Activities – APASSION

Tour de France Femme hits Samoëns

robin.tarr — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 06:12:55 +0000

Bravo Pauline!

What a treat to be able to witness the Tour de France Femme take-on the challenge of the Col de Joux Plane. Starting from the village of Samoëns the ascent combines a total elevation gain of nearly 1,000m with an average gradient of 9% and was described by Lucien Van Impe (5 times winner of the Tour de France mountain jersey) as one of the toughest climbs in France.

With over a week of racing already in their legs the ladies of the TdF Femme seemed to make light-work of the heat and gruelling ascent en-route to the race finish in Châtel.

Whist Anna van der Breggen won the race to the 1691m summit of the Joux-Plane with a 45 second lead over the peloton, the day was really only about one lady; The incredible Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who doubled down on her stage win of the day before to win both her second stage of the 2025 Tour but also to extend her overall lead and become the first French winner of the ladies edition of the TdF in over 30 years! Bravo Pauline!

Cirque de Fer-à-Cheval – Where Cliffs and Waterfalls Meet

robin.tarr — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 07:24:44 +0000

Taking its name from the shape of the semi-circular rock formation (Fer-à-Cheval translates to “Horseshoe” in English) the Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval is the largest mountain cirque in the Alps.

The steep sided cliffs that line the valley rise up to over 2,000m and create a stunning back-drop for the many waterfalls that offer the opportunity for a very refreshing dip in the height of the summer.

The Cirque forms part of the Sixt-Passy National Reserve, the largest national reserve in Haute Savoie, which is home to a truly magnificent array landscapes, animals and plant species.

You’ll find more information about the hiking options within the Hiking section of our website

Always a favourite – Hiking to Refuge de Sales

robin.tarr — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:59:24 +0000

A personal favourite - The hike to Refuge de Sales

One of the hikes that we love to do every year and we try and time to see the mix of the amazing flowers and the refreshing waterfalls in full flow.

Refuge de Sales itself sits on a huge plateau, Le Grand Pré, at a height of 1,877m but the hike itself offers a variety of landscapes, stunning views, beautiful alpine flowers and the opportunity to cool-off in one of many mountain fed waterfall pools.

Approximately a two hour hike from Le Lignon the Refuge offers both overnight accommodation for around 60 people, but also the option of a hearty mountain lunch and a refreshing beer for thirty days hikers like ourselves!

During the summer the Refuge hosts a number of events and activities, ranging from wine tasting to talks from local guides about the flora, fauna and geology of the region.

To find out more about some of the local hiking options then go to the Summer Activities section of our website and find out where you might want to go next time you visit the region!

The Grand Massif tops the Sunweb Powder Ranking!

robin.tarr — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 20:22:12 +0000

Sunweb, one of Europe’s largest on-line travel agents, recently published analysis to highlight which of Europe’s ski resorts have, over the last 17 years, benefitted from the most snowfall. The Grand Massif tops the charts with Flaine ranking 1^st with an average of 59cm of fresh snow in the first week of March and Samoëns ranking 2^nd with 56cm of fresh snow in the same week.

So, if you are either a powder hound looking to make fresh track in the off-piste or just looking for assurance of great piste conditions in the second half of the season, then Samoëns in the Grand Massif is the destination for you!

See the full article on the Sunweb website (published in French).

First Ski de Fond of 2024!

robin.tarr — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:40:04 +0000

Back to basics after a year since our last outing so we drove up to Le Col de Joux Plane to start on the gentle nursery slopes and whilst it looks pretty flat we soon worked-up a sweat getting back into the ski de fond / Nordic skiing technique!

Considering it was mid-February we had the slopes largely to ourselves and after an hour and not many kilometres we found a snowy hill for a perfectly peaceful picnic lunch stop!

Why not give something different a try on your next trip to the Alps!

Early season randonnée!

robin.tarr — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 16:59:17 +0000

After the heavy snowfall of the last couple of weeks it was time to check out the conditions!

Preparation of the slopes is well underway and the pistes are starting to take shape. Whilst ski randonnée isn’t for the faint hearted it’s a great all round work-out and enables you to get off the beaten track to places as yet unexplored!

On this occasion we hiked from Samoëns 1600m up to the top of Tête de Saix. We certainly didn’t make first tracks but it was a magical walk up and an amazing ski down on a beautiful sunny afternoon!

“Apero Suspendu” – High-wire drinks!

robin.tarr — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 15:32:09 +0000

For something a bit different this winter season we can highly recommend the ‘Apero Suspendu’ run by the Grand Massif ski domain.

Every Thursday evening from the end of January to early April you can reserve your own gondola to share an aperitif and nibbles with family or friends for up to a maximum of 6 people.

Starting at 7pm and lasting just 50 minutes you can enjoy your aperos whilst admiring the lights of the valley and watching the hard work of the piste bashers as you savour some local Savoyard specialities.

Reservations can be made online or at the ticket offices of the Grand Massif Express or Vercland telecabine.

A Perfect Yoga Retreat (despite a little rain!)

robin.tarr — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 09:37:43 +0000

What a perfect few days filled with 5 yoga sessions with the amazing Tess from Alpine yoga with Tess, parapenting, hiking, and plenty og healthy eating (including a fabulous night out at le 8M des monts) and of course plenty of laughs – not even the rain showers could dampen the spirits of our ladies!

A fabulous end to Winter Season 2022-23

robin.tarr — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:01:34 +0000

With just one more day before the lifts close for another winter season we couldn’t believe our luck today; 50cm of fresh powder on the pistes! We were skiing in snow above our knees for most of the day! Much fun was had by all with a fair few tumbles in the soft fluffy stuff!!

First ride out of 2023

robin.tarr — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 15:59:47 +0000

Whilst there is still plenty of skiing to be had before the 2022-23 season draws to a close its still never too early to benefit from the glorious Spring sunshine and the stunning scenery from the saddle of a bike!

With that in mind (plus the incentive of a Sunday morning coffee in the sun) we unpacked our cycle gear, dusted-off the road bikes and tried to remember how to unclip our cleats before falling off!

A little chilly in the shade at first but we warmed to the occasion and were soon working-up a sweat just to keep-up with ‘lead-out’ man Paul.

Given it was our first outing of the season we took the 13km ride from the chalet, along the valley floor through the village of Sixt Fer-à-Cheval, to the Cirque de Fer-à-Cheval in the Sixt-Passy National Park.

Always a beautiful ride regardless of the season and we were rewarded with blue-skies and snow (as well as that coffee on the way home!)