Winter::
St. Jean d'Aulps has its own ski station, La Grand Terche. This offers easy family skiing, a ski school and spectacular views. Access is by telecabine to three long chair-lifts, 12 buttons and a mountain restaurant. Fifteen minutes away is the best access to 420 miles of magnificent skiing in the Portes du Soleil. This area includes the infamous Swiss Wall, the extensive Avoriaz ski area, skiing through woods, access to sophisticated Morzine or the cruising slopes above Les Gets. The 12 linked resorts have 600 ski instructors teaching everyone from beginners to off piste magicians.
Snowboarders find the Portes du Soleil challenging, with the area over in Les Crosets, Switzerland a particular favourite. An all this only 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Geneva !
Summer::
An unsophisticated mountain village, St Jean d'Aulps has much to offer in the summer. There is a wide variety of walks from the village. One can climb up past old chalets and grazing cows through beech woods to the peaks overlooking the valley or walk along shady wooded paths beside the river Dranse rushing down the valley below the chalet. Alpine flowers are at their most spectacular in early June, but walking the mountain tracks at any time reveals masses of flowers on a bank or, in season, blackberries or wild strawberries. For the family, St Jean d'Aulps offers tennis and horse riding and nearby one can experience the thrills of white water rafting or para-descending. calm swimming in blue green lakes or just relaxing in one of the many local restaurants.
Morzine is the centre of some awesome road and moutain biking. Take chairlifts to stunning views, and whizz down tracks through woods and alpine pasture, or cycle parts of the Tour de France route to reveal vies of Mont Blanc.
Road Cycling and Mountain Biking:
This area is a renowned centre for cycling, both road and mountain biking.
Road Cycling
A good “Velo” Pocket Guide is available in tourist office with lots of local routes. One good route with some steep but rewarding climbs is going south up past Essert Romand to the Col d’Encrenaz and Foron before turning back toward Praz de Lys with views of Mont Blanc on a good day, carry on towards Onnion and then head north up the Bellveaux-Vailly valley to cross to la Vernaz with its views of Lake Geneva in the distance, before climbing up the D902 back to St Jean D’Aulps. The round tour is about 75 kms but there are no short cuts if you get into trouble !
Mountain Biking
The Portes du Soleil mountain bike pocket guide / map is available in the tourist office. The scale of this area is mind-boggling.
If you are into XC and the fitness and energy , try the Portes du Soleil loop in one day .It is some 80km long and and uses 10 chairlifts, approximately 85% is downhill - what heaven !
Ski:
The Portes du Soleil boasts that it is the largest international ski are in the world. Here there is skiing for everyone from the timid beginner to the off piste artist as well the snow boarder looking for some extreme challenges.
Avoriaz has the wide open slopes, towards Chatel the area is full of charm with wooded pistes and suddenly stunning views. Morzine offers skiers great variety. One can ski all day without sking down the same run twice. For me it is a paradise I dream of even in summer !
Chamoissiere black and red beckon every year, testing nerve and fitness to the limits. The Swiss Wall is an awesome mogul field for torturing those thighs, but everywhere there is choice from greens through the woods, to big open reds with perfect pistes.
Even a stop for lunch can be a joy ( or perhaps my undoing) , for the food in the some of the mountain restaurants is as delicious as French cuisine can be. Come and try it - you will be sure to come back.
Other Activities:
White Water Rafting, Skating, Mountain Luge, pony-trekking and mountain biking
