Three Days Family Skiing in Vaujany

2nd January 2024 | Tim Clark, Vaujany, France.

Last modified on January 5th, 2024

Tim Clark visits Vaujany on a three-day family ski trip. It’s a small resort in the Isère region of France just over the hill from Alpe d’Huez.

“Can you hear it? I think it’s haunted,” says Hazel, my 7-year old daughter.

It’s the second day of a three-day trip to Vaujany, a small resort in the Isère region of France, and we’re listening out for ice giants.

Or at least that’s what I’ve been told we’re doing.

Top of the Chalets ski run – Vaujany Alpette – image © Tim Clark

Hazel, who spent last February at “daddy ski school” [read more here], has returned to the Alps to act as a child-led quality control for a resort which prides itself on appealing to families and children.

Cloud has enveloped the valley below, turning what would normally be a fairly standard blue run down from the top of the Montfrais chair lift into a disconnected island of snow, icicles and mountain peaks.

The few wisps of white that do glide past add to the mystique.

Above the freeze-thaw nature of the season meant that an impressive array of icicles had set had across the cliffs and ledges up the Col du Couard mountain.

Icicles and ice giants – Image © Tim Clark

I keep watch (for those pesky giants, naturally) as my daughter unclips her skis to investigate the strange sounds from the sides of the piste.

The mysterious sound is water gushing from snowmelt higher up, but when you’re seven anything is a potential adventure.

Often it can be hard to find the time to explore the natural environment of the mountains on a ski holiday, when you are preoccupied with assessing which blue, red or black run will give the biggest adrenaline hit, or how to find the easiest route to the best après-ski.

And, with the din of skis, snowboards and instructors on the piste, trying to listen out for the sounds of nature can be about as successful as trying to identify birdsong on the M25.

So to be alone for a good ten minutes indulging my seven-year-old’s supernatural belief system was an opportunity not to be missed.

Vaujany’s reputation for world-class ice giants is well known, but the town also offers a multitude of child-friendly amenities such as a pool, bowling alley, tobogganing, and day care centre.

But not much snow in the run-up to Christmas this winter.

View of Vaujany from the Alpette lift – Image © Tim Clark

The village was handed a financial windfall when Électricité de France (EDF) compulsorily purchased swathes of land for a new reservoir and hydro-electric power station.

The municipality decided to use that cash to invest in long-term returns – not only in facilities but also a series of reliable and high capacity lifts to connect with the wider Grand Domaine ski area.

Alongside the pool and bowling alley, the 600-odd bed resort also has an ice hockey rink (with Division 2 champions of the French Ice Hockey league no less), where holiday makers can practise curling.

There’s a small and very well equipped science museum, as well as a creche and daycare centre, much of which is half-built into the mountain like a kind of James Bond-esque play school.

Vaujany swimming pool – image © Tim Clark

Our residence for three days was the child-orientated Hôtel Les Cimes: a 10-bed hotel recently refurbished by Ski France and added to their books for the 2023/24 season.

The hotel aims to put children at the heart of the stay, with a secure kids area on its top floor complete with board games, sofas and puzzles.

Plus the enticing offer for children that they can order their own drinks, or non-alcoholic ones at least.

And what do kids do if they’re allowed to drink (almost) whatever they want?

They do shots of course.

In our case, one eager fellow child traveller managed to line up half a dozen hot chocolates before daring others (including the adults) to a downing competition.

I managed an (apparently poor) 3.68 seconds, the winner, another parent mastering the technique with 1.6 seconds.

In between were a variety of children who managed to lug hot chocolate and spill plenty over their tops.

Luckily dinners at Hôtel Les Cimes aren’t an overly formal affair.

Vaujany’s lifts are also impressive for a resort of its size.

First, the Vaujany-Alpette lift rises 812 metres up from the village to 2,062 metres in just over four minutes and can handle just over 1,500 people an hour.

This lift is perfect for able skiers as it also connects with the following Alpette-Rousses lift that takes people to 2,812metres in just over two minutes 30 seconds.

All in all, from village to summit (if timings are favourable) in around 10 minutes is not to be sniffed at.

A lot of resorts can provide the basics for people to have a good holiday, and the rest is dependent on what people do themselves.

And while the older, more advanced skiers can shoot off up the mountain, the practically self-contained beginners area in Vaujany gives younger children a chance to explore without too much concern that they’d accidentally stray off onto a major slope.

The two green runs nearby, the Ecureuil and Les Dolines, provided enough for those looking for a quick refresher before tackling the chairlifts, or as a graduation slope for those only a few days into the ski’s.

Burying yourself into a show drift for an hour is arguably as much fun for a child as mastering parallel skiing, and luckily we got the chance to try both.

The beginners area came with an indoor picnic area for families and three restaurants within easy reach.

In between were ample areas to simply jump in the snow.

Before we knew it, a friendly fellow traveller had lent Hazel a ski Barbie, and it seemed rude not to take her sledding.

Sending an eight inch doll down a ski run isn’t at the top of anyone’s ski holiday list, but armed with sledges rented from town we headed to the specially cordoned off area to put “Katarina” through her paces.

Hazel being given a ride to the ski lift – Vaujany Image © Tim Clark

Once the delights of Vaujany had been tasted, there was an afternoon in the larger Alpe d’Huez to enjoy after navigating the ski lifts.

Here there’s a larger selection of green runs for beginners and a ton of blues, reds and off-piste options for more advanced skiers.

And, with a spare afternoon we took a trip on a husky ride which criss-crossed the bottom of the beginners slopes.

Even though the French schools had broken up for Christmas, the whole of the Alpe d’Huez ski area was relatively quiet in mid-December and for us the little north facing corner from Montfrais down was a veritable paradise, especially early in the morning.

The pistes of Vaujany were for long periods simply our own.

And thoroughly enjoyable they were – with not a huge amount of off-piste areas (at least compared to the main Alpe d’Huez) but enough to enjoy a dip or two outside of the main drags, and soft, forgiving snow.

One question those thinking of visiting Vaujany need to consider is the level of experience needed to access the main Alpe d’Huez resort itself.

The Le Dome red route which links the Dome Des Rousses at 2,800m down to DMC is fairly robust and though I managed it without difficulties, a beginner may struggle.

This short link is the key to accessing the wider Alpe d’Huez resort and, for those who can make it, then it’s a decent morning skiing.

For beginners though it’s a fairly long trek on three ski lifts.

We tried it for one morning and, with a good hour commute, it felt more like being on a ski lift holiday than an actual ski one.

But it could be argued however that the advantages outweigh the restrictions and for anyone thinking of heading to Vaujany it’s about choices.

If any in the party aren’t good with altitude, then the relatively low 1,250 metres at resort level is a bonus.

For those who want a fairly quiet, village-like resort that has retained some of the charm of its rural past, it has that too, and if you’re looking for a range of family options then it has those in abundance.

For us, it gave Hazel a chance to reconnect with her skiing, and hear the ice giants of the mountains calling.