Sports and adventure
10 activities 100% adrenaline
Want to get out of your comfort zone? Looking for a thrill? The mountains have plenty to offer. In the air, in the water, above or below ground, discover our summer selection of thrilling activities for the intrepid. Adrenalin guaranteed for young and old!
Sensations guaranteed
#1 – Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping has been at the top of the thrill-seeking ladder since the 1980s. Inspired by an initiation rite in Vanuatu, there are many variations on this activity in the mountains. Nowadays, people jump from bridges, cranes, towers or ski jumps, as in Tignes (winter) and Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, with a bungee cord attached to their ankle and/or torso. Ideal for defying vertigo and for a great adrenalin rush!
Where can you try it out? The Grand Tourmalet, La Bresse, where you can jump in tandem, and Serre Chevalier in particular.
concentration and adrenalin
#2 – The highline
Slacklining involves walking on a strap stretched between two trees or poles, a few dozen centimetres above the ground.
This activity, which comes from across the Atlantic and is halfway between tightrope walking and climbing, has been very popular for some years now. It comes in a variety of forms: shortline (less than 40 metres long), longline (up to 200 metres long), jumpline (freestyle version of slackline) and highline. The latter is the most aerial variant of the discipline. The most extreme version of highline involves participants moving along lines 5 metres above the ground and up to heights of more than 400 metres.
In the mountains, highlines are sometimes installed between 2 peaks or rocks. Note that you can’t improvise yourself as a highliner. It is strongly recommended that you are accompanied and instructed by the guides’ office.
Where can you try it out? In Les Contamines, Méribel,Les Arcs and just about everywhere else during special events.
Aerobatics in the air
#3 – Acrobatic paragliding
In classic flight, paragliding is already a thrill. In its acrobatic or freestyle version, it’s a real thrill! Several schools offer first flights in two-seater paragliders and introductory courses in aerobatics. If you’re not afraid of pitching, rolling or twisting, you’ll be able to do all the tricks of the trade!
Where can you try it out? At Les Gets, Les Orres, Le Grand Tourmalet and La Clusaz.
White water sports
#4 – Rafting
The thrill of being tossed about by the jolts of a river or stormy mountain stream in an unsinkable boat is a real treat! This activity, which requires good team spirit, has a real air of adventure about it, just like the pioneers of the American West! In the Oisans, in the Écrins National Park, you can even go rafting at night. A different kind of thrill!
Where can you try it? Les Arcs, Les Houches, Orcières-Merlette, Peyragudes, Les Angles, Les 2 Alpes
Toboggans, waterfalls and diving
#5 – Canyoning
It’s hard to beat canyoning for variety. This fun activity combines hiking, climbing, caving and white-water sports. To cross the gorges, ravines and waterfalls of a mountain stream, you have to walk, jump, take natural slides, swim in pools that are sometimes very deep, or abseil down walls.
It’s an activity that’s all the more exhilarating for the fact that it gives you access to wild places that have long been kept secret from human eyes.
Where can you try it out? In Saint-Lary, Isola 2000, Mont-Dore, Villard-de-Lans and Font-Romeu.
Fun, refreshing and thrilling
#6 – High diving
Wearing a wetsuit and lifejacket, launch yourself down giant slides in the position of your choice (head forward for added thrills) to perform an acrobatic manoeuvre before plunging into a high-altitude lake. Fun, refreshing and thrilling!
Halfway between hiking and climbing
#7 – The via ferrata
Originating in Italy, the via ferrata is one of the must-do summer mountain activities. While it has made terrain reserved for climbers accessible to hikers, it can also take on a very alpine and aerial feel, increasing the sensations tenfold. Particularly when crossing over lakes, precipices and other summit ridges.
Where can you try it out? Arêches-Beaufort, Le Grand Bornand
Speed and thrills
#8 – The giant zip line
Giant zip-lines are a great way to get a thrill on a budget. They are becoming increasingly popular in mountain resorts.
At over 1,500 metres long, they allow you to fly over a resort or natural site, sometimes reaching speeds of over 100 km/h! Solo or in pairs, take off for a sensational descent!
Where can you try it out? Super Besse, Orcières-Merlette
Fun and adrenaline
#9 – Downhill mountain biking
As many mountain bikers will tell you, it’s the downhill that’s the most impressive. Fortunately, equipment has come a long way in recent years, making downhill mountain biking (DH for those in the know) more accessible to the general public. It’s an ultra-fun technique, thanks to the many natural and man-made obstacles along the way, and it gives harnessed riders a real adrenalin rush.
Where can you try it out? At Les 2 Alpes, Serre-Chevalier, Les Angles and Lac Blanc.
Magical atmosphere
#10 – Acrobatic caving
Are you familiar with acrobatic courses in the trees? Now’s the time to try their underground version! Some clever kids have come up with the idea of setting up zip lines, monkey bridges and abseiling in caves in the Vercors and Chartreuse regions, to give visitors a fun and acrobatic way to discover caving. A magical atmosphere!