Col de Joux Plane – 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!

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!

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!