Great Skiing on Alpe-d'Huez

For over 30 years, enthusiasts have been coming to Alpe-d'Huez to "do" the Sarenne. It's the longest run in the world with a 16-km-long descent over 1830 metres in altitude from the summit of Pic-Blanc (3330 m) down to Gua Bridge (1500 m).

Sarenne is ONE hour of non-stop skiing without taking any kind of ski-lift!
The views are breathtaking and the experience, unique!

Sarenne minute by minute 

• 9.30 am - At the bottom of the slopes : the DMC shudders in the pure, sharp air of l'Alpe d'Huez... Piercing the sky, Pic Blanc shimmers like a lighthouse above the resort.
  
  
• 9.50 am - Everybody out at 2700 m. Through the barriers, into Pic Blanc's departure platform and you're ready to be carried up to the panoramic terrace at 3300 m.
  
  
• 10.05 am - Visual impact... the sun lights up Grande Casse and Mont Blanc on one side and on the other, the Ecrins, Meije and Râteau, then the Arves needles, an ocean of sparkling peaks. Sometimes in the distance, one can see Mount Viso.
  
  
• 10.15 am - The dry air seizes your body and chest... your fi rst turns on the glacier along the net protecting the Grand Sablat. Gently does it.

  Your muscles are cold and the slope is steep, but it soon opens into a vast cirque. On the right, you pass the famous tunnel that goes through the mountain back to l'Alpe d'Huez. Leave that for another time... Long curves... The snow is cold and easy to ski. The cold of the night stops it deteriorating. The fl at of the Sarenne glacier provides a rest for your muscles, which are crying out for oxygen. Make sure you keep some energy for later as you reach the Herpie chair lift.

  
  
• 10.40 am - Change of scenery : you now leave the glacier and enter the Sarenne's own barren, mineral world... and literally plunge into the gorges.
  
  
• 10.50 am - Past the Pierre Grosse emergency station, carefully balanced on a fl at area, an eagle's nest facing the slope. From one narrow inlet to another, the slope curves through the gorges. No sign of any ski lifts : total silence. You are being watched by large crows... see the yellow-beaked jackdaws circling overhead.
  
  
• 11 am - Sarenne bridge. Like the wind, you cross the glacier stream that later reaches Bourg d'Oisans. The stream runs in its icy gangue, trees cover the surrounding inclines, trapped by the snow.
  
  
  
• 11.15 am - The Gua bridge. Like a border between you and civilisation.

  You are at the foot of Auris, but you must go on... The mountains are getting closer, the gorges are now in the shade, freezing nature and snow into an icy shell. It's really cold, but the snow is great to ski up to the Combe Haute restaurant for a celebratory hot chocolate !

  
  
• 11.40 am - Another little effort to reach the Alpauris chairlift which will take you back from the depths of the gorges to the bright sunlight.
  
  
• 11.47 am - Alpe d'Huez. Shall we do it again ?