Courchevel Experiences

THERE’S MORE TO COURCHEVEL THAN SKIING!

Whilst many people come on a ski holiday to whizz around the slopes all day, there are undoubtedly a lot of other skiers and snowboarders who have come on holiday to take a break from a slavish 9-5 routine!

At Alpine Escape, we wholeheartedly agree that during your much-deserved ski trip you should be free to relax, see the best of the area you’re visiting and try some new experiences. After all, why should a winter holiday be any different from a summer holiday?

Here in the valley of Courchevel, there are LOADS of activities to try out besides skiing or snowboarding, and we can help you to organise or book anything that you fancy trying out or experiencing during your stay with us.

We’ll go from R E L A X I N G  to  ADRENALINE in the list below…

A snow-shoeing adventure

There are many ways to enjoy the beautiful scenery at a much slower pace. Many of our guests enjoy snow-shoeing through tranquil forests, spotting animal tracks and snapping away with a camera. Snowshoe walks can be tailored to suit your needs and fit in with the rest of your plans and levels of fitness.

Pip Line, Mountain and Snowshoe Guide, says:

“When I lead my snowshoe groups along the tracks that criss-cross the forest, it is the silence that surprises them, so close to the ski resort.

They gradually adjust to hearing the very small sounds of the woodland, the rustle of dead beech leaves still on the branch, a pine needle falling, a distant spotted woodpecker drumming on an old tree trunk, the trickle of a stream buried beneath the snow…”

Doesn’t that sound like a magical experience? Read more.

Cost: Join a group for €40 half day, or make your own group for €160 for half a day.

Wine tasting

Learn something new (whilst drinking wine)!

Our fabulous wine suppliers, Verre Gourmand, can send an expert to your chalet to host an informal guided tasting! Sounds fun, right?

Take your pick from their extensive wine list, or ask them to put together a suitable selection for your tastes and budget, and you can spend an evening swilling and supping delicious wines from around the world, whilst learning a few fascinating facts with one of their team of wine educators. Suggested themes:

Classic or Fine wines – A look at wines that represent the signature styles of the big European or French appellations, or tasting the best of a best from a specific region.
Grape discoveries – Comparing wines that display typical qualities of certain grapes, including a few lesser known ones eg. Roussanne, Grüner Veltliner and Cortese.
Classic -vs- Curve-Ball – often done blind, this tasting compares traditional styles with the same grape or technique in a more contemporary wine.
Fizz – Contrasting various sparkling wines to see how they compare, including 2 or 3 different styles of Champagne.

Cost: £150 plus cost of selected wines.

Yoga in your chalet

Don’t miss out on yoga just because you’re on holiday. The wonderful Hazel can visit your chalet for a session of Hatha yoga in English to re-energise and re-balance.

Just imagine how good yoga feels whilst overlooking the stunning mountain views from your chalet living room… What could be better?

Instagram @hazelcopcuttyoga

Yoga not your thing? We can organise a personal trainer, pilates instructor, sports massage or beauty treatments, all in the comfort of your own chalet…

Get crafty!

If you’re a creative type and find the beauty of snowy mountains inspiring, why not get your artistic juices flowing and organise a craft workshop in your chalet?

Work with local artisans, Reanne and Hannah, to design and create a special piece of silver jewellery or leather accessory.

Torchlight descent

Dressed up all cosy in your ski gear and with skis (but no poles!), you go out into the dark to meet your guide. By the light of the moon, he or she hands you a traditional wooden torch and passes a flame across the top to start the fire dancing.

Once your team are all flickering away merrily, you start your descent, following your instructor in a snake down the glowing white piste. Shadows waltz all around you and you feel as though you’ve stepped back into a world of fairies and goblins!

Participating in a torchlit descent is a wonderful, mesmerising experience, totally unlike blasting around the pistes in the daylight. We highly recommend!

Cost: from €25 per person, although you could also add a firework display or vin chaud on the slopes if you have a special occasion to celebrate!

Courchevel events

During the winter there are a multitude of events put on for visitors in Courchevel.

Keep an eye on the calendar and you’ll catch an opportunity to…

• See a fast and furious ice hockey match
• Cheer the fastest ladies at the thrilling Women’s World Cup racing
• Catch the always-impressive International Pyrotechnic Competition
• Watch the Ladies’ Night Tour parallel slalom race
• See in the New Year with fireworks and party on the piste
• Enter the 3 Valleys Enduro challenge
• See the next generation show their skills at the Kid Contest
• Experience Russian Christmas
• Take to the air at the Fly Courchevel aviation festival
  … There’s even a hip-hop and tattoo show!

See Courchevel’s calendar highlights

Take to the skies

Hot air balloon, paraglide, skydive, helicopter… If you want to see the Alps from a whole new perspective then there are many ways to take to the skies in Courchevel…

Ski Vol hot air balloon

Skivol offers hot air balloon flights from the Courchevel Altiport at 2000m, and offer a fantastic view of the valley. Flights are only available in the morning and they can offer two balloons with 5 or 6 passengers.

Adult price: 280 to 1,400 € (1400 € is for an exclusive basket).

Alpine Airlines

Take off from the James Bond runway in a teeny plane and zoom way above the ski slopes the forests and the peaks! A 15-minute tour around the local areas costs just €45 per passenger, which we feel is well worth it for the memories made.

Tour examples:
• Courchevel and Méribel valley : 15 min/45 €
• Les 3 Vallées : 30min/85 €
• Le Mont-Blanc : 50min/170€.

Skydiving

Want to jump out of a plane? You can in Courchevel! After a 10-minute training about the basics of free fall position, the aircraft or helicopter goes up to 5,100 metres, at which point you jump…

40 seconds of free fall… then a 5-minute ride under canopy.

From mid-December to mid-April with Air Mauss

Helicopter

Despite the fact that heli-skiing isn’t permitted here in France, you can still have a go: Italy is only a short hop away, and offers plenty of drop sites for the opportunity to experience the insane buzz of being dropped at the top of the mountain in order to ski or board deep, untouched powder fields… Just imagine…

If there’s a small group of you (you’ll need to include a guide as well), it’s an incredible experience for a special birthday or anniversary. Read about heli-skiing.

Prefer to stay well inside the closed doors of the heli? Fair enough! Panoramic helicopter flights are also possible from the Courchevel Altiport. As an example, a 15 minute flight is €100 per person for a group of 5.