White Mountain
Sensational activities
When you say mountain, you say vertical drop. Add to that winter and snow, and you’re bound to find some thrills! A place where you can push yourself to the limit and get your adrenalin pumping, the mountains offer a host of sensational activities, each more spectacular than the last.
Whether you’re an adrenalin junkie or just a thrill-seeker, the ski resorts offer a range of professionally supervised activities to help you discover the sport in complete safety and, of course, have fun.
Toboggans and zip lines
When it comes to snow-covered ski areas, there are other ways of getting down the slopes – and the thrills are just as good!
- Sledges on rails are available all year round, including during the winter season. It’s an activity that’s accessible to everyone, so you can hurtle down the slope at high speed, with a series of bends to get the adrenaline pumping!
- Another activity for getting to the bottom in a flash: zip-lines! Many resorts are now equipped with these, sometimes with the possibility of descending sitting or lying face first. It’s an unusual way to combine thrills with a breathtaking view of the snow-covered landscape!
- For a more leisurely but unusual activity, try snowtubing! Riding on a giant buoy, you hurtle down the slope in a specially designed circuit with banked bends and straights for extra speed.
Adrenalin-pumping ski activities
While downhill skiing and snowboarding are bound to give you a thrill, other activities on skis are even more unusual!
- Snowkiting, an activity that combines skiing with a traction kite, lets you glide across the snow propelled by the wind. But for even more thrills, you can also climb light slopes and make spectacular jumps! A unique feeling of adrenalin and freedom on skis, but one that requires good wind control.
- In the same vein, discover speedriding, an extreme sport that combines skiing with paragliding. Equipped with a small sail, the rider descends snow-covered slopes by alternating between skiing and flying, enabling him or her to fly over obstacles or hard-to-reach areas.
Climbing, ice climbing
Climbing? In winter? It’s possible, and it’s guaranteed to give you a good dose of adrenalin. These activities, supervised by professionals, are a different way of discovering climbing.
Ice climbing involves climbing the frozen walls formed by waterfalls that freeze in winter.
Climbers use ice axes and crampons to hold on to the ice, progressing vertically with precision and strength. This type of climbing requires a high level of physical fitness, a specific technique and the right equipment, including ropes and protection to ensure a safe ascent.
But it also offers a unique experience in the heart of nature, combining adrenalin, physical challenges and impressive scenery.
Winter climbing is becoming more and more popular in the resorts, with the creation of snow-covered and non-snow-covered routes of varying levels of difficulty. Check with your resort’s tourist office to find out about climbing sessions organised in the resort.
Activities on and under the ice
Finally, in winter, some resorts offer 100% unusual activities in a frozen lake, combining adrenaline and relaxation.
- Ice-floating is a discipline that involves floating in complete safety in icy water, generally using a waterproof thermal suit. Lying on your back in a frozen lake or river, you let yourself be carried along by the cold water while being insulated from the extreme cold.
- For even more thrills, why not try ice diving? Divers explore the bottom of a frozen lake through a hole drilled in the ice. Wearing dry suits and connected to the surface by safety lines, they discover a silent and fascinating underwater world, illuminated by light filtered through the ice.
This unique experience requires meticulous preparation and specialist supervision to ensure safety.