This was a method for getting about favoured by the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe (though she uses a sleigh too). It’s a lot faster and trickier than you might expect.
Let others show you how how it’s done at France’s Championships, on 26-27 January next year at Arc1600 in Les Arcs. Last year the race’s winner harnessed his horsepower to go more than 55km/h. The slalom winner, we presume, was slightly slower. You can have a more gentle go round the resort’s 11km track all through the winter season. Contact La Cavale on +33 (0)6 0912 1594.
Skijoring is also possible at the resorts of Le Corbier and Megève, France.
SNOW SCOOTING
If you… like it sk8ter style
Snow scooting, aka snow biking, is a guaranteed way to make confident skiers understand what their less experienced friends go through at the top of seemingly innocent runs. Get those good skiers on a snowbike and they’ll have the same reaction. That run that looked so gentle a moment ago – when they were on skis – suddenly feels like a steep, icy piste, suitable only for experts. And then comes that panicky thought: “How the hell am I going to stop this thing!”
In Pra Loup, France, they take this crazy half-bike, half-snowboard contraption more seriously than anywhere else. You can use all of the resort’s 80 trails to play and build up your confidence on – classes cost €40 for three hours – and most people get the hang of it by the end of that.
Once you’re feeling confident head for the resort’s dedicated Rider Space, where you can race your friends on the Rider Cross course, and see who gets the biggest air in the Rider Park. See how the pros do it on 7-9 March next year, at the Snowscoot World Championships. For lessons and more information, see www.snowscootpraloup.com.
Snowbikes can be hired at other resorts too, including Pal Arinsal, Andorra; Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes and Les Arcs, France; Obertauern, Zell am See and Bad Hofgastein, Austria; and Courmayeur in Valle d’Aosta, Italy.
SNOWSHOEING
If you… want to drink in the scenery
Stepping into deep snow and not knowing if your leg will disappear up to your thigh is funny, but it can be an annoying way to make progress. The solution – as man discovered many moons ago – is the snowshoe. The materials may have progressed from pieces of wood and animal skin to metal and rubber, but the principle is the same: spread your weight so that you don’t sink in.
Snowshoes open up deep, snowy areas of the mountain that are unreachable by other means. They’re a great way to amble round the mountain and take in the natural beauty of your surroundings. Here are a few of this winter’s different tours.
There are 80km of marked snowshoeing trails between Morgins, Switzerland and Vallée d’Abondance (which comprises Abondance, La Chapelle and Châtel ski resorts) in France. Routes range from beginner-friendly one-hour wanders to sporting five-hour hikes. Tourist offices throughout the valley provide maps at €2 (www.chatel.com).
From Val Thorens, France, mountain guide Brigitte Ruff leads people past high-altitude lakes, into the Vallée de Belleville and through the spruces in La Forêt de Goffay – always keeping a look-out for mountain hares and deer. Contact her on +33 (0)6 0956 7500 or visit www.valthonature.com.
In Pila, in the Valle d’Aosta, Italy, there are snowshoe tours at night when it’s full moon, designed for star-gazing away from the resort lights. For tours in Pila in the Valle d’Aosta, call +44 (0)7732 837 111 (till end of November) or +39 328 427 8451 (from December) or visit www.pilaski.co.uk.
On snowshoe tours in Austria’s beautiful Hohe Tauern national park (www.hohetauern.at), park rangers teach snowshoers the tricks of tracking wild animals and, using shovels and ice saws, how to build an igloo that will keep you warm and dry.
Tours in Les Contamines, France, offer spectacular views of the famous Mont-Blanc massif and the two tallest peaks overhanging the resort: the 3,300m Dômes de Miage and 4,00m peak Aiguille de Bionnassay. Contact local guides on + 33 (0)4 5047 1008 or www.guides-contamines.com.
Other resorts where you can snowshoe include Chamonix, Pra Loup, Châtel, Les Contamines, Arêches-Beaufort, Sainte Foy, France; and Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
DOG-SLEDDING
If you… fancy yourself as Scott of the Antarctic
One of the first ways that man learned to cross snow quickly has now graduated from an Inuit and Scandinavian commuting solution to a fun winter sport – and one that children love. One of the best places for them to try it is in Plagne Montalbert, La Plagne, where a man called Matthias has spent more than a decade as a ‘musher’ (named after the word handlers shout to get their dogs to run faster), working with his 40 dogs. Contact La Plagne tourist office at www.la-plagne.com.
You’ll also find dog-sledding on offer at the resorts of Pal Arinsal, Andorra; and Sainte Foy, les Arcs and Val d’Isère, France.
More ideas for thrill seekers
Ice driving at Val Thorens, in Panda 4×4s and race cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo 6.
Ice climbing on frozen waterfalls at Morzine’s Gachette, Dame du Lac and Brocheaux lakes; also in Arêches-Beaufort; and La Plagne, France (pictured).
Ice diving underwater brrrrr, at Châtel Tignes and Morzine, France.
Winter zorbing where you get in a big clear ball and roll down an icy hill; at Flachau, near Obertauern. It’s about 35km from Salzburg airport, so best to go on the way to the resort or on the way home. www.fun-pro.com/english/winter-zorbing.htm
Airboarding a cross between the Cresta Run and lying on a lilo. Try this in the Valle d’Aosta, Italy, at Torgnon (www.torgnon.info) or Breuil-Cervinia with Fans de Sport (www.fansdesport.it).
Would you like to leave a comment ?
You must be logged in to leave a message.