As is typical of a weeks winter ski holiday with us, I offered the guests one day skiing in Alpe d'Huez. When you buy a 6 day ski pass at Les Deux Alpes you get a couple of days free in Alpe d'Huez. Since the center of the resort is only 25 minutes drive away from our Lodge, it is a nice day trip out and guests get the chance to see the famous cycling 21 hairpin bend climb.
This week Alpe d'Huez and the British Universities Snowsports Council are hosting the Universities ski ans snowboard championships, so the resort was a little crazy with hundreds of students enjoying the fresh snow and sunshine.
Alpe d'Huez, most famous for key cycling stages of the Tour du France is also a fantastic ski resort. It has nice easy return piste to the town center, beautiful satelite villages such as Villard Reculas and Vaujany to explore and suposidly the longest groomed black run in the world. Once away from the often busy main area in front of the resort, you can find hidden tree skiing around Auris, steep moguls from the tunnel and backcounrty routes off the pic Blanc at over 300 meters.
During the summer the famous 21 hairpin climb to the resort is busy with road cyclists trying to get somewhere near Maroc Pantani's record accent of 37mins 37 seconds. On the years when the Tour du France finishes a stage in Alpe d'Huez, this stretch of road is packed with campervans and is said to host up to a quarter of a million spectators.
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