Activity Reviews in Alpe d'Huez

As August progresses the hot, sultry weather in the southern alps persists. We’re now finding that the mornings and evenings are cooler than earlier in the summer, but by midday temperatures are soaring into the low-30s and the afternoons are long and warm. To keep active, I’m finding it’s better to get up and out early, aiming to be home by 11am, when the sun really starts to intensify.

When you live in a small town it’s always good to get away, even if it’s just for the night. Tourist resorts are no exception and – when the masses descend for the August rush – the prospect of the open road becomes even more tempting. Thankfully it’s my birthday in mid-August and this usually gives me a great excuse to pack a bag and head-off for a little break.

Tour de France time rolls around, and our roads are once again infested with loonies in lycra. Go Wiggo!

Always on the lookout for new activities to try, I found myself horse riding this week in Alpe d’Huez. For many people – especially the outdoors types – this wouldn’t have been a particularly big deal. However, as mentioned before when I attempted mountain biking, I grew up in deepest darkest South East London, where the only horse you’d see was the clotheshorse on washing day. But I felt pretty confident about the whole thing; after all you just sit there and hold the reins, right?

Last week we set off in the direction of Salette and Laffrey on an exploratory tour in preparation for the impending inter-season, when both resorts all but close and it’s great to get out of the ghost town for a day or two. This weekend, we decided to explore a little more in this direction, heading-off to La Mure and Drac.

So the sun is out, temperatures are soaring and high season is just around the corner, which means it must be time to go camping. It’s cheap, it’s outdoors and you can do it almost anywhere, what’s not to like? All right, it happens to be chucking with rain on this particular morning, but it’s not going to do that all holiday is it?

If you’re after a shorter less committing bike ride than the infamous 21 bends up to Alpe D’Huez, the Col D’Ornon is a great option from the same starting point. The ride is easily done in less than two hours and there are certainly no compromises on the scenery!

Since last week’s prediction that the first snows of winter were not far away, the alpine weather has launched us back into summer. Over the past few days we’ve had temperatures in the mid- twenties and very little breeze. The early mornings have been a little foggy, but that’s been burning off by 9am. It’s perfect weather for all the DIY that needs to be done before the winter season starts again.

The winds have been whipping the southern alps mercilessly and erratically since last Thursday. Bad weather severely hampered last week’s mountain bike event in Les Deux Alpes, the Mountain of Hell, but this week we’ve certainly felt the worst of it.

With both resorts now officially closed for the Autumn, us locals were hoping for a little peace and quiet. But while the weather remains warm, the workmen are out in force to get both towns ready for winter. In Les Deux Alpes, the pavement improvement scheme continues as the yellow bricks on the eastern side of Avenue de la Muzelle are replaced with new walkways. This should make a huge difference come winter, as the yellow pavements were notoriously slippery, especially in the snow.