It's All Downhill from Here

Skiing may be the archetypal winter sport, but as we found in the French Alps, there are many ways to get down a mountain, from bobsledding to speed riding.

Anyone can go to the French Alps to ski, but imagine a place where you can get your kicks from as many different extreme winter sports as possible. Ben Mondy visits the Paradiski resorts to try them.

PHOTOS © STEVE STILLS (STEVESTILLS.COM)

Surely I have done it all by now? Over the past three days I have been dragged on skis behind a horse, skidded down a 600m blue run on an inflatable airboard, been sucked into the air by a parachute while my skis dangled dangerously below, and climbed a 22m tower of ice.

And yet all these adrenalin-inducing exploits have in no way prepared me for my next foolish – and potentially life-threatening – activity. Here I am, lying face down on my stomach with my chin only millimetres from a downward spiralling ice track that is as slippery as, well, ice and as hard as diamond.

Paradiski is an area that spans the three major resorts of Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne on the edge of the Vanoise National Park in the French Alps, with more than 425km of pisted runs, two glaciers, two snow parks and some of the best backcountry skiing in Europe. With all this, you’d think you’d have enough to do without embarking on a variety of extraordinary activities. But no, it’s all about the coolest winter sports possible – and this season they are all the rage.

Suddenly a klaxon sounds and my name is bellowed out in a thick French accent through the PA. This indicates that I am about to be pushed down the La Plagne Olympic Bobsleigh track, settled on top of a 50kg carbon graphite sled called a skeleton. All I have to keep me attached to the contraption is my balance and the centrifugal force that results from sliding down an ice chute at a top speed of 70km/h.

My teacher, Jacques Duc, a local legend who competed in the skeleton at the 1992 Winter Olympics on this very track, had done his best to assure me I would be in no real danger during an hour of intensive training.

“The skeleton is the most impressive sport to do on the bobsleigh track. More impressive than the bobsled or luge, but the least dangerous,” he said. “Also, as you are only starting from halfway up the track [this time] you won’t have time to generate enough speed for the g-force to render you unconscious.

“But don’t worry, Ben. Because you are on the ice, you cannot fall.” And with these words of reassurance he gives me an almighty shove down the track and into the first turn.

While my experience was organised through the track’s local club, the Club de Bobsleigh, Luge et Skeleton La Plagne (I shared the track with scores of Lycra-clad youngsters whizzing past in training for an upcoming competition), it’s also possible to sample these thrills in complete safety by taking the automated “Mono Bob”. For about €100 you can ride from the top and reach a blood-curdling 120km/h, under fully auto-piloted conditions. It’s yet another example of the way this part of the Alps has been pushing frontiers when it comes to winter sports.

Les Arcs was at the forefront of the snowboarding movement in the early 1980s, while such sports as speed skiing and “speed riding” also have their spiritual home here. It is a place that fosters high-altitude experimentation, where the term “extreme” no longer has any meaning – in that everything is extreme! It is also a place where, under the guidance of some of these new sports’ elite practitioners, you can safely try them all out.

My first experience is with Arnaud Baumy, a pioneer of speed riding who runs a school for this newest of winter sports at Les Arcs. He runs me through the basics. Speed riding involves the use of regular skis and what looks like a miniature parachute to descend the slopes in a half-gliding, half-skiing motion.

It’s probably the sport for which you need the most skiing experience in order to attempt. Arnaud’s rule is that you must not only be able to handle all on-piste runs well, but also be comfortable off piste. Any knowledge of paragliding is helpful, but not essential. As Arnaud straps me into my harness and starts to explain the mechanics of the ropes lying behind me, the “helpful, but not essential” line turns into a panic-reducing mantra.

“The first aim of speed riding is to get you skiing with the chute above you in a stable position,” he says. “Once you’re in the air, it’s a simple matter of pulling the left lever to go left, and the right lever to go right. The basic goal is to speed-ride on your own. After three or four lessons, you should be able to do it by yourself and be at least 5m or so in the air.”

I don’t quite get that far, but for a few fleeting moments in my three-hour lesson, my skis do leave the soft snow for just an instant; the thrill and lightness of which makes me determined to progress further with this amazing new hybrid.

Something closer to earth, and far easier to master, is another Paradiski favourite known as “airboarding”. The airboard is actually an inflatable sledge that you ride face down on. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, when I heard about it I was sceptical – after speed-riding there was no way airboarding could compare.

However, 30 minutes later with the dedicated 600m blue run of Plagne-Montalbert lying below me, my snorts of derision transform into smiles. Halfway down, whizzing along the snow at incredible speeds, my smile upgrades further to the raucous giggle of a 13-year-old schoolgirl, hysterical with the childish delights of air, rubber and gravity.

These pursuits set the trend for the rest of my stay, with an itinerary involving a similar mix of the gravity-defying and the absurd. Probably falling into the latter category is my attempt at “ski-joering”, an ancient pastime where you are pulled on skis by a horse. An unnatural fear of horses somewhat curtails my enjoyment, yet seems to have had no effect on the children, some as young as eight, who are sliding past me with broad grins.

Later that day, my pride is restored, as I am marginally more successful at ascending the 22m man-made ice-climbing tower, in the stunning valley of Champagny-le-Haut. Built by world-renowned climber Damien Souvy, it’s the only one of its kind in Europe and offers reassuring routes for beginners, through to near vertical gradients for experts.

While I may not be a natural, two-thirds of the way up, Damien exclaims: “I have never, in all my life, seen someone fight the ice like you!” The feeling of reaching the top and taking in the breathtaking views of the valley is thrilling and magical. A stay at the resorts of Paradiski will give you this feeling of elation and accomplishment a number of times. Again and again I manage to conquer inner fears and have an extremely good time in the process. Getting pushed down the bobsleigh track by Jacques lets me do this one more time, and I feel determined to come back to do it again.

Approximately 30 seconds, nine turns, some wall bashes and a few high-pitched squeals after setting off, I manage to come to a halt at the end of the course, bursting with excitement and filled with pride. I am so hyped that I foolishly ask Jacques whether I can do my next run from the very top of the 19-corner course.

“Of course you can,” he responds, grinning in a way only a French winter sports instructor can. “But you will die.” Halfway only it is then. Until next year, at least!

Extreme sports at Paradiski

For general information on Paradiski and its three resorts, including where to stay options, visit www.paradiski.com.

For more information and booking details for the Skeleton bobsleigh experience, visit www.cbls-laplagne.fr (tel: +33 (0)4 7909 0824).

The automated Mono Bob costs €103 per person per descent, and can be booked via www.bobsleigh.net (tel: +33 (0)4 7909 1273).

Two hours climbing the ice tower, including instruction and equipment, costs €34 per person. Visit www.la-plagne.com (tel: +33 (0)4 7909 7979) for more information.

For a three-hour ski-joering trip you’ll pay €50 per person. Call +33 (0)6 0912 1594 for full details about the activity and booking.

Speed riding will cost you €85 per person for a three-hour lesson. Visit www.speedriding-school.com, or call Arnaud Baumy directly on +33 (0)6 1951 3934.

Fast facts

GETTING THERE

Les Arcs, La Plagne and Peisey-Vallandry are located within two hours’ drive of both Grenoble and Turin airports. Contact Paradiski (www.paradiski.com) for details of shuttle bus options. Car hire is available at both airports with Hertz (www.hertz.com) – Ryanair’s exclusive car rental partner, offering special rates for Ryanair passengers. In addition, various taxi services operate from the airports to the resorts. Ryanair flies to Grenoble from Dublin, London (Stansted) and Stockholm (Skavsta); and flies to Turin from Barcelona (Girona), Bari, Brindisi, Brussels (Charleroi), Dublin, Ibiza, London (Stansted), Madrid and Trapani.