Ski in Alpe d'Huez

Why ski in Alpe d'Huez?

A major ski area, Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine Ski offers an ideal setting for a friendly practice of winter sports with family or friends.

1. There are 5 resorts in the Grandes Rousses massif (Alpe d'Huez, Auris-en-Oisans, Villard-Reculas, La-Garde-en-Oisans and Le Freney d'Oisans) and 2 villages (Oz-en-Oisans and Vaujany )

2. Altitude between 1,860 to 3,330 meters above sea level

3. 250 km of slopes spread over 10,000 hectares

4. 300 days of sunshine per year in the village

5. 135 slopes including 42 green, 37 blue, 39 red and 17 black

6. 84 ski lifts including 6 cable cars and 9 gondolas

7. 4 snowparks

8. 55 km of Nordic ski slopes

9. the longest black slope in Europe: the Sarenne and its 16 km descent

10. a single package for all stations

Skiing for everyone

Alpe d'Huez encourages friendly skiing where everyone, independent of their level, will find a suitable playground in the town.

With green and blue runs composing 60% of its skiable area, Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine Ski is the ideal resort for beginners and does everything to make them feel good. For instance, for those who are skiing for the first time, there is no need to pay a ski lift pass: the first 3 ski lift rides are free. Once they feel more stabilized, they will be able to enjoy 4 additional lifts as part of a special beginner package offered at an advantageous price.

But seasoned skiers should not fear feeling bored at Alpe d'Huez! They will find technical tracks there, or even downright fearsome like the Tunnel. This unusual descent crosses the mountain to offer an indescribable sensation of vertigo upon exiting the tunnel. This 200-meter wall that is extremely difficult can be skied without too much speed, so one can take the time to plan each movement. Only for the best trained!

Do not miss the mythical Sarenne, if you are looking for adrenaline without confronting yourself with extreme difficulty. Considered the longest black slope in France and even in Europe, it links Pic Blanc at an altitude of 3,330 meters to the Gorges de Sarenne at 1,510 meters in 16 km of descent in a breathtaking environment. It is impossible to resist to these 30 minutes of pure pleasure!

With children

Labeled a Family Plus resort, Alpe d'Huez aims to promote holidays through family skiing in fun areas, where it is good to challenge yourself.

The ski schools of Alpe d'Huez welcome children from the age of two and a half to discover this sport through a variety of activities. Children under 5 will be able to ski for free since the resort offers them the ski pass.

Once they are comfortable on their skis, they can head to the play areas! Chez Roger, in the Shepherds area, will make you want to play leapfrog. This green slope looks like a giant Cool Border, to the delight of the whole family.

Then go to Jacques le Bûcheron, where young and adults alike can dive into the Auris-en-Oisans forest on skis to discover the woodworking trades.

Finally, Marcel's Farm offers you a mix of sensations with this 100% playful track composed of tunnels, whoops, slaloms, bumps and other festive and colorful modules and attractions.

For lovers of other sports

The Alpe d'Huez snowpark is the place to be for thrills and spills. Intended for all practitioners, from beginners to experts, it offers spaces to learn and improve as you wish.

A place of conviviality par excellence, the Snowpark Alpe d'Huez is suitable for all audiences and all levels with a Family Park area for beginners and an XXL version for experts.

Woops, table top, rainbow box, rails, boxs, pipes... are all available on the S (blue level), M (red level) and L-XL (black level) courses so that everyone can indulge in the pleasures of skiing according to their own skills, without getting into trouble. An XS version (green level) is also available to children in a Kids Park for beginners made up of easy modules.

In addition to this fun park, beginners who wish to evolve in a quieter setting can go to the Montfrais snowpark. Smaller, it makes it easier to learn to snowboard and perform first tricks.

For off-piste enthusiasts

With its exceptional sunshine and its routes exposed to the four cardinal points, Alpe d'Huez is undoubtedly one of the best resorts in the French Alps for freeride skiing.

From the summit of Pic Blanc, located at an altitude of 3330 m, you will be spoiled with around twenty possible off-piste routes, each more fabulous than the other. The most known is certainly the Grand Sablat glacier route: a great classic of the resort, quite easy in the opinion of experts.

A bit more difficult, La Pyramide will offer you breathtaking landscapes and steep slopes on a very high mountain route, accessible after half an hour of walking.

And for the most advanced skiers, the corridors of the Cheminees de Macle should give you some thrills. Better to avoid falls on these very steep slopes lined with very narrow corridors where you barely have the opportunity to make a jump turn.

Given the wealth of the area in terms of freeride routes, it is recommended to hire the services of a mountain guide from the resort, in order to evolve in the powder snow safely, and find the best snow according to current weather conditions.

For Nordic ski practitioners

Although Alpe d'Huez is best known for downhill skiing, it also deservers praise when it comes to cross-country skiing. Lovers of the discipline will find more than 50km of slopes at the foot of the Grandes Rousses.

It is certainly during a ski or snowshoe trek that you can best enjoy the resort's incredible landscapes in winter, such as the splendid view of the mountain range of the Ecrins National Park from the heights of Pic Blanc.

For beginner cross-country skiers, three routes are particularly suitable:

• the Huez loop and its 10km round trip in a peaceful setting,

• the 6km long Brandes loop that will take you to the ruins of an eponymous castle

• the loop of Poutran which will take you 10 km through mountain lakes, with splendid views of the white-clad peaks.

Longer and more technical, the Boucle des Lacs will take you from Lac Besson to the Alpette, along lakes Carrelet and Faucille. You will then take advantage of the 20 km of slopes at an altitude of more than 2000 meters to admire the view of the snow-covered peaks of the Grandes Rousses and Belledona mountains. A real physical challenge!