Families & Friends

ROCK CLIMBING

The art and fun of moving over stone! Equipped with specialist safety equipment, students will scale sheer rock faces and learn to challenge themselves in this vertical arena. We teach bouldering, top roping, leading and multi pitch rock climbing. We can deliver to any level from an introduction to top-roping as part of a multi activity program session, to one of our specialist course’s where we can teach and coach you to reach that next level.

The Hautes Alpes, where we run all our courses, is famous for its rock climbing. We have six different rock types here and over 350 crag locations to choose from. This is definitely an activity not to miss where we teach you the fun of balance, and moving over and across vertical obstacles where you have to think in 3D!

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WHITE WATER RAFTING

The Hautes Alpes is the centre of white water rafting and kayaking in France, offering some of the most exciting rivers in Europe. The region has rivers of every grade so there is something for every group. Our team of highly experienced raft guides all work under the expert leadership of David King, one of the most highly respected guides in France. Our instructors encourage and train their students to navigate their inflatable bucking bronco through the thrills and spills of the Durance’s turbulent rapids. A full-on rollercoaster of a ride!

Split into teams of seven, students are first equipped with wet suits, neoprene footwear and helmets, plus a rash top if conditions necessitate. Then a full safety brief from David and his team, before the off! It is always the most favoured activity and allows a ride not to be forgotten.

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MOUNTAIN TREKS

The Hautes Alpes, located in the Southern French Alps, where the AlpBase Academy courses are run, offer some of the best “undiscovered” alpine scenery in Europe. The region is literally a giant mountain playground, and encompasses an area just smaller than the combined total size of the UK’s Lakes District, The Peak District and the Snowdonia National Park. Yet it only experiences 2 million visitors a year compared to the combined 40 million visitors that the Lakes, Peaks and Snowdonia receive annually!

The Hautes Alpes really are the alps as they used to be. The mountain treks and hikes offer our students the opportunity to enjoy breath taking views with zero people pollution in a dry mountainous region that benefits from 300 days of sunshine per annum. It is a stunning part of the world and walking through this alpine landscape our groups come face to face with “real” nature. Here they can enjoy some of the most spectacular alpine walking anywhere in Europe complete with stunning peaks, huge glacial mazes, deep cut valleys, alpine pasture land, sub alpine woodlands and deep-filled mountain tarns.

The Hautes Alpes also has abundant wildlife. Look out for eagles, chamois, Ibex, willow grouse, and the ubiquitous marmots – always a favorite with our children. In all there are 167 rare and valuable species of fauna and the flora is equally diverse with over 1,800 varieties. Away from the traditional lavender fields of Provence you might find blue thistles, lilies, and alpine orchids as well as high altitude plants such as androsace, and edelweiss.

All our treks are run by local International Mountain Leaders who will not only guide but educate about the area including its geology and geomorphology, and so help our students get the most out of this awesome mountain arena.

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VIA FERRATA

A via ferrata (Italian for "iron road") is a fully protected climbing route often found in the Alps. The origins of Via Ferrata date back to the First World War, when several were built in the Italian Dolomites to aid the movement of troops. Modern via ferratas comprise a steel cable which runs along the entire route and every few metres it is bolted to the rock. Using special equipment that includes a helmet, a harness and security leashes, our students, under careful supervision, secure themselves to the cable, so they are very safe. In addition to pulling on the actual cable, students use any in-situ aids such as iron rungs, pegs, carved steps and even ladders to make progress.

Via ferratas allow students to scale difficult rock walls without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing. They offer inexperienced young people a means of enjoying dramatic positions and an amazing way to see remote or difficult-to-access mountains and cross breath-taking gorges, with alpine white water rivers surging past underneath. As such Via Ferratas are a fun and engaging way of pushing your mental as well as physical limits.

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