THE END OF THE ROAD
As a ski resort Bonneval-sur-Arc is technically quite wee, with just 25km of pistes and 1200m of vertical; but let’s stop there. A ‘mere’ 1200m of vertical has its advantages when the resort in question sits at 1800 metres and its slopes are north facing, and you’re not likely to be driving all the way to the Bonneval just to skoot around on 25km of pistes.
Because it is a long drive to get here, up into the Vanoise National Park from Modane, past Val Cenis and snaking along a high mountain road to get, eventually, to this little village at the end of the road to nowhere.
I was here to have a poke around the freeride terrain beneath the glistening blue icefalls draped across the upper slopes of 3,638-metre Mont Albaron. This swathe of powder and crags is readily accessed via the resort’s slightly rickety series of chairlifts that culminate at the top of the 3000 chair (so named because this is its upper elevation) from where it’s a swift and easy traverse to some glorious powder fields.
That said I was expecting them to be tracked out – it hadn’t snowed for several days and the Easter weekend had just been and gone with its massed ranks getting in one last blast before summer.
Ha! Not a bit of it…
With my mate Hugh plus two local ski instructors, Veronique Boniface and Christian Batailli, we scored fresh tracks pretty much all day. And since that day was sunny (but cold due to Bonneval’s altitude and north facing aspect) we could want for little else.
You don’t even necessarily need local knowledge to find great skiing here, as the bowl beneath Albaron is pretty obvious as are many of the other freeride areas – you can scope them out as you glide up on the chair (which being almost as old and creaky as me gives you plenty of time pick your lines).
However, look higher up the mountains and you’ll see the trails of ski tourers heading off for the Italian border and other such exotic destinations; we didn’t have time to follow in their tracks but I’ve been assured the touring here is a delight provided you have a guide to show you the best routes.
As is often the case with small ski resorts the attraction at Bonneval sur Arc isn’t just in the skiing. When we stopped for lunch at the resort’s only mountain restaurant we found the kind of buzzing, no-frills atmosphere that is so common in unpretentious little ski hills.
Restaurant Criou serves up good value, filling grub to a very local crowd which varies from young kids and yummy mummies to cool young dudes in too-baggy clothing, grizzled old ski tourers in too-tight clothing and bemused visitors like myself and Hugh.
To be honest I can’t give you a detailed run down on the menu since we were loathe to hang about – after all, sunshine, blue skies and powder in mid-April is there to be made the most of rather than talked about over a long lunch.
Saying goodbye to Veronique and Christian after our hastily shovelled down lunch Hugh and I loosened up on some fast, empty, well-groomed reds off the Lacs and 3000 chairs before heading back to ‘our’ powder bowl. And it did literally feel like it was ours – we encountered only three other skiers here all afternoon. Incroyable!
When we finally decided to head back down to the village in the late afternoon we were presented with the perfect opportunity to warm down. A gentle stroll is a fine thing to offer your legs after a hard day on skis, and Bonneval sur Arc is the perfect place to slip into your trainers and show your quads some consideration.
This is a ‘real’ alpine village, about as far removed as you could get from nearby resorts like Val d’Isere, Tignes and Les Arcs.
Bonneval sur Arc and is a member of the group ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de France’ which aims to preserve traditional architectural styles and cultural traditions – as such any building work has to remain true to the alpine vernacular style, telephone cables and street lighting is routed underground and shops and other businesses are not permitted to use large, garish signage.
The squat, stone tiled houses and Baroque style chapels have survived largely due to the village’s high, remote location – when German forces razed many of the region’s lower level, more accessible towns and villages on their retreat towards the end of World War II, Bonneval was left untouched.
Traditional transhumance agriculture and craft work are also still important – produce such as Bonneval blue cheese, Savoie tomme and cured ham or the work of local wood carvers is still very much a part of the local economy, and wandering aimlessly around the narrow streets is a real pleasure.
This combination of spectacular mountains, exciting, uncrowded skiing and a lovely alpine village is quite something for a ‘little’ ski hill to cram into one package and just goes to show that a trip down the road to nowhere can often pay dividends.
www.bonnevalsurarc.fr
