Event Previews & Reviews from Alpe d'Huez

Last night crowds gathered outside Alpe D’Huez Palais de Sport for the highly regarded International Comedy Film Festival.

Whether you fancy a trip to the summit of the Pic Blanc, trying curling or visiting the museum, there’s always plenty going on away from the slopes.

There's always plenty of things to do here in Alpe d’Huez, many of them away from the slopes, so here's your guide to the upcoming events happening here over the next couple of weeks, there really aren’t enough hours in the day – so put these dates in your diary…

The famous torchlight descents by the fabulous ski instructors of the ESF ski school are always one of the highlights on the events calendar in Alpe d’Huez, and last Wednesday was no exception.

It’s always crash, bang, wallop when you mix an ice hockey match with a dash of local rivalry – and this match was no exception.

You know the ski season has officially started when La Folie Douce opens its doors, the music starts pumping, the champagne corks start popping and crowds of people jump up to dance on tables in their ski boots.

The London Freeze is the ski and snowboard event that brings together international live music acts and some of the world's best riders. The two day festival is the last weekend in October and in 2011 we caught up with X-Games medalist James Wooods for a chat about his Olympic hopes.

The gnaliest race in Alpe d'huez is easliy the Megavalanche. A top to bottom, mass start downhill race with hundreds of competitiors racing from the glacier to the town.

Next weekend sees the 20th edition of the prestigious Pyramide d’Oz ski mountaineering race, a race that regularly forms part of the French National Cup (Coupe de France) – on a course that was used in the 2009 World Cup. Around 150 to 200 competitors are set to tackle the gruelling course.

Be it taking a peaceful and tranquil tour of the historic church or the hustle and bustle of an ice hockey match, there’s always plenty of things to do away from the slopes here in Alpe d'Huez.

There has been plenty going on over the first three days with the festival taking over several bars and clubs in the resort to host parties from various different UK club nights and DJs.

The famous torchlight descents by the fabulous ski instructors of ESF ski school are always one of the highlights on the events calendar here in Alpe d’Huez and last Wednesday was no exception.