A Frozen, Protected Wonderland: Slow Adventure In The Less Visited French Alps

At the gateway to the Vanoise national park, new cabins make a great base for a wild winter retreat that’s laid-back but packed with activity

The snow is deep and soft as we pad slowly forward, a muffled crunching the only sound breaking the silence. All around us, the jagged peaks of the Vanoise massif pierce the sky, glinting in the clear morning light. As we walk, Matthieu, my snowshoeing guide, points out fresh tracks – mountain hare, roe deer, fox – and on the mountainside we spy ibex: first a lone male, then a group surveying us from on high.

Champagny-le-Haut, a 1,500-metre-high glacial valley in the French Alps close to the Italian border, is the gateway to the Vanoise national park. In summer it offers pristine mountain hikes and waterfalls, while in winter, with snow closing the road beyond the pretty hamlet of Le Bois where I’m staying, it’s a frozen, protected wonderland. A world away from the busy ski resorts elsewhere in La Plagne, it’s perfect for a more low-key, affordable winter holiday in the heart of nature.