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Heading to Val Thorens soon? There may be a few things to add to your to do list other than skiing and indulging in fondue. If you’re looking for a bit more adventure or some “out there” activities, Val Thorens has plenty to offer. Tick these activities off your Val Thorens bucket list and make all your friends jealous of the exciting ski holiday you had.

Guest blog post by Gemma Hunt.

Val Thorens Bucket List

Val Thorens Bucket List

Val Thorens’ zip line. Image from Valthonet.com.

The highest zipline in the world

This pretty impressive feature in Val Thorens offers you the chance to glide down the highest zipline in the World! Accessed only on skis or snowboard, the starting point is located at 3230m at the top of the ‘Bouchet’ chairlift in Orelle. Once you are strapped onto the line with your skis on your back you proceed to descend along the 1300m line dangling your feet over the 250m drop with mountains at every angle! Make sure you take it all in as the descent is done and dusted in just 1 minute 45 seconds.

The longest toboggan run in Europe

Most people will have had a go at sledging at some point in their lives but this is not dragging your plastic sledge up a grassy field barely covered in snow – this is the Val Thorens luge run which is a whole new ball game! Once you have collected your sled you will need to hop into the ‘Péclet Funitel’ to take you up to the starting blocks which are located at an altitude of 3000m. The sleds do have brakes which you might want to make sure you can work as it is a good 45 minutes ride back down the 6km track with twists, turns and crossing over the piste at times so watch out for skiers!

The highest ice driving track in Europe

Most people dread the drive up to the mountains as you weave and wind your way up to resort in a snake of ski traffic and hope that you will not have to work out how the snow chains work. Well in Val Thorens you have the chance to enjoy the slippery conditions on the ice track! There are several options available as you can try and drive a buggy around the track, sit in with a driver to see how the experts do it or give it a go yourself with their specially adapted cars.

Val Thorens Things to Do

Ice diving adventures. Image from awe365.com.

Ice diving

From ice driving to ice diving! That is not a duplication on the list or misspelling, in Val Thorens you can do both. Putting on a wetsuit is probably not something you would automatically think of as an activity for your ski holiday and is perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea. The lake is accessed, for those wishing to give it a go, either on snow shoes or cross country skis from Val Thorens which takes around 40 minutes. You will then need to swap your ski gear for diving gear as you undertake a supervised 20 minute session of glacial exploration beneath the surface of the ice in an underwater world! Afterwards it is back on to snowshoes or skis to head back to resort where we are sure you have earnt a vin chaud or two.

Swap two planks for two wheels MTB

The guidance for this activity indicates that it is aimed at ‘sporty ones’ and experienced MTB riders – the reason? You will be hurtling down the snow on a bike from 3000m. You will be accompanied by a qualified instructor and will be provided with suitable equipment, so do not worry that you will be heading up there on your lonesome with a chopper bike!

The track itself is the ‘Tête Ronde’ blue slope with the starting point at the foot of the Péclet glacier. The 45 minute descent takes places after the slopes have been closed to skiers and night starts to fall so you might want to make sure the instructor has got a puncture repair kit in their backpack!

Paragliding, paramotor, helicopter, snowmobile, dog sled and much more!

Val Thorens is splitting at the seams with the number of activities on offer so number five is a mixed bag taster of what else is on offer. You can fly through the skies over Val Thorens either paragliding or new for this season on the paramotor. You can let someone pilot you above the resort in a helicopter tour to see the resort from up above. With a ‘mush’ you can be off on a dog sled ride or try speeding around the closed pistes on a snowmobile tour. Phew.

Also did we mention the 60+ restaurants with a handful of Michelin Star restaurants, an ever increasing number of 5* hotels and spas and enough bars to cover everything from a pint of guiness to cocktails and homemade rum! So guessing we will see you on the slopes of Val Thorens soon then…

Val Thorens Bucket List

What is on your Val Thorens Bucket List? Let us know in the comments below.

Heading to VT soon? Join us for some sessions on the slopes.