Event Previews & Reviews from Alpe d'Huez

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.

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.

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.

A good-sized crowd was in attendance for the first round of the 2019 French Long Distance Cross-Country Ski Cup in Alpe d’Huez on Sunday, January 6th.

2017 certainly arrived with a bang here in Alpe d’Huez with a huge outdoor party at the leisure centre in the middle of resort. Although this is an annual event, it was, in fact, the first time in ten years that I've managed to go. This year with nothing particularly planned we decided to head up and see what it was all about.  

Deciding to go and watch the Tour de France is a 'no-brainer' for me, but trying to describe the overwhelming sense of passion, enthusiasm, fun and camaraderie to those who have never been is difficult. It can be hard to persuade the uninitiated to come with you.

Rumours about Tomorrowland coming to the Alps began to rumble in March 2017 and it soon became apparent that Alpe d’Huez was amongst the forerunners to host this epic event. The rumours became official in March 2018, and it’s been all systems go since then.

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.

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.

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.

New Years’ Eve is always a big night here in Alpe d’Huez and this year was no exception. The weather wasn’t great for a “pub crawl” but, hey, it’s NYE, so we braved the conditions and headed out – out out!