Cross Country Skiing
The
villages of La Clusaz, Grand Bornand and St Jean de Sixt present a fantastic
location for cross-country or Nordic skiing. The resorts have a long tradition
of "Ski de fond" as the French call it and the villages are steeped in history
with many French and European champions originating here. Whether it's your
first time or you're an experienced skier, we can help you enjoy a day on
Touring or Ski de Fond skis. Cross Country lift passes are slightly cheaper
than downhill passes too, meaning that a Cross Country week's skiing will
cost £80 less than a week's downhill ski holiday. In addition we can arrange
specific lessons for a day or whole week.
There are two dedicated ESF cross-country ski schools - one in each resort. ESF provide individual and group lessons in Ski De Fond, Ski Randonée and Telemark for around £80 for a week. Equipment hire is easily arranged and great value for the latest gear, with a 10% discount for Ski Weekender or Karibuni guests.
Enthusiasts are amazingly well served in the Aravis region - and it is one of the premium resorts for cross-country skiing in France, with over 70km of marked trails in La Clusaz, and 60km more in Grand Bornand. Using our transport, we are able to get you to your lessons or drop you off in resort to enable you to take advantage of the excellent trails on offer for a perfect day out.
Ski de Fond Trails
Lac
Des Confins sits above the town (at an altitude of 1450m), on a wide mountain
col with fine views, and it is here that most of the cross country skiing
in La Clusaz takes place - including the ESF School lessons, specifically
designed for Nordic or Cross Country skiing. Here you will find 45 km (28
miles) of trails prepared for both the "Classic" and "Skating" techniques
(variety of runs from Green to Black) and also walking/racquets trails.
There are also links across to the Grand Bornand area with marked and prepared
trails.
The Beauregard Plateau (altitude 1650m) includes La Clusaz, Manigod, Thônes and Les Villards sur Thônes with 14 km (8,75 miles) of trails , three walking circuits of 20 km (12,5 miles) and one racquets circuit.
Grand Bornand has 2 main Ski de Fond areas: the Vallée du Bouchet (where you can ski alongside the mountain stream next to very pretty traditional farms) and Le Chinaillon (which takes you on to a steeper landscape where you can enjoy wide panoramas) with a total of 58km of trails. There are 2 cross-country and biathlon stadiums which demonstrate the strong heritage and appeal of cross-country in the resorts.
Lessons
We
are able to organise Cross Country lessons for you with ESF instructors.
The most cost effective way is to join a group lesson:
- 1 x 2 hour group lesson - 25euros
- 6 x 2 hour lesson - 99euros
Alternatively you can enjoy a private lesson:
1- 2 people
3- 4 people
Ski Hire
We have in-house Cross Country ski hire, to include skis, boots and poles.
- 1 day hire - 10euros
- 3 day Midweek hire - 24euros
- 4 day Midweek hire - 36euros
- 6 day Weeklong hire - 54euros