Skiing?... in summer?
Written: Jul 29 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Skiing AND other sporty activities all in one place
Cons: The size of the queues for the T-bar lifts
The Bottom Line: The best place to summer ski in Europe. Cool glacier mornings, chilled relaxing afternoons and hot vibrant nightlife.
|
|
|
| britbird's Full Review: Les Deux Alpes |
I spent my first summer ski vacation here and highly recommend it. The resort is full of people trying to improve their technique to the level that they no longer feel intimidated by the hundreds of 4-year-old Italians who go screaming down the slope with style the rest of us can only dream of. Beginners were few and far between - there are definitely nicer places to spend that first week of falling over.
The glacier in Les 2 Alpes is skiable from 7.30am to 1pm each day. Any later and you'll wind up water-skiing at the bottom of the slope. Access is via the Jandri Express - a 30 minute, 2-stage cable car ride from the village. Leave your manners behind for the rush back to the village at lunchtime - being polite could see you never getting on.
The glacier pistes are well groomed each night and their wide, if featureless, expanse provides plenty of room for perfecting that carving turn.
Snowboarders tend to stick to the Snow or Fun Park, leaving the main runs for the skiers. As far as spectating goes, many national ski teams run their summer training camps here, so there's plenty of opportunity for checking out how it should be done. Some of the runs have limited access due to the slalom training runs set up on them, but there's still lots of other pistes besides.
Afternoons in Les 2 Alpes are far from boring: the resort offers mountain biking, white water rafting, parascending, hiking and hill walking, shopping, swimming and much more besides.
The nightlife in Les 2 Alpes is legendary, though I suspect it's livelier during the winter season. Bars aplenty offer a stunning variety of cocktails and live music. For the hardened party-goers, check out Club Avalanche.
On the food front, the news is not so good. This place is one big cheese fest: fondue, raclette, etc are on offer at almost every turn. The few alternatives are pizza, pasta and 1 lonesome fish restaurant. A personal recommendation from me would be La Spagetteria for exquisite pasta dishes.
Recommended:
Yes
Level of Experience Needed: Intermediate
Best Time to Visit: July
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
britbird
|
|
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.