It's been a busy week for Alpe d'Huez's party scene, especially for those who have braved the extreme cold and early-season flu to make the most of the promotions in the bars. I'm afraid I've been a bit of a wuss this week, favouring riding over partying and saving my meagre cents rather than splashing out on the jugs, spheres and plain old pints that have been flowing freely this week.
The party week started last Thursday with Still Nameless' second gig at Smithy's Tavern. The boys' mix of old-school and new rock covers always goes down well and they previewed the season's new set across the valley in Les Deux Alpes this week too. John, Jez and Morse seem to be expanding not only their repertoire but their line-up, with this week's gig featuring cameo appearances by Neilson's Dan and Smithy's own kitchen Canadian, Scot. The night was also the launch of Smithy's Big Jugs promotion – 8€ per litre jug, which works out at 4€ per pint – and was accompanied by some highly tasteful t-shirts for staff and punters.
Over the weekend, the Underground and Grotte Yeti reopened their doors to seasonnaires, both hosting early-season parties and posters for the coming week started to appear on the boards around town.
On Tuesday it was the turn of Lounge 21 to host another opening party, this time with a soundtrack supplied by DJ Blat. The bar was packed with locals and tourists soaking up the sounds and sampling Lounge's extensive cocktail list. Big parties are always great at Lounge and this week I'm hoping to crash the ESF's Welcome Party which is strictly for Reps and other assorted Tour Op Big Wigs... surely they won't notice me in the crowd! Next door in Smithy's DJ Mavro was mixing hip-hop with just a touch of drum n bass, making a change from resident DJ Northey's house-based set.
Last night I did a quick tour of town to find out what's coming up over Christmas week. I stopped by the Grotte du Yeti and new manager Matt tells me he'll be targeting the aprés-ski market once the Christmas/New Year rush is over. The bar has a great sunny terrace so this sounds great, once it gets a bit warmer. I also popped my head round the door of the Underground to see how they were preparing for their Full Moon Beach Party. Seeing as there was no moon and temperatures in town were heading down to -16°C, the dress code of skimpies and bikini seemed a little ill-advised but Rupert, Busty and co assured me the party would be pumping by 11pm.
Unconvinced I set-off for a quick chat at O-Bar where Vicky tells me they'll be starting their Sunday Cocktail Nights next week. Another great bar for aprés-ski, O-Bar does great tapas and their cocktails are infamous in Alpe d'Huez. This is certainly one to put in my diary for next week.
After a stop at Smithy's Tavern and Lounge 21 to collect renegade staffers Dylan and Lou, I made it to Zoo Bar, a great French bar next to Igloo. The atmosphere here is always on the edge of euphoric and the totally random playlist has you dancing to Elvis one minute and the Prodigy the next. They're promoting spheres of beer this winter, which look like old-style gumball machines filled with Jupiler, 3 litres for 25€. They also have a pool table and seemingly no rules about using it as a dance floor, sofa or boxing ring.
From Zoo it was back to the Underground to see how the Beach Party was going. As we opened the door we were met by a cloud of steam, the packed bar lit by UV light and filled with sweaty seasonnaires. There weren't any bikinis in sight but the bar staff had made and effort with their zinc sticks and cricket hats and a few Skiplan boys had dug out their surfing tops. Any concerns that the night would be quiet were completely unfounded as Alpe d'Huez's party people proved that extreme temperatures won't stop them from starting the season as they mean to go on.
For a full list of this week's events, check out our What's On Calendar. You can also find full Bar and Restaurant listings in the Dining and Going Out section of the site.
