Where to Find Some of the More Unusual Winter Sports This Season
Our top picks of some different activities to try out in the Alps this season
Yes snowboarding and skiing takes up the majority of a winter ski break, but there are also some pretty cool and unusual activities to try out if you're heading to the Alps this winter.
Since Alpe d'Huez is the home of all things mountain bike in the summer, it's no surprise that you can take your mountain bikes onto the pistes in the winter, and up the Pic Blanc onto the Sarenne no less. Try Sarenne Snow Bike for a different kind of adrenaline rush on snow. You can also give this a try if you're heading to Avoriaz as they're offering a free trial every Sunday evening.
Over in Courchevel you can give Human Curling a try.. as the name suggests it's you being propelled across the ice, not a curling stone..
In La Plagne if you're looking for a different way to get around the resort or if you're a non skier, you can sit back and relax in a ski taxi which will take you wherever you want to go. In neighbouring Les Arcs you can learn to fly a camera drone and win prizes for your efforts, or if golf's more your thing then why not combine it with skiing in a unique golf on snow competition.
In Les Gets you can hurl yourselves down the mountain in a Zorb Ball (on a specially made course not just on the pistes!), shoot each other up in a mountain laser game, or get blasted with coloured dye bombs as you ski down the Mont Chery pistes in 'Ski Colour'.
In Val d'Isere you can form a human snake of sledges where up to ten of you and your friends can career down the mountain in a huge chain, or if that doesn't take your fancy then you can slide face first down the mountain on an inflatable 'airboard'.
Over in Val Thorens you can try out your skills on snow-scooters and to give you an idea of how it should be done you can watch the pros first.
The craziest thing we've seen so far this winter, and one not to be missed, is the 'Bun J Ride' in Tignes which combines skiing or snowboarding down a huge ramp, catapulting yourself over the edge on bungee cords and then, when you've stopped bouncing you finish off on a zip wire..! And.. it looks like they might use it for mountain bikes in the summer too..
