All I can think about is the girl on the fairground ride whose hair got caught in the mechanism.

While being strapped into a harness and encouraged to lean over an Alpine cliff-edge 1828m up, I am categorically told to keep my arms by my side but, suddenly, halfway along my high-speed 1,200m cable ride, I become paranoid that my long hair will get tangled in the runner system.

I spend the rest of the ride trying to work out which is more likely to kill me – my own flyaway hair or deviating from the recommended flight position, which I don’t dare to attempt, especially as I’m convinced any extra movement will result in the loss of a flip flop.

It takes two chair lift rides to reach the Fantasticable, a zip line at Pré-la-Joux in France’s famous Portes Du Soleil (Gates of the sun) region. The flight down is also a two-stage process, albeit a lot faster.

The second cable offers an even longer ride of 1325m, giving you a good few minutes to enjoy the view as you swoop over lush fields and the mountain village of Plaine-Dranse.

So, just like those people who spend hours trying to chicken-out of their bungee then want to do it all over again, I’m delighted to get another crack at the whip, the second with my hair firmly tied up in as neat a bun as I can manage with shaky adrenaline-fuelled hands.

Despite an innate distrust of the French which comes in-built to we Brits, I know this ultra-fast zip line is safe and scientific because I’ve been weighed to ensure the correct balance is set at the ‘breaking station’ at the end of the ride, meaning I come to a stop in the right place at the right time.

And I certainly feel reassured by the particularly geeky ensemble of helmet, apron and metal tray that makes up the outfit. If I look this bad it’s got to be for good reason.

To reach the Fantasticable I’ve criss-crossed the border between France and Switzerland.  We’re sandwiched between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc in terrain most tourists see covered in a blanket of perfect white powder from the fast-moving vantage point of their skis or snowboards.

But as a winter sports novice even the gently-paced chair life ride up here has me gripping the bars, despite having my boyfriend – and today my fellow zip-liner – for company.

I’m not saying I’m a total girl but my heart beats pretty damn fast when I get to the top of the average waterslide, so you can imagine the Olympic-level somersaults my ticker is doing when my life is placed in the hands of a suspiciously laissez-faire French girl, who bids me to ‘ave a nice flight as I’m launched horizontally and head first into the mountain scenery.

These are the same mountains I usually visit in summer to indulge in sedate local pastimes like eating Abondance cheese and endless baguettes and going for walks in the verdant, manicured scenery, all blooming flowers and wooden chalets, my peace shattered only by the tinkling of cowbells.

So it’s disconcerting yet totally magical to see this chocolate box scenery and hear this bovine percussion from a bird’s eye view. By the time I screech to a halt on the second leg of my superman-style journey I’m thrilled that I’ve done something so adventurous and I realise it was actually a proverbial walk in the park.

I’m no longer scared – my worries about tangled hair or losing a flip flop have melted away and I’m just about ready to be jump on the chair lift to do it all over again.

My Fantasticable Zip Line Videos

The Take Off

The Landing

More Info

Fantasticable has locations in Portugal, Italy and Canada and three in France, including the one at Chatel described above.

Flights cost €34

For more information and seasonal opening timetable see the Fantasticable website or the Chatel area website

About The Guest Blogger

Jaillan Yehia aka Savoir There is a London-based travel writer, editor and blogger who is obsessed with stylish, quirky and cultured travel. You can usually find her eating and drinking her way around the world, but every so often her adventurous side sneaks out and makes her try water skiing in Cyprus, zip lining in the Alps or reverse bungees in Bali. She scares easy so doesn’t combine the eating with the adventure, although a stiff drink has been known to help. 

The post The Fantasticable: Zip Lining Like You’ve Never Seen appeared first on XpatMatt.

Chamonix, France

Location

The name Chamonix is often used to refer to a town, valley, and a commune (an area like a municipality or parish) in eastern France near the Swiss border.

Closest Town/City/Village

The commune of Chamonix includes the following16 villages and hamlets: Le Tour, Montroc, Le Planet, Argentière, Les Chosalets, Le Lavancher, Les Tines, Les Bois, Les-Praz-de-Chamonix, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Les Pècles, Les Mouilles, Les Barrats, Les Pèlerins, Les Gaillands, and Les Bossons.

Climate and Geography

The Chamonix commune is an area of about 245 square kilometers ranging from 995 – 4,810 m above sea level in the rugged French Alps, which are situated in eastern France on the Swiss border. The Chamonix commune is made up mainly of the Chamonix valley, which is dominated mainly by the Mount Blanc mountain range in the south, and the Aiguilles Rouges (red peaks) in the north. The Chamonix valley is 17 km wide, and the largest river in it is the Arve, which flows 107 km through it to Geneva where it meets the Rhone. The tallest peak in the area is Mount Blanc, which, at 4810m, is the tallest mountain in western Europe.

Chamonix is located at a higher elevation than most destinations in the Alps, so winters are quite cold with average temperatures ranging from around -8°C in the winter to 22°C in the summer. The temperature, however, varies greatly with altitude. It is said that the temperature declines by an average of 6.5°C for every 500 m of elevation gain, so this must be taken into consideration.  Chamonix tends to be humid, which is great for skiers because that means lots of snow in the winter, however that also means there can be a lot of rain at other times of year.

Description

You don’t find adventure travel destinations much better known that Chamonix. Home to the 1924 Winter Olympic Games, Chamonix has become a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts pursuing all manner of mountain-based adrenaline rushes, from ice climbing and extreme skiing in the winter to whitewater rafting and and paragliding in the summer, earning it the title “the death-sport capital of the world” from renowned mountaineer Mark Twight.

The area’s popularity is well deserved, and brings in tens of thousands of tourists each season. The town of Chamonix-Mount-Blanc’s population of about10,000 skyrockets up to 60,000 in the winter and 100,000 in the summer due to the massive influx of tourists. The popularity of Chamonix brings certain advantages and disadvantages for visitors. Prices in the area are commensurate with its popularity. Those planning a hiking, mountain biking, or ski holiday in Chamonix can expect a lot of company and to pay more than if they visited a lesser known destination. However, the tourism industry here is very well established. For novices, it’s very easy to find competent instruction in all manner of adventure sports, all levels of adventurers will find their needs catered to, and rental equipment is plentiful and easy to find.

Activities

• Skiing and snowboarding (beginner – extreme, including heli-skiing)
• Snowshoeing
• Dogsledding
• Ice climbing (beginner – extreme)
• Mountain Climbing (beginner – extreme)
• Via Feratta
• Canyoning
• Whitewater Rafting
• Kayaking
• Paragliding
• Hiking
• Mountain Biking

On a Budget?

• The cheapest accommodation in Chamonix in the winter is in hostel dormitories which start at about $20 USD per person per night. The cheapest private rooms can be shared for around $35 USD per person. Camping in the low season can cost as little as $15 USD for one person per night and $21 USD per night in the high season (it should be noted that it’s much cheaper per person if the tent is shared).
  More information about hostels in Chamonix can be found here
• The low end of the menu in inexpensive restaurants will feature breakfast for around $8-10 USD and lunch and dinner for around $12- 14 USD. Of course, the supermarket is always an option.

Photos

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Photos courtesy of dpstyles, le vide et le plein, MuntyPix, le vide et le plein, A tea but no e, Paul Nash, fo.ol, ines saraiva, MuntyPix, and kentgoldman in that order.

Suggested Reading

Click on the images for more information

Map

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Chamonix Vacations

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