A Skiing Day-Off in Vaujany, French Alps

Dutchman and I normally take a week off every January for skiing and snowboarding in the Alps. It has become a much looked forward to yearly winter tradition.

I am not, however, a huge fan of skiing every single day of the whole week of the winter sports holiday. I like some variety during my vacation, and I would like to do other things as well. Such as checking out the local village, perhaps visiting a local food and artisanal market and if the village has a nice spa, why not indulge for a day? I am far from being a big spa person, but, if the place is nice and it has beautiful views, I would wing it for the day.

So in Vaujany where we stayed for the holiday, I spent a day checking out the terraces on the slopes of L’Alpette 2050 and Montfrais 1650. I just wanted to sit on a terrace and people watch.

One of the 2 sets of covered escalators in the village. Beautiful.

Inside the cable car here on the way up to L’Alpette 2050 top and looking down to the village of Vaujany. Our chalet hotel is one of the houses on the far right side.

Dutchman does not mind as well that I take a day off because he can then take longer and faster snowboard runs. I give him that freedom and pleasure to do so =)

With a day off in the Alps, I take my day really slow. And even though I do not take a day off, Dutchman and I are super relaxed when it comes to hitting the slopes. We are normally on the slopes between 11:00 – 12:30. A bit late I know but we remind ourselves that this isn’t a race or a sports activity with your trainer, but a holiday.

So it was around the lunch hour when Dutchman and I took the cable car to the L’Alpette 2050 top, and then we parted ways. Dutchman took another cable car going further up to Domes des Petites Rousses 2800 while I was struggling with my choice of a terrace. Which shall I take? La Grange or Restaurant Passoud?

Well, I chose for La Grange because the outdoor terrace is facing the Les Rousses red slope. Great for skiers and snowboarders watching as they come down the mountain. Always a great sight to behold and I can easily spend an hour just watching.

La Grange Restaurant just off the slopes. It has the best location and view.

That said, I did spend more than an hour here before I took the cable car back down to Vaujany and climbed the mountain again with a different cable car to Montfrais 1650. Here I had a late lunch at the outdoor terrace of Les Airelles Restaurant, after which I just hang around watching skiers and snowboarders come down the slopes. I totally forgot the time until it was closing time. You see, the mountains are off limits after 17:00. Many lifts high up in the mountains close between 15:45 and 16:15 and the cable cars stop running by 17:00.

As I watch the last skiers and snowboarders come down the mountain and pass by the terrace where I was sitting, I saw someone familiar approach, gliding down the slopes with that posture I knew too well. Ah, it was the Dutchman indeed.

The Dutchman’s arrival was perfect. Just about the same time, a very thick layer of mist started to cover the lower part of the slopes, and it is moving fast in our direction. The whole scene was a bit surreal. It was the first time for me to see such display of nature. We quickly hurried up to the cable car lift before it closes and before the mist envelopes us.

Inside the lift, I was daydreaming and looking forward to heating up some chocolate milk back in the warm comforts of our chalet. The perfect drink when it’s snowy and misty outside, especially in a place like Vaujany in the Alps =)

The rest of the pictures:

The mist covering the mountains.

Paraskiing in the alps.

Moi doing the obligatory selfie thing.

Les Rousses (red) slope. This is the only slope going back to the L’Alpette cable car. I usually wait for the Dutchman at the top of this slope because the run before this is a bit flat which is not a good thing for snowboarders.