French Alps

[K.Haroon]

First time skied on the French Alps in Dec 2013. L'Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort at 4,100 to 10,930 ft. It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département in the Rhône-Alpes region. Founded in 1936 Alpe d’Huez is one of the oldest French ski resorts. The increasingly cold climate of centuries gone by meant that, despite local efforts to quell lumber jacking, trees were diminishing in Alpe d’Huez: trees, as the locals well knew, where vital protection against avalanches. Over the years many avalanches claimed lives. It was not until 1936 that the first ski school was founded and the first drag lift installed. Not only the first drag lift in Alpe d’Huez, it was the first ‘Poma’ of any ski resort. The resort attracted further attention and gained popularity in 1968 when it hosted the bobsleigh race in the Grenoble Winter Olympics. The 236km of piste and 84 ski lifts that the resort now boasts make Alpe d’Huez one of the world’s largest ski areas. It covers an area of 10,000 hectares. The Sarennes ski run, the longest in Europe at 16km, joins the Pic Blanc to the Sarenne Gorge. As well as being the starting point for many off-piste itineraries it can also be skied by moonlight, as part of a monthly organized excursion. Pic Blanc (3330m), the highest point of the ski area, offers breathtaking views of the Alps including Mont Blanc, Mont Cervin and the Meije. On a clear day a fifth of France can be seen from this point. The other resort is the famous Chamonix-Mont-Blanc which is still on my bucket list.

Photo Source: alpedhuez.com