La capitale des Alpes | Erasmus in Grenoble

After a year with lots of vertical meters, fast descents and friendly French people, I can only recommend paying a visit to the "capital of the Alps".

It was just before Christmas when we were asked to inform the TU Munich of our preferred partner cities. For me, there was actually one main criterion: it had to be close to the mountains. Leafing through the foreign brochure, I noticed New Zealand, Chile and Canada as well as a place that I had already come across once before, in the big PowderGuide book about the best freeride spots in the Alps. My interest was piqued. I asked myself why I should travel far away if I didn't even know the mountains of our nearest neighbors.

In the end, I opted for a concrete-grey town that most of my fellow students had never heard of or assumed was in Switzerland. The ugly duckling of Erasmus destinations, so to speak, as it comes up empty-handed year after year in the allocation of remaining places. At first glance, the largest city in the Alps, located in the high mountains, does not seem to enjoy a good reputation. But why is that? To find out, I packed all the things I would need for a year abroad and headed west.

It was mid-August and I was using the time left until university was due to start for a road trip across the country: heavily laden with winter and water sports equipment of all kinds, I drove along the Atlantic coast to the south of France and then along enchanted mountain roads towards the western Alps. I followed the Route Napoleon past ancient cork oaks and deep blue lakes and marveled at how the lovely Mediterranean landscape increasingly gave way to an alpine backdrop. I knew I was on the right track.

On arrival in Grenoble, I arrived just in time to move into my dormitory. It had been built as part of the 1968 Winter Olympics and was located slightly south of the city in a formerly notorious suburb. In the first few weeks, I discovered the old town with its many bars and cafés and was delighted to discover that I could see the mountains from almost every corner of the city.

The three distinctive mountain ranges that I could see from everywhere were the Vercors in the west, known for its limestone caves, the Chartreuse in the north, famous for its herbal schnapps, and the snow-covered Belledonne in the east. All three areas have their own unique character and offer everything a mountaineer could wish for in the immediate vicinity of the city.

A night ski tour over the sea of lights

The Chartreuse mountains directly to the north of Genoble are also ideal for a quick night ski tour over the city's sea of lights due to their proximity. Peaks such as Chamechaude offer great views with unique rock formations and adventure tours, such as the winter ascent over the Breche de Arnaud.

There are also beautiful, moderately difficult ski tours in the Vercors, although these are often short and not always easy to reach due to the rugged rock faces, such as on Mont Aiguille. A curious classic here is the Chourum Olympique. Anyone who wants to ride steep walls in a cave should not miss out on this tour in the south of the Vercors.

The best-known ski touring area around Grenoble is definitely the Belledonne massif. Whether with lift support from Les 7 Laux or more secluded from the east: You can find varied and sometimes long tours with an alpine character, steep couloirs and wide firn slopes right next to the ski resorts. In winters with little snow, the approaches on foot are quite long, but that doesn't stop the many French people from climbing their local mountains. The crowning glory is the varied ski tour to the Croix de Belledonne, which offers solitude and fantastic views of the mist-covered valleys of the Isère.

Here you can also see that Grenoble is one of the smoggiest cities in France due to its basin location. I know this inversion phenomenon well from my home near Stuttgart. All the more reason to make a pilgrimage to the higher altitudes and look down on the clouds of haze. If you don't want to contribute to this pollution, you can use public transport to explore some of the ski resorts and more remote areas around Grenoble. However, a car is an advantage, especially in the Écrins and on remote tours.

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The best ski area in the world

Following the valleys towards Col Lautaret with its deserted villages and barrages, you will inevitably pass the freeride mecca of la Grave. The mountain village, which at first glance seems inconspicuous but is rustic, has a deserved reputation for being legendary, as it is unique with its spectacular and untameable descents. The best ski resort in the world not only often has the best powder, but also the best fans. Some of them stay in the small parking lot in front of the gondola for weeks on end, leaving fresh tracks in the snow and creating a great atmosphere in the surrounding bars. With the right equipment and experience, a completely new and high alpine world opens up to you here, which you should breathe in deeply. Nowhere else can you feel the freedom of the mountains, but also the danger they pose, as intensely as here.

In addition to la Grave, the numerous high-altitude tours in the Écrins are also worth a trip in their own right. There are almost exclusively difficult tours here and, in addition to the avalanche situation, the mountaineering skills should be suitable. Steep couloirs, hanging glaciers and wild seracs and ice formations characterize the high alpine glacier landscape. This part of the Western Alps still seems to have remained very pristine and you get the impression that the enchanted valleys of the Écrins National Park somehow belong to a different era. Unspoilt mountains as far as the eye can see and spectacularly situated and uncrowded mountain huts such as the Réfuge de l'Aigle round off this impression.

Another good way to meet like-minded people is to join one of the student mountaineering clubs ESMUG, GUCEM or CAF (similar to the DAV/ÖAV). Here you have the opportunity to take part in numerous excursions and courses or to use the climbing gyms. Ice climbing courses, canyoning or guided alpine tours are probably rarely as inexpensive as here. Membership of the École de Glisse is also recommended. Beginners will find free ski lessons here and with the membership card, professionals also get great discounts in the Les Sept Laux and Les Deux Alpes ski resorts as well as at some of the many sports stores.

Savoir vivre c'est savoir skier

It's a special place where so many mountain-loving people from all over France and the world come together. Grenoble is an ideal starting point for a variety of alpine adventures of all levels of difficulty. The combination of mountain sports to the max, urban student life and the sporty, friendly and almost Mediterranean lifestyle of the people of Grenoble makes the city truly unique. It has become a new home for me and I hope that next time you don't drive past carelessly, but get out and possibly stay forever, because beware: danger of addiction!

Practical links for tour planning:

Mountain weather and avalanche reports : Meteofrance.com , Meteoblue.com

Tour planning: skitour.fr (reports, GPS tracks), Camptocamp.org (reports, topos, photos of descents)

Maps

Ipighénie maps for cell phones

Géoportail good satellite images, IGN and historical maps. Levels for setting the slope gradient, elevation profile and waypoints

IGN maps in paper form detailed, robust

Freeride maps for ski resorts