Ski de Fond – APASSION

Ski de Fond: They make it look so easy on the telly!

robin.tarr — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:25:58 +0000

Inspired by the recent winter Olympics we decided it was time to get the Ski de Fond equipment back out and head out for our first Nordic ski of the season.

After the heavy snow through-out the middle of February the snowbanks either side of the road up to the Nordic centre at the top of the Col de Joux Plane were above the level of the car and, when we reached the top, the conditions on the specialist groomed pistes were stunning.

We’d picked the perfect day with the blue skies affording us clear views right across the Grand Massif ski domain to Mont Blanc beyond; In fact, the only issue was with our somewhat rusty ski de fond technique!

It has to be one of the most aerobic forms of exercise at the best of time, and when the technique isn’t quite right the effort required to propel yourself forward is immense and making even 50 metres can be quite a feat!

After a little while, and a lot of huffing and puffing, we found our rhythm and were able to venture a little further afield, ultimately finding a quiet spot for a picnic stop over-looking the debutant area of the pistes, whilst also watching the action on the dedicated sledging zone.

Certainly one of the highlights of trying ski de fond is that you are quickly able to leave the downhill ski infrastructure behind and find yourself in the silent beauty of the mountains but boy, do those athletes on the telly make it look easy!

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!

2020/21: A Very Different Winter Season

robin.tarr — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:14:19 +0000

Much has been written about the impacts Covid-19 has had on the travel and tourism industry and on the rights and wrongs of the varying strategies for managing what, at the end of the day, has been a huge and continually changing playing field. We just consider ourselves fortunate that from both from a personal, and a business perspective, we’re still in good health and readying ourselves for the brighter days ahead.

The 2020/21 winter season marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of APASSION with our first guests the Pilbos, the O’Briens and the Rogers arriving to a very newly (or maybe that should be “nearly”) finished Chalet APASSION on the 17th February 2021. In the 10 years since we’ve welcomed literally thousands of excited guests through the doors of firstly Chalet APASSION and then of Chalet ALLURE from December 2014 and most recently of Apartment ACCORD from December 2018. We’ve met so many amazing people in the last 10 years with a continually growing number of returning guests who really are more like friends than clients and with some groups even having stayed with us more times than years we’ve been running!

So, it has certainly has been strange to experience a year with no guests but the resultant extra time has allowed us to discover, probably truly for the first time, why we love winter in the mountains so much. With all the ski infrastructure closed for the season we’ve been ‘forced’ into trying out winter season activities that we’ve never really had the time to try before and I’d have to say, we’ve loved it.

As a devout snowboarder of over 25 years never before did I think I’d be skiing, let alone uphill. I always considered that ski randonnée was only for the super fit and for those too tight to buy a lift-pass, but how wrong could I be? To experience the tranquility of the mountains on the way up; To relax in the warm winter sunshine and enjoy a picnic on a snowy peak; To grin so widely that your face aches on the off-piste run home; Whats not too love? Am I believer? Totally!

As though uphill skiing wasn’t enough, we achieved another first this season . . . . . Nordic State Skiing! A totally different but no less exhilarating experience to ski randonnée. A far more technical ski challenge even for those regular downhillers and certainly more of a full body workout! With the benefit of great snow coverage again this season we’ve be able to enjoy honing our skills in a variety of locations, and with the nordic ski areas typically being located away from the main ski infrastructure we’ve had some truly beautiful backdrops in which to practice.

With so many new skills to practice and locations to discover we’ve almost struggled to find the time to enjoy our regular snowshoe treks this season and with the on-set of an early Spring we even found ourselves dusting off our road bikes at the end February and our tennis rackets as early as mid-March!

So 2020/21 was certainly a very different winter season in so many ways but one that has left us feeling refreshed and ready to face an exciting future . . . . . . but more on that to come . . . . .