Villars - Bretaye : The ideal ski touring route for beginners in Villars

Ski touring: a not-so-difficult activity in Villars

I'm more used to skiing down the slopes than up them, so I decided to try ski touring on an easy Rando Parc itinerary starting in Villars. A real favourite, this sporting activity allowed me to take the time to admire the magnificent surrounding scenery.

Hiring the equipment

After hiring my equipment at Sport's House, my friend and I headed for the starting point of the route. The mild light at the end of a typical February day was ideal for trying it out, and I immediately discovered a whole new passion.

First stage: fitting the skins to my Dynafit equipment. As a beginner, I realised that all I had to do was listen carefully to the advice from the rental shop to make the necessary adjustments and feel comfortable in my boots. I set off for a 2 hour 15 minute ascent over 4.5 km.

A scenic route to unwind

After about a third of the ascent (which is relatively easy), we turn left onto a steeper slope and arrive not far from the Col-de-Soud, where we see the very last skiers heading back down to the resort. The calm is soothing and the mountains are slowly beginning to light up!

A relative flat area then accompanies us as far as the Restaurant du Golf. The snow was getting lighter and lighter and we spotted some good powder spots for the next occasion. That's what ski touring is all about: appreciating the moment and disconnecting from the outside world.

A wonderful sunset

The Muveran massif suddenly begins to glow at around 5.20pm, offering us an intense spectacle of light. However, we had to continue our ascent, as we still had another 45 minutes of climbing to do before nightfall plunged us into darkness. As night fell, we finally arrived at Bretaye 1808, where a comforting beer awaited us before the train ride back down.

Be careful: the snow groomers were being swept that evening, so don't ski back down the slopes!