Weekender Alpe D'huez

One of France’s premier skiing resorts feels fiercely alive in summer, with outdoor pursuits and spectacular mountain views that stir the soul. WORDS: Charlotte Wigram-Evans

- Charlotte Wigram-evans

A ski resort in summer — it seems a bizarre concept at first. Arriving at Alpe d’Huez, the snowboards still lined up in shop windows and empty chairlifts knock you off-kilter for a moment. But then, above, a wall of silent mountains. In the muted colours of morning they’re partially in shadow, as though they’ve been stencilled onto the horizon. Some are sharp and craggy, others soft like the folds of a quilt. They stretch on and on, seemingly forever, making insignificant specks of hikers and bikers. The smell, manure and edelweiss mixed with crisp air, is so fresh it’s tangible. Alpe d’Huez in summer feels fiercely alive.

The resort itself — all quaint chalets, fancy restaurants and kids zooming around on quad bikes — sits in the lap of Pic Blanc, the region’s highest mountain at almost 11,000ft. You can ski on the glacier at its summit as late as July, for as little as £37 a day, all the while soaking up views that stretch out over a fifth of France. Higher still, four-seater planes take sightseeing trips so close to the ice that its sheen is visible as it melts, bits breaking off and skittering down the slope. And water is everywhere; a cool, glassy backdrop to hiking, biking and every outdoor pursuit in between. Within ambling distance of Alpe d’Huez, 12 pristine lakes lay undisturbed, save for tiny ripples, as though they’ve been pierced with a million microscopic needles. It’s a soul-stirring scene, the kind of backdrop that makes you want to burst into song, arms in the air, face to the sky.

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