Skiing in the French (adventure sports) Alps
No commentsBy Roger Munns
The Alpine Mountain Range is often referred to as the “Alps” and stretches across much of Europe. The Alps are often divided into two categories: Eastern Alps and Western Alps. The Western Alps include the mountains located in Italy, France and Switzerland. Skiing in the French Alps is an adventure like no other. Royalty, celebrities and people from all walks of life can be found at various times skiing in the French Alps. The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc at 4808 meters.
La Plagne
Nestled atop a magnificent glacier on Mt. Bellecote is the world-class ski area of La Plagne. Surrounded by the majestic Vanoise Massif Mountains in the Graian Alps, La Plagne resort beckons the avid skier. It is spread over an altitude of 1250 to 3250 meters. The result is a variety of terrains and altitudes appealing to beginners and experts alike.
The resort was built in 1961 with the hope of attracting tourism dollars. It was largely conceived in the interest of four small mountain villages. The fledgling towns were dying and hoped to capitalize on the gorgeous natural beauty of the area. Today’s La Plagne is comprised of many different and distinctive villages. All are linked to one another by ski lifts and trails for those who prefer cross-country skiing. The villages continue to expand, giving it a competitive edge when it comes to tourism revenue.
Even the non-skier will find something to love about La Plagne. Non-skiers may choose from over 50 pubs and restaurants ranging from casual to fine dining. After dark visitors can hit one of the resort’s many night clubs for an evening of dancing and partying. Numerous daytime activities entertain and engage those who choose not to ski as well. Winter-sport activities include ice skating, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
Les Menuires
Located in Belleville Valley, Les Menuires resort hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics. It is part of the largest ski area in the world, Les Trois Valleys. The Three Valleys are comprised of several resorts that host millions of skiers per year. Les Menuires boasts 62 ski trails, advanced and beginner ski slopes and 39 ski lifts. The resort’s 48 restaurants offer foods ranging from fast food to fine cuisine.
La Grave la Meije
La Grave is a commune in southeastern France and the location of La Meije. Three summits comprise La Meije with the highest summit being 3,984 m. Mountain climbers and rock climbers challenge themselves to reach the highest summit of La Meije. The very first successful climb was by Emmanuel Boileau de Castelneu and Pierre Gaspard and his son on August 16, 1877. Glacier climbing or ice climbing is a very popular sport in La Grave as well. One hundred to 300 meter climbing routes offer a variety of difficulty.
Much of the La Grave la Meije ski area is glacier and considered dangerous. Guided skiing is recommended. Extreme skiers find a great deal of fascination and appeal in La Grave la Meije due to the enormous vertical drops and extreme ski conditions. The largest vertical descent can be extended to 2,300 m when skiers ski past the resort to the road.
More information about skiing in the French Alps is covered at an Andorra ski guide yourandorra.com
They also include for skiers ski holiday to Andorra and current ski Andorra information.
Andorra is a tax haven, and they have a seperate category on Andorra property
A Guide On How To Emulate Michael Phelps
By Shaun Parker
If you have been inspired by the Olympics there are plenty of gadgets to get you fit and fast so when it comes to 2012 you are raring to go. Here are just some from the wonderful world of swimming.
If money is no object then top of your swimming list will be the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit. Worn by all the top Olympians, it is going on sale to the general public for those keen to go faster.
The most famous of swimmers to embrace the suit is Michael Phelps, the trouble is for us mere mortals its going to set you back around 550 USD when it becomes available in October later this year. The first fully bonded bodysuit is a full-length bonded suit with seams ultrasonically welded together that according to Speedo creates low profile silhouette and reduces skin friction drag.
In the first 8 days of swimming at the Beijing games, 23 out of 25 World records have been won by athletes wearing Speedo LZR RACER with 94 percent of gold medals at the games have been won and 89 percent of all medals by swimmers wearing the swimsuit.
Just make sure you aren’t overtaken by the 85-year-old slow-coach when wearing it, that really could be embarrassing. Okay so we do not all need to go faster than a dolphin, swimming can be boring at the best of times so what about livening it up with a waterproof headphones set.
The new range from H2O is called the AMPHIBX will offer a 100 percent watertight secure seal up to 12ft underwater, the ability to control touch and click wheel controls even under water and come with a connector for using a standard headphone plug under water.
Besides the iPhone the case range will offer underwater protection for the iPod players, iPod touch, as well as most mp3 players and phones. The AMPHIBX series is designed to accommodate more than one specific device without sacrificing performance say its makers.
The company is hoping that users will use the soon to be released SURGE bass-amplified waterproof headphones. Available in the US this month the cases are expected to cost around 69.99 USD to 79.99 USD.
Finally if you have got to do some swimming you will need a pool. Thanks to the wonders of Google Maps raucous revellers are using Google Earth to find new venues to party in. Revellers rules include stipulating that everyone has to wear fancy dress and also bring a bike to allow a fast getaway if the pool owner appears. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police warned owners of swimming pools should be on their guard.
Shaun Parker is an expert on swimming equipment and provides impartial advice on all aspects of fitness equipment.
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Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 9:40 pm and is filed under sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
