WESTERN EUROPE - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 53

Five new winter holidayS

What can beat the exhilarating freedom of the slopes, the first sip of a cold beer at 3000m
and a fondue with friends at the end of a muscle-aching day? Yet the purpose-built resorts,
chair-lifts, snow cannons and high-altitude infrastructure necessary to service downhill
skiing hardly do the mountain ecosystem a favour. It's ironic, given that most skiers and
snowboarders care passionately about the mountains, that by visiting most resorts they
hasten the destruction of the wilderness they love. So here are five new ways to enjoy the
winter wonderland - in the Alps and other mountains of western Europe - where you can
enjoy the powder and fresh mountain air, but where your footprint will be only snow deep.

070 See chamois in
chamonix, French
alps
Trek softly through off-piste,
knee-deep snow on a pair of
snow-shoes and you're more
likely to encounter wildlife
than if you're hurtling down
a manicured slope on skis.
You can also reach otherwise
inaccessible places in thick
forest and climb up to some
of the most remote alpine
summits. On a week's snow-
shoeing and cross-country-
skiing trip in the Chamonix
Valley, with luck you'll
see chamois or even the
shy ibex. Afterwards head
into town for Chamonix's
legendary après-ski, which
may be a bit of a shock to
the system.

071 Snow-shoe shuffling in the
French pyrenees
Join one of Mountainbug's tours, based in an
eighteenth-century guesthouse in the central
Pyrenean village of Barèges, and there's no need
to bother with the usual ski equipment. Just
strap on a pair of snow-shoes and away you go
into the crunching virgin snow. Trekking four to
six hours a day with a qualified International
Mountain Leader, you'll spend a week exploring
the spectacular peaks of the Cirque de Gavarnie,
Pont d'Espagne and the Marcadau Valley. When
it's over, soak for an afternoon in Barèges's baths
at the highest thermal spa in Europe.

Need to know For accommodation details,
itineraries, prices and booking see W www.
mountainbug.com; T [phone].

072 winter work-outs in the
ammer valley, bavarian alps
Cross-country skiing is not for the faint of heart
- there's no other work-out quite like it, as
you push and glide (and huff and puff) across
kilometres of flat tracks in the fresh winter air.
One of the best places to put your body to the
test is Oberammergau's Ammer Valley, in the
foothills of the Bavarian Alps, where there are
100km of cross-country skiing trails. The King
Ludwig Run, from Oberammergau to Linderhof,
is a healthy 26km round trip, while the circular
Ettaler Runde is a mere 4km, so you'll be back in
time to have the sauna all to yourself. The most

Need to know For
programmes and prices see
W www.trekkinginthealps.com;
T [phone]. For
a combined snow-shoeing
and cross-country trek around the Mont Blanc
massif visit W www.tracks-and-trails.com; T +44
(0) 208 144 6442.

Snow-shoeing in the
Alps