On the trail of thrills
An activity-based summer break to Arc 1950 in the French Alps offers adventure for the all the family, writes Nan Spowart
BONSAI!’ shouted our guide as the boat crashed into the bank and our son toppled into the water. Fortunately it was a calm part of the river and he managed to scramble back in before we hit the rapids. These happened to be Grade 4 and sent another member of our party flying – this time into the middle of the boat rather than into the water.
Thrills and spills are guaranteed on a white water rafting trip down the Isère river in the French Alps and this was one of the many highlights of our holiday at Arc 1950.
Rafting was even more fun than we expected and our guide, Alex, was an expert in controlling our small raft while making sure we enjoyed the experience to the hilt.
Steering the boat into the bank is part of the fun, although he remarked wryly that our son was the first to fall out the boat instead of crouching in the middle when he shouted the
“bonsai” warning.
His company H2O is one of the most professional in the Alps and we were kitted out with good quality wetsuits and a safety briefing at their smart premises at Bourg St Maurice before setting out.
The river is beautiful here and we travelled for 17km, passing through a gorge where we stopped to jump from the rocks into the clear, and very refreshing, waters below.
At the end of the trip a bus took us back to the H2O headquarters where we sat drinking cold beers and coke in the late afternoon sun.
Bourg St Maurice sits at the bottom of the valley with Arc 1950 high on the mountain on one side, facing the resort of La Rosière on the other. From this pretty little Alpine village it is a short hop into Italy over the Col du Petit St Bernard.
The walking here is wonderful in summer and we spent a day with a guide hiking amongst the wild flowers, looking out for marmots and ibex.
A guide isn’t essential but ours, Stéphane Regazzoni, was invaluable as he took us on one of his favourite routes on the Italian side of the border where the views are spectacular. It’s not far from La Rosière but feels very remote as there are no ski lifts or any other sign of human activity to be seen other than a few hikers.
Stéphane not only brought a picnic of local meats and cheeses but was also able to tell us the names of all the wild flowers which included deep blue gentians, bright red saxifrage and snow white edelweiss.
We climbed high enough to see Mont Blanc in the near distance but still had enough energy when we returned to La Rosière for a quick tour of the area on electric mountain bikes. This time our guide was Pierre Maze whose winter job is number two at the ski school and he proved to be a fount of local knowledge as well as an expert mountain biker.
He gave us tips on how to use the electric bikes and took us on a beautiful tour into the countryside before returning by the village of Le Châtelard where we met Emilien Chenal, father of skier Joël Chenal, who won a silver medal in the giant slalom in the 2006 Olympics.
By the time we arrived back it was getting late and we decided to eat at La Rosière which turned out to be an excellent decision as the lasagne at Les Marmottes was one of the best we’ve ever had.
There is some excellent walking at Arc 1950 too with a particularly nice
There is the opportunity to try archery and golf as well as mountain biking
route ascending to the Mont Pourri refuge on the edge of the Vanoise National Park.
Here we saw marmots and again enjoyed fantastic views of Mont Blanc before having lunch at the refuge. It is a constant source of amazement to me that these refuges, in the middle of nowhere, can provide such tasty fare as well as wine, tea and coffee. There may not be much choice but the food is fresh and reasonably priced despite provisions being flown in by helicopter. It seems a very civilised way of hiking when it is possible to walk to a remote place then relax in the sunshine while being fed and watered. The French really do know how to live.
We were not just staying at Arc 1950 for hiking and rafting however.
Mountain biking at this resort is also on offer and we were keen to try it out. The routes did not disappoint, with plenty of greens, reds, blues and blacks to keep all levels of mountain bikers happy. The green routes are probably equivalent to a blue route in Scotland and very enjoyable for beginners with enough easy berms and drop-offs to give interest without being terrifying. It is a good place to start the sport and many do.
There are custom-made mountain biking courses for adults or children and 23 trails in the Les Arcs downhill mountain biking area, including nine downhill runs (two green, three blue, two red and two black), five Enduro routes, two cross country circuits, one large freestyle zone and one fun zone.
One of the advantages of staying at Arc 1950, where we were based, is that there is the opportunity to try out a whole variety of sports including archery and golf as well as mountain biking.
A full programme of events and fitness classes takes place each week during the summer and those staying at least five nights can try out three activities free of charge.
It is a lovely little place with the advantage of being car free so kids can play outside quite safely. To entice them, there are outdoor tennis tables situated around the village which anyone can use, as well as giant chess, a bouncy castle, boules and other outdoor games, again all free to use.
It makes for a very pleasant, fun atmosphere and all the facilities like shops, bars and restaurants are close at hand. We tried several of the latter and they were all excellent with great pizzas at Nonna Lisa’s and tender grills and mouth-watering burgers at Mazot and la Vache Rouge. Prices again were reasonable despite our altitude and the cost of transportation of the raw ingredients.
All the residences in the resort are chalet-style and each one boasts its own swimming pool – ours had an outdoor and indoor pool, sauna and steamroom.
For total relaxation, there is the Deep Nature Spa in the village which is absolute bliss after a day’s mountain biking or hiking.
Here there are saunas, steam rooms, a beautiful pool, Jacuzzi as well as treatments for those who want them.
Arc 1950’s location is a two and a half hour drive from Geneva and the journey can be broken at beautiful Annecy. We swam at the south end of the lake which is a pleasant temperature in the summer and a wonderful way to finish a fantastic holiday. ■
Arc 1950 offer 7 nights at the Pierre et Vacances 5* Residence Le Village
from €715 for a 2 bedroom apartment (sleeps up to 6), www.arc1950.com. Half day mountain biking with pro rider guide from €55pp and white water rafting from €49pp with www. spirit1950.com; for area information visit www.savoie-mont-blanc.com