Contemplate
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ExploreIn the Valley, sledging isn't just for toddlers. It's an experience, a test of self-deprecation, and sometimes a very real challenge to one's motor skills. Ready to let go of the brakes?
Each village has its own spot
In Servoz, the groomed natural slope of La Tour can be reached on foot via the Grangiat trail. One descent, one ascent. One descent, one ascent… And then that sudden realisation, heart pounding: no, sledging isn't a "gentle" activity for the person pulling the little Eskimo in their sledge.
In Les Houches, at the dedicated Tourchet area, toddlers learn their first slides while their parents (seasoned riders) discover the sheer fear of seeing their offspring go a little too fast. A little higher up, at the top of the Prarion gondola, a wide, gentle slope... on which the older folks still manage to race each other. "Your helmet! Yes, even just for one run!"
In Chamonix, the Bois du Bouchet park offers an urban toboggan run. Just a stone's throw from the town centre, and after a round of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows, you alternate between tobogganing, sledgeboarding, and saying "just one more, just one more, and we're off!" (a lie).
In Vallorcine, a bucolic atmosphere awaits at the two tobogganing areas in Le Buet and La Courzille, not far from the larches and the Eau Noire stream. It's beautiful, it's peaceful... until the first uncontrolled skid. Snow up your back. Disaster.
Looking for something a bit more adventurous? Head to Les Chosalets in Argentière, where you can ditch the sledges and sledgeboards for snow tubing, a kind of giant inflatable tube that might just launch you into the air.
Level up?
Then get ready for some thrills on the unmissable Alpine Coaster toboggan run in the Planards ski area of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: a 1,300-metre roller coaster on rails, with banked turns, 540° spins, jumps, and waves. You're pulled up, you hurtle down, and you come out laughing. Alone or in pairs, with that little nagging doubt just before the first turn. The final challenge: the paret. This ancient wooden sledge, with a single runner, was once the only means of transportation for Savoyard children. Cute? It has no power steering, no filter, and no forgiveness. With Evolution 2, every Thursday evening, you can hurtle down part of the Grands Montets slopes after the resort closes. The slopes belong to you, much more so than your random trajectories.
