Summary Alpe d'Huez

Summary of the ski resort Alpe d'Huez

Description Alpe d'Huez

A winding mountain road leads up to Alpe d'Huez. First, you reach the village of Huez, located at about 1500m altitude. From there, you can also float up to Alpe d'Huez at 1860m with a group gondola lift. From the tourist office in the lower part of Alpe d'Huez, the Telecentre basket lift takes you via a mid-station and three turns to the upper part of the village. Here, a four-seater chairlift and several button lifts start their ascent to the 2115m high Signal. This is also where the lifts from Villard Reculas (1480m) end, providing the connection over the mountain to Alpe d'Huez. Countless button lifts serve the easy slopes around Alpe d'Huez, offering beginners plenty of space to learn right on the edge of the village.

With the double cable gondolas for 25 people, 1er and 2ème Troncon, you go directly up towards Pic Blanc to 2700m. The last 630 meters of altitude are quickly covered by the Pic Blanc aerial tramway, which, without any supports, takes you to the 3330m high summit. Just below the mountain station, a nearly 200m long and narrow ski tunnel leads to the challenging runs on the front side of Pic Blanc. Here, your heart beats faster and adrenaline rushes through your veins as you exit the tunnel, as the slope descends almost vertically into the valley. The run is called Tunnel, and there are many ways to ski down through the steep couloirs. From Lac Blanc, a short four-seater chairlift takes you back to the Pic Blanc aerial tramway.

On the glacier, there are of course more runs, most of which are intermediate to difficult. The Glacier four-seater chairlift serves these slopes up to 3300m. Below, the Herpie four-seater chairlift provides access to runs of all difficulty levels and goes up to 3060m. At the top station, the Funitel Marmottes III ends. Highly recommended is the Sarenne run, a challenging slope that winds its way for 16 km and with a vertical drop of 1800m from Pic Blanc to Connexion Auris. At the mid-station, you can take the detachable four-seater chairlift Alpauris and return to Alpe d'Huez. The last part of the run is a long flat track, and before that, you have the option to take the Lombaros four-seater chairlift towards Auris en Oisans. In Auris en Oisans, 10 chairlifts and drag lifts serve wide slopes below the 2176m high Signal de l'Homme down to La Garde at about 1500m altitude. At the end of the Sarenne run, there is a nice hut called La Combe Haute, where you can enjoy a good meal.

On the right side of Alpe d'Huez, the detachable six-seater chairlift Romains, the four-seater chairlift Fontbelle, and several button lifts serve very easy runs. With the six-seater chairlifts or gondolas Marmottes I and II, you go up to the Clocher de Macle, from where you can connect to the Funitel Marmottes III up to the glacier, or tackle some black runs along the impressive rock faces.

Runs of all difficulty levels ultimately lead back to Alpe d'Huez. Other long runs lead into the neighboring valleys, such as to Oz en Oisans, L'Enversin d'Oz, and La Villette. Via Vaujany, L'Alpette, and the Dome des Petites Rousses, you can return to Alpe d'Huez. The slopes are almost all above the tree line on wide open hillsides; only the runs down to the lower villages, such as L'Enversin d'Oz, Oz en Oisans, and La Garde, pass through the forest.

There are several good places to stop for refreshments on the slopes, and we also recommend the small restaurant Au Blé Noir in Alpe d'Huez, located at the base station of the Telecentre near the tourist office. There is hardly any après-ski, but at the end of the day you can enjoy a glass of wine in the village or visit the large outdoor pool in the center of Alpe d'Huez.

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