From electric fat biking to ice climbing: seven alternative winter sports
These days, ski resorts are not just about skiing – most offer a whole range of options for those who want a break from the slopes
I’m standing at the bottom of the Vallée Blanche chairlift at 1,600-metres in Les Deux Alpes; fresh snow lies all around but despite my skiwear I’m not going skiing.
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ELECTRIC FAT BIKING, LES DEUX ALPES , FRANCE
Today I’m mountain biking on the snow instead; and I’m doing it the easy way, with an electric fat bike. Huge balloon tyres ensure a good grip and, best of all, the bike’s electric motor ensures the hills are conquered with ease.
I’m riding with Sylvain Marulaz, an ‘Accompagnateur en Montagne’ who, after guiding mountain bikers around the superb range of trails at Les Deux Alpes during the summer decided to combine the upsurge in popularity of fat bikes and electric bikes to offer a winter version.
The bikes come equipped with seven-speed Shimano Altura gears and four different levels of battery power, along with huge Kenda Juggernaut tyres which Sylvain runs at seven to eight PSI (48 kilopascals). The combination of grip from the low pressure tyres along with battery and human power manage to get me up slopes that would be the equivalent gradient to a blue run in a ski resort; I know this for a fact since at one point we actually ride up the side of a blue run.
Most of the riding, however, is along snowshoe trails, across alpine pastures and through shady forests with a mix of people whose mountain biking experience varies from 30 years to 30 minutes, and everyone has a ball.
Electric fat biking is new in Les Deux Alpes this winter, and other ski resorts around the world are also offering it as a visitor experience (it’s popular in Telluride, Colorado and Red Mountain Resort in British Columbia).
