Overview

AlpBase is situated in Vallouise, the gateway to the Ecrins National Park and the centre of the Hautes Alpes; one of the least populated and most pristine areas in France. This region of the country - 05 - comprises the Southern French Alps and is one of the few alpine areas in Europe that has always controlled its tourism. As well as substantially better weather – a guaranteed 300 days of sunshine every year - this area is definitely a lot less commercialised than the Northern French Alps.

The Hautes Alpes offers the widest range of outdoor activities anywhere in Europe year round. Go to the Activities section and you will see what we mean!

Sporting Events

 The Ecrins is the sporting centre of France and comprises many activity events and competitions. Here are a few of the best:
-     ICE  - Europe’s largest Ice Climbing festival
-    Ailefroide - France’s second centre of Alpinism
-     La Grave  - off-piste capital of Europe
-     Tout a bloc  – The largest European bouldering festival
-    Mondial de L’Escalade –  5 days of world-class climbing
-    Montagne en Fete – The Ecrins Mountaineering Festival
-    Le Stade D'Eau Vive – France’s National White Water Center
 

Seasons

Winter- Late November to early April. During this period you can ski and board downhill and off-piste. X-C skiing and ice-fall climbing runs from mid December to early March. From late March you can start to hike and rock climb.

Spring - April to mid June. few visitors come to the Hautes Alpes during this season yet it's great for walking, rock climbing, bouldering, white water rafting and kayaking, mountain biking and road cycling, Via Ferrata, and paragliding. This is arguably the best period for walkers as you will be hiking in t-shirts, through alpine pastures brimming with fresh flowers under deep blue skies and end of winter snow high above.

Summer - Late June to late August. July to end of August temperatures in the Ecrins range from 25°C to 28°C, but heavy late afternoon showers can occur. You can do pretty much everything except skiing...... actually I am wrong you can even do this sport in midsummer as there is glacier skiing at Les Deux Alpes. For High Mountain rock climbs like in the Massif Des Cerces this is definitely the season - mid June to end of August.

Autumn - Early September until early November - fantastic weather, and amazing colours - great for rock climbing, mountain biking, walking and hiking, road cycling and Via Ferrata. September is often more settled than July or August, and a lot quieter, but with slightly lower temperatures. Early October you will find the colours at their most intense, yet you will still be walking in t-shirts or a light fleece. Other than spring, this for us is the best time for hiking in the Ecrins. But the end of October or early November the region already feels like it is ready for winter and by mid November usually we get our first big dumps of snow.

Tourist Guides

There are numerous general tourist guides to France which include brief items related to the Écrins region, but the following are more specifically mountain oriented.

Michelin Tourist Guide: French Alps Published in 1998 as part of the well-known Michelin Green Guide Series, this title covers the whole of the Alpine range in France from Lake Geneva to the Alpes Maritime. Useful items relating to the Écrins National Park region are included.

The Outdoor Traveller's Guide: The Alps by Marcia R. Lieberman (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, 1991) Lavishly illustrated with colour photographs by Tim Thompson, this makes a good Alpine primer, with short essays on many regions of the Alps. Coverage includes the Écrins.