Three Days Family Skiing in Vaujany

2nd January 2024 | Tim Clark, Vaujany, France.

Tim Clark visits Vaujany on a three-day household ski journey. It’s a small resort within the Isère area of France simply over the hill from Alpe d’Huez. NEW

“Are you able to hear it? I believe it’s haunted,” says Hazel, my 7-year outdated daughter.

It’s the second day of a three-day journey to Vaujany, a small resort within the Isère area of France, and we’re listening out for ice giants.

Or not less than that’s what I’ve been informed we’re doing.

Prime of the Chalets ski run – Vaujany Alpette – picture © Tim Clark

Hazel, who spent final February at “daddy ski faculty” [read more here], has returned to the Alps to behave as a child-led high quality management for a resort which prides itself on interesting to households and kids.

Cloud has enveloped the valley beneath, turning what would usually be a reasonably normal blue run down from the highest of the Montfrais chair raise right into a disconnected island of snow, icicles and mountain peaks.

The few wisps of white that do glide previous add to the mystique.

Above the freeze-thaw nature of the season meant that a powerful array of icicles had set had throughout the cliffs and ledges up the Col du Couard mountain.

Icicles and ice giants – Picture © Tim Clark

I hold watch (for these pesky giants, naturally) as my daughter unclips her skis to analyze the unusual sounds from the edges of the piste.

The mysterious sound is water gushing from snowmelt larger up, however if you’re seven something is a possible journey.

Usually it may be laborious to seek out the time to discover the pure atmosphere of the mountains on a ski vacation, if you end up preoccupied with assessing which blue, crimson or black run will give the largest adrenaline hit, or how you can discover the best path to one of the best après-ski.

And, with the din of skis, snowboards and instructors on the piste, making an attempt to pay attention out for the sounds of nature might be about as profitable as making an attempt to determine birdsong on the M25.

So to be alone for a great ten minutes indulging my seven-year-old’s supernatural perception system was a possibility to not be missed.

Vaujany’s status for world-class ice giants is well-known, however the city additionally provides a mess of child-friendly facilities reminiscent of a pool, bowling alley, tobogganing, and day care centre.

However not a lot snow within the run-up to Christmas this winter.

View of Vaujany from the Alpette raise – Picture © Tim Clark

The village was handed a monetary windfall when Électricité de France (EDF) compulsorily bought swathes of land for a brand new reservoir and hydro-electric energy station.

The municipality determined to make use of that money to spend money on long-term returns – not solely in amenities but additionally a collection of dependable and excessive capability lifts to attach with the broader Grand Domaine ski space.

Alongside the pool and bowling alley, the 600-odd mattress resort additionally has an ice hockey rink (with Division 2 champions of the French Ice Hockey league no much less), the place vacation makers can practise curling.

There’s a small and really properly geared up science museum, in addition to a creche and daycare centre, a lot of which is half-built into the mountain like a sort of James Bond-esque play faculty.

Vaujany swimming pool – picture © Tim Clark

Our residence for 3 days was the child-orientated Hôtel Les Cimes: a 10-bed resort lately refurbished by Ski France and added to their books for the 2023/24 season.

The resort goals to place kids on the coronary heart of the keep, with a safe children space on its high flooring full with board video games, sofas and puzzles.

Plus the attractive provide for kids that they will order their very own drinks, or non-alcoholic ones not less than.

And what do children do in the event that they’re allowed to drink (nearly) no matter they need?

They do photographs after all.

In our case, one keen fellow baby traveller managed to line up half a dozen sizzling sweets earlier than daring others (together with the adults) to a downing competitors.

I managed an (apparently poor) 3.68 seconds, the winner, one other mum or dad mastering the approach with 1.6 seconds.

In between had been quite a lot of kids who managed to lug sizzling chocolate and spill lots over their tops.

Fortunately dinners at Hôtel Les Cimes aren’t an excessively formal affair.

Vaujany’s lifts are additionally spectacular for a resort of its dimension.

First, the Vaujany-Alpette raise rises 812 metres up from the village to 2,062 metres in simply over 4 minutes and may deal with simply over 1,500 individuals an hour.

This raise is ideal for ready skiers because it additionally connects with the next Alpette-Rousses raise that takes individuals to 2,812metres in simply over two minutes 30 seconds.

All in all, from village to summit (if timings are beneficial) in round 10 minutes is to not be sniffed at.

A variety of resorts can present the fundamentals for individuals to have a great vacation, and the remaining depends on what individuals do themselves.

And whereas the older, extra superior skiers can shoot off up the mountain, the virtually self-contained newbies space in Vaujany provides youthful kids an opportunity to discover with out an excessive amount of concern that they’d by chance stray off onto a significant slope.

The 2 inexperienced runs close by, the Ecureuil and Les Dolines, supplied sufficient for these searching for a fast refresher earlier than tackling the chairlifts, or as a commencement slope for these just a few days into the ski’s.

Burying your self right into a present drift for an hour is arguably as a lot enjoyable for a kid as mastering parallel snowboarding, and fortunately we acquired the possibility to strive each.

The newbies space got here with an indoor picnic space for households and three eating places inside straightforward attain.

In between had been ample areas to easily bounce within the snow.

Earlier than we knew it, a pleasant fellow traveller had lent Hazel a ski Barbie, and it appeared impolite to not take her sledding.

Sending an eight inch doll down a ski run isn’t on the high of anybody’s ski vacation listing, however armed with sledges rented from city we headed to the specifically cordoned off space to place “Katarina” via her paces.

Hazel being given a journey to the ski raise – Vaujany Picture © Tim Clark

As soon as the delights of Vaujany had been tasted, there was a day within the bigger Alpe d’Huez to take pleasure in after navigating the ski lifts.

Right here there’s a bigger number of inexperienced runs for newbies and a ton of blues, reds and off-piste choices for extra superior skiers.

And, with a spare afternoon we took a visit on a husky journey which criss-crossed the underside of the newbies slopes.

Despite the fact that the French colleges had damaged up for Christmas, the entire of the Alpe d’Huez ski space was comparatively quiet in mid-December and for us the little north dealing with nook from Montfrais down was a veritable paradise, particularly early within the morning.

The pistes of Vaujany had been for lengthy intervals merely our personal.

And completely fulfilling they had been – with not an enormous quantity of off-piste areas (not less than in comparison with the principle Alpe d’Huez) however sufficient to take pleasure in a dip or two exterior of the principle drags, and delicate, forgiving snow.

One query these considering of visiting Vaujany want to contemplate is the extent of expertise wanted to entry the principle Alpe d’Huez resort itself.

The Le Dome crimson route which hyperlinks the Dome Des Rousses at 2,800m all the way down to DMC is pretty strong and although I managed it with out difficulties, a newbie might battle.

This quick hyperlink is the important thing to accessing the broader Alpe d’Huez resort and, for individuals who could make it, then it’s an honest morning snowboarding.

For newbies although it’s a reasonably lengthy trek on three ski lifts.

We tried it for one morning and, with a great hour commute, it felt extra like being on a ski raise vacation than an precise ski one.

However it might be argued nonetheless that the benefits outweigh the restrictions and for anybody considering of heading to Vaujany it’s about decisions.

If any within the get together aren’t good with altitude, then the comparatively low 1,250 metres at resort degree is a bonus.

For many who need a pretty quiet, village-like resort that has retained among the attraction of its rural previous, it has that too, and if you happen to’re searching for a variety of household choices then it has these in abundance.

For us, it gave Hazel an opportunity to reconnect together with her snowboarding, and listen to the ice giants of the mountains calling.