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Volcanic skiing in Auvergne #1/2

Alternate gentle skiing and downhill skiing, depending on the slopes

On Saturday, we warm up in Super-Besse, on the gentle slopes traced on the sides of an old eroded volcano in the Massif Central. There are lots of green and blue:something to reassure the less adventurous! From the slopes of the Puy de Sancy or the Puy de la Perdrix, a 360-degree panorama opens up over the surrounding rounded peaks. On Sunday, we tackle the sharper and more alpine terrain of Mont-Dore. Its flows are very popular with freeriders...

Test the latest slides

Super-Besse stands out as one of the top places for snowscouts, a kind of snow scooter. You can also try out the yooner (an ultra-fast sledge), the snow Segway, ice diving, dog sledding, snowmobiling... At Mont-Dore, it's on an airboard, an inflatable sledge, that we hurtle down the slopes flat on our stomachs, head first! In the alpine spirit, you learn to climb an icefall, armed with an ice ax and crampons on your feet. Possibility also, at the closing of the slopes, to try the fatbike, mountain biking on snow.

Treat yourself to a thalassotherapy break

A little after-ski spa? It will be at the Mont-Dore thermal baths (auvergne-thermale.com), in their pretty neo-Byzantine decor from the beginning of the 19th century, decorated with mosaics. The eight springs emerge from a volcanic vein. Among the virtues of its waters:the stimulation of immune defenses and the appeasement of contractures. After the effort, comfort with, among the temptations, an Île Rouge massage inspired by Madagascar...