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PAID CONTENT FOR IS ÈRE ATTRACTIVITÈ
A TASTE OF THE MOUNTAINS
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NORDIC SKIING This age-old Scandinavian activity has
multiple variations: cross-country skiing, popular with beginners, involves gliding with straight strides on fl at or uphill tracks; skate skiing requires a more energetic, diagonal motion. Try it at the Nordic site of Haut Vercors, crisscrossed by 95 miles of marked pistes. La Royale is one of the most popular routes, covering a loop of 18 miles connecting the villages of Corrençon, Villard-de-Lans and Saint-Julien en Vercors.
experience the grounding stillness of the mountains, and at Isère, hikers are spoilt for choice. Wildlife enthusiasts can join chamois-spotting tours organised by guides in Les Deux Alpes, and if it’s sprawling views you’re after, the ESF Ski School in Oz-en- Oisans off ers sunset treks to Pré de la Pierre, a clearing overlooking the striking Belledonne range. For a full nature immersion, walkers with or without snowshoes can also explore the ethnobotanical trail in the spruce forest of Piégut — one the largest in Europe.
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scenery whizz by as rows of sled dogs pull you across snowy fi elds. The plateaux of the Vercors Massif are a popular destination to try dog sledding, with 31 miles of tracks and several operators off ering rides and mushing lessons. To get even closer to the dogs, Team Ehawee, in Oz-en-Oisans, off ers evening cani-balade outings, where huskies guide hikers via belts and waist harnesses.
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in hand, get ready to conquer vertical ice walls. Once considered the preserve of
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ICE CLIMBING Crampons on your feet and ice axe
DOG SLEDDING Snuggle up in a sleigh and watch the
SNOWSHOEING Snowshoe routes are ideal places to
mountaineers, ice climbing is becoming accessible to anyone looking for cold thrills. Beginners can tackle the 270ft-high Symphonie d’Automne, a frozen waterfall in the Grandes Rousses massif, with guides from Oz-en-Oisans (and, on the way down, have a go at abseiling, too). Other scenic climbing spots near the resort include Mur d’Ice Bill and Chacal Bondissant, to name a few.
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SKI TOURING Explore the backcountry with a ski
touring experience in Chamrousse. This sport allows mountain-goers to discover off -the-beaten-track areas, thanks to skins attached to the skis, which create traction for uphill treks. Chamrousse has two popular itineraries — a two-mile route from Bachat- Bouloud and a shorter one to Lac des Pourettes and Lacs Robert — but for something diff erent, opt for the resort’s after-dark experience. Named ‘best ski touring itinerary’ at the 2019 Ski Touring Trophies, it allows tourers to safely enjoy night outings.
Airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, Jet 2 and Ryanair fl y direct from the UK to Grenoble in under two hours. Isère’s main train station, Grenoble, has excellent national and international rail connections, and train journeys from London take around seven-and-a-half hours, changing in Paris. Find recommended journey schedules at
snowcarbon.co.uk.
Grenoble —the capital of Isère, located at the foot of the French Alps—has been named European Green Capital 2022 in recognition of its sustainable development goals. Jeanette is one of the many restaurants in this Alpine hub to favour traditional fl avours, fresh products and short supply chains. Head chefs Manon Bocquentin and Thaïs Giannetti tell us more.
TELL US ABOUT JEANETTE. All our ingredients come from within 30km of where we’re based, to limit our environmental impact. This also forces us to use seasonal fruits and vegetables; producers tell us what they have, and we create a menu around it.
WHICH INGREDIENTS CAN DINERS EXPECT? We use local, wild herbs from the mountains: meadowsweet, which gives a bitter almond flavour; wood sorrel, which is very acidic; and elderflower. We collect them ourselves and rely on market producers for other products.
HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE FRESH FLAVOURS? We use different herbs throughout the year. For example, wild garlic flowers are the first to flourish in the spring, and asparagus comes just afterwards. In winter, we use the herbs we collect in the warm months, dried and infused in syrups.
READ MORE AT
ALPES-ISERE.COM
IMAGES:
FOCUS-OUTDOOR.FR; THOMAS HYTTE
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