How to enjoy the French Alps “sans skiing”

Sleep in an Igloo in the Alps

Want to do something different in the Alps this winter? Whether you simply want a break from skiing, or skiing is just not your thing, the Southern French Alps have the answer!

Having fun snowshoeing in the Alps

The winter wonderland that the Southern Alps transforms into in December makes it an ideal place for a wide range of activities. From ice climbing to snowshoe walking, from husky sledding to sleeping in an igloo, there are activities for almost anyone!

One of the most popular activities has to be snowshoeing. I am a huge fan of snowshoeing! Up until last year I was an avid skier, and had never tried snowshoeing. I was lucky enough to get a chance to go snowshoeing with Molesley Rowing Club, who came on holiday with Undiscovered Alps last year. It was an amazing experience. You get to enjoy the mountains and appreciate your surroundings a lot more than regular downhill skiing, enjoy the ascent as much as the descent and best of all get away from the crowds and discover the best the back country Alps has to offer.

Ice climbing in the Alps

Another fantastic activity in the Alps and another firm favourite of mine, after a memorable introduction by Bernard this January,  is ice climbing! It’s available to people from all ages as long as you have over size 36 feet as that’s the smallest size crampon and boot available!

Waterfalls in the Alps are spectacular enough in the summer, but when they freeze for the winter they become truly magical!

You can stand on a frozen river bed, which is only accessible for a few months of the year and your guide will quite literally show you the ropes up the waterfall in front of you! With amazing views and climbs to suit all grades, from novice to expert, ice climbing is a must on any winter trip to the Alps!

Husky Sledding across the winter wilderness

Husky sledding is another ‘must do’ winter activity in the Southern Alps. Feel like you have travelled back in time, when husky sledding was the only way to get around the wilderness of the mountains in the height of winter. You can have your own husky sled and team of dogs, for anything from a taster 10 minute session to a day and overnight trek, sleeping out with your huskies in the mountains. You get to bond with the animals as they pull you through the snow covered, tree lined wild as the cold air rushes past your face…. Truly exhilarating!

And, if you want to experience the winter wonderland under the stars, why not spend the night in an igloo! This is only available in a few places throughout the Alps. At 2300m up on the Rocherousse plateau in Orcieres, there is an igloo village, looking like something out of the Arctic (and feeling as cold as the Arctic at times!).

The igloo village is built at the start of every season, and offers an authentic eskimo experience in the heart of the Southern French Alps! You get a hot meal with your guide in your igloo, before bedding down for the night with only candle and moon light. If you are even more adventurous, you can explore the mountains with an UIAGM high mountain guide by snowshoe, who will teach you how to build your own igloo where you can spend the night, completely away from civilisation! Sleeping in an igloo is a real unforgettable experience.

A journalist from the Independent Newspaper travel supplement came out to visit us a couple of years ago, and wrote an article on their igloo experience!  Both spending a night in an igloo and husky sledding were also featured on Conde Nast Traveller’s website last winter! Have a look here for igloo and here for husky sledding.

These are just a selection of a few of the activities that can make up a winter holiday in the Alps. Have a look at the full range of the activities we offer at Undiscovered Alps. Have we missed one out that you think should have got a mention? Mountain passions have also done a tour of the Alps in search of other things to do in the winter. Have a read of their ‘mountains of things to do’ too. What is your favourite activity? Let us know in the comments!!