The Jura Mountains use a string of compact resorts where Nordic snowboarding, snowshoeing, a mountain roller rollercoaster and the home of Voltaire are yours to find.
Released December 23, 2023
7 minutes checked out
This post was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
From the peak in Pays de Gex, sun brightens the flatlands and the blue waters of Lac Léman stretch into the range. We’re in the worlds of the Haute Chaîne du Jura, a nationwide nature reserve where lynx and wolves roam and the mountain towns amongst the peaks provide even more than downhill snowboarding.
In spite of being simply 20 minutes from Geneva, Pays de Gex goes rather under the radar of British skiers– eclipsed by resorts around Mont Blanc, whose peak is ever present on the horizon. With good-value midweek flights from the UK, and a hire cars and truck, you can check out all 3 ski locations on the Pays de Gex lift pass for EUR35 (₤ 30) a day.
The little lakeside town of Lélex-Crozet is Pays de Gex’s biggest, although that’s quite relative. It’s bijou, and simply 100 lawns from its primary gondola, I discover the Bois Joly hotel; it’s simple yet friendly, with beautiful lake views and is my base for a couple of days.Just along the ridge, I can see Mijoux-la Faucille, although it’s a 40-minute drive, snaking up mountain roadways and through the town of Gex (noticable jex, as in hex), with enforcing St Peter’s church. Mijoux has 10 miles of quite downhill slopes, however many people are here for the cross-country snowboarding.
Simply outdoors town, Nordic Center Vattay is the gain access to point for the 80-mile Vattay-Valserine, ranked among France’s finest cross-country ski locations, with circuits for all levels, in addition to a ski school.
Today, some 1,000 individuals have actually overloaded Mijoux for its really first Fête Nordique, what looks set to be a yearly Nordic winter season sports occasion. A EUR7 (₤ 6) ticket covers the day’s enjoyable, taking in cross-country snowboarding, rifle target shooting, horse-drawn sleigh trips and cheese tasting, the emphasize of which is a regional blue made by the Confrérie des Amateurs du Bleu de Gex, who command procedures like jaunty priests, all sky-blue dress and berets.A couple of ski runs bring me to La Petite Chaumière in the satellite town of La Faucille, a conventional mountain lodge where cheese, mushrooms and lake fish control the menu, before there’s time for a number of more hair-raising runs, this time on a mountain roller rollercoaster, and a flight on the lofty zip-wire back to Mijoux.
On my return, I have a fast sundowner in Mijoux’s 100’Ain bar before we’re off out– this night’s home entertainment is a nighttime snowshoe walking. Geared up with head torches and led by regional farmer and mountain guide Nicolas Guitton, we triggered in sub-zero temperature levels to climb up some 700ft in what we’re informed will be a 45-minute walking. We’re plainly not up to the farmer’s physical fitness levels. An hour and 45 minutes later on, having actually crossed snowfields and ducked under icy trees, we lastly reach the mountain hut for supper. Here, Nicolas lights an antique wood-burning range then raises an ancient pot onto it, to which he includes bags of regional cheese and a slosh of gewurztraminer: a rustic fondue. The return journey, after a toddler of Nicolas’ intense home-made génépi(a natural liqueur) sees us deserting snowshoes and plunging directly down a high path, at points bottom-sledding through powder.
An early morning in Menthières the following day supplies time to recuperate. Little even compared to its neighbours, the town provides simply 5 miles of runs, 5 lifts and scenic lake views. It’s best for novices and households with young skiers. A brief drive away, in between lake and mountains, I discover the 18th-century chateau of author and theorist Voltaire. Surrounded by park-like gardens, balconies and with its own chapel, it’s a riot of statues, elaborate furnishings and artworks. It’s worth the journey alone however close by Ferney-Voltaire, which its enthusiastic benefactor Voltaire established from marshland town to a town with water fountains, a theatre and clever architecture, is an outstanding location for a climatic wintry walk. Culminating with craft beers at regional microbrewery Brasserie Gessienne, this is the sort of alternative apres-ski experience I might get utilized to.
Released in the Winter Sports guide, dispersed with the December 2023 problem ofNational Geographic Traveller (UK).
To register forNational Geographic Traveller (UK) publication click here(Available in choose nations just).