Summit special
Awesome Alps without breaking bones or the bank
I STARTED skiing fairly late in life but it quickly became one of my favourite holidays – although it is a slippery slope in more ways than one.
The cost, for a start, not helped by the pound sliding downhill fast against the euro.
So I’ve come to a tiny village in the French Alps to investigate Crystal’s latest package offering, in the hope it will make the whole thing hasslefree and more affordable.
Because it’s far easier to budget when you’ve paid in advance for flights and transfers and have self-catering accommodation.
The resort of Auris en Oisans has only 20 year-round inhabitants but is perched on the edge of a giant ski area – the Alpe d’Huez.
Nearly 90 lifts link the 250km of runs, five resorts, two villages, snowpark, late-night ski run, slalom and two beginners’ areas.
Plus there’s a magnificent 14km run from the top of Pic Blanc at 3,330m to the village of Enversin d’Oz at 1,135m. The whole lot can be navigated by lift and cable car, so it’s easy for families and groups at different levels to meet up.
Auris itself is home to a new beginners’ area. A major revamp last year flattened the base of the mountain to create gentle green pistes, while two “magic carpets” help learners up the slope. They’ve even introduced a cheap lift pass, covering just the area down to Auris.
There are only five bar-restaurants here, with two more set to open for the 2016/7 season, so if you want to party, you may be better off over the hill in Alpe d’Huez, Vaujany or Oz.
That said, we had a brilliant meal in Le Schuss, a cosy restaurant that serves “skiers’ portions” of raclette and has a fun atmosphere at night.
Confidence
New apartment block Les Balcons d’Auréa is in its second year. Rooms are clean, functional and 50m from the supermarket and lifts. You do pay extra for bed linen and wi-fi, though.
But what about the skiing? As an intermediate, I spent a morning getting my confidence on the greens and blues of our local slope, before taking the chair lift further afield.
I found my level to be extremely well catered for. I was able to traverse the entire area at my own pace on blues and reds and had lunch in a different spot every day. I did take one cable car down to the village of Oz as I was advised that conditions were particularly icy that day and I was feeling tired.
We lunched in Vaujany on another day, and both villages have a good range of restaurants. If you’re willing to splash out, La Folie Douce, above Alpe d’Huez, will serve up top-notch grub and a party every evening.
The better skiers in our group were very happy with the runs and the offpiste – particularly the black that tips you off Pic Blanc, the highest point.
Even if you can’t ski it – as I couldn’t – I’d recommend a cable car journey to the viewing platform. It’s easy to take scenery for granted on a skiing trip but this is something special, like the top of the world. We eventually came back down to earth for other activities, of which dog-sledding was my favourite.
As we skied across to the meet point, we could hear the yelping long before we reached them. The dogs were so excited it was hard to believe they would ever run in a straight line. Six of us jumped into three sleds with the huskies and gun dogs baying to take off across the snowy plateau.
Everywhere we went, people stopped to look, and the dogs were unbelievably friendly.
They loved to be stroked and photographed and I met a particularly cute husky with cocktail eyes that I named David Bow-wowie.
We learned that the gun dogs ran at the back for muscle, while the huskies were the brains at the front and understood left from right.
Tumble
We also had a go at fat- biking, which is a lot of fun. Like an electric mountain bike with excessively huge tyres that you take on to the piste after it’s closed. Don’t bother if you’re not happy to take a tumble or three…
Auris-en-Oisans is not the most glamorous, or beautiful, or unforgettable ski resort but it is finding its own personality as a gentle family destination that caters for everyone and doesn’t cost the earth.
That’ll do me. FACTFILE: One week with Crystal Ski Holidays ( crystalski. co. uk) at Les Balcons d’Auréa apartments with UK flights and transfers from Grenoble airport costs from £480pp. A six-day lift pass costs from £232, beginner’s passes cost under £ 15 per day. Dog-sledding and fat-bikwing both cost £28. See auris-en-oisans.com.