Two pistes for real adventurers
In Alpe d`Huez there is the perfect piste for every skier - from inexperienced beginners to skiing professionals, seeking new challenges. Especially in the lower part of the piste area around Alpe d’Huez there are numerous easy to medium difficult runs, which are ideal for beginners and families with children. Those new to skiing can also use a zone reserved especially for them and perfect practice slopes on the outskirts of Alpe d'Huez, which can be reached from the resort along short paths.
Somewhat higher up at an intermediate altitude of 2,800 metres on the ridge of the Petites Rousses are the more challenging, athletic pistes, while near the summit the real highlights await experienced skiers. There are two pistes in particular in the Alpe d’Huez skiing area, which have become true legends of our time. The "La Sarenne" run, with its 16 kilometres of length and its 1,820 metres of difference in altitude, has more than earned its fame as the longest piste in Europe. From its start on the Sarenne glacier it runs down the face of the Pic Blanc into the valley and is a unique skiing experience.
If you want to top this XXL run, before the start of the longest piste, you can venture on to the most difficult piste of the skiing area. The "Le Tunnel" run lives up to its name and from its start on the Pic Blanc glacier itself leads through a 200 metre long tunnel system through the mountain on a mogul piste. Since 1964 the tunnel, which is only a few metres wide, has served as a sluice between the Sarenne glacier and the Pic Blanc. Once they have arrived there, truly experienced skiers can directly join the Sarenne run.
The Pic Blanc is also an attraction for snowboarders, who immediately seek out the fresh snow, to try to make the most attractive tracks through the flanks of the summit of the glacier. Three Fun Parks within the skiing area attract other types of visitor. Whereas the snow park on the Sarenne glacier is recommended more for experienced winter sportsmen and women, the two other parks offer something for everyone with hips, tables, slides, whoops, a boarder cross and not least a 100 metre long half pipe.
In Alpe d’Huez cross-country skiers are spoilt for choice and can get to know the wonderful region at the foot of the glacier on some 50 kilometres of cross-country ski trails. One route worth following is the panoramic circuit via Poutran to l’Alpette at an altitude of 2,100 metres, which leads past numerous mountain lakes and through fantastic winter landscapes. One of the sports adventures is the longest cross-country ski trail in the area, the 20 kilometre long "Boucle des Lacs" route.
Alpe d’Huez also offers the best possible facilities for children. The little ones from two years of age can learn to ski in relaxed and safe surroundings on an area, which has been separately marked out, with ski lifts, a coasting slide and space to play. The older children, aged up to seven years can have skiing lessons from experienced ski instructors in the Alpe d’Huez skiing school.
Après ski at its finest
If the range of pistes, cross-country trails, parks and other winter sports facilities are not enough for you, Alpe d’Huez offers a wealth of other activities such as ice rally, skidooing, snowshoeing and winter hiking or tobogganing. Off-piste sports enthusiasts can burn off their energy in various indoor sports in the Palais des Sports in Alpe d'Huez or by climbing a 200 metre high scarp face in the Gorges de Sarenne.
On the other hand the wide range of après ski activities in Alpe d`Huez offer pure relaxation. 76 restaurants, 30 bars, 3 discotheques und 2 cinemas await the ski resort’s guests once the lifts have closed for the evening. We recommend, for instance, the "Avalanche Bar" or the "Tavern", where you can regularly listen to live bands. The best places to go dancing are the popular "L"Igloo" or "The Stage One" night clubs.
