This is not a usual destination for UK tourists so some knowledge of French will help, however we found the locals to be exceptionally friendly in fact the most helpful and friendly people I have met in a long time.
This is a very beautiful undulating area, superb for a numerous variety of winter sports. Essentially it is a farming region of semi-open pasture land. There are several villages along the plateau offering different facilities. Here is some information about the villages we visited. More information can be found at www.interfrance.com
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A small village with a new holiday complex just at the edge of the town. There are some alpine slopes (10 ski lifts, 11 slopes) and a kindergarten area for small children, but the highlight, for us, is the lake used as a natural ice rink. Lamoura is the starting point of the Transjurassienne cross country ski race. Altitude 1,150 to 1,495 m.
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A small ribbon shaped village of about 260 inhabitants, the first property in the village when approached from Lamoura, is a snow-dog equipment shop run by Monsieur and Madam Mellina ( http://www.traineaux-antipode.com ) They sell all the necessary equipment for a variety of dog sports, follow the link for their online brochure. In the middle of the town is a ski-rental shop with very helpful staff, a small supermarket and boulangerie. At the far end of the village there is an area purely for the working dogs, with a 5, 10, and 15 km of maintained track for sledding or skijor. A shelter for the mushers is located near the village. There are 3 trails available for all levels of snow shoeing as well as pedestrians. Altitude 1,160 to 1,320 m. Downhill skiing: 1 slope and 1 ski lift. 60km of groomed track and skating trails for all ski levels with some steep slopes
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This is the largest village we visited on the plateau with about 3,000 inhabitants. There is a bank, souvenir and clothes shops, a large supermarket with a cafe/large boulangerie next door. La Rousses is linked with four villages ( Premanon, Lamoura, Bois-d'Amount) together with smaller villages (such as Bellefontaine, Morbier and Logchaumois) and there is a ski-bus to transport you around the area. The village is about 2km from the Swiss border and you can easily ski over the border providing access to a much larger ski area. The Tourist Information building, situated in the middle of town, also includes the Ski School of France and Lift Ticket office. Other activities include, Ice skating on the lake, adventure course in the underground passages of Les Rousses fort, movie theatre and night club. Altitude 1,120 to 1,680 m
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A small cross roads village with a very nice delicatessen/small supermarket-boulangerie. We found a nice golf course just outside the village which was superb for the cross-country skier debutante.
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Also called ski-touring or ski mountaineering. For this sport you use a pair of quite long skis, which look like the standard ski of the early 80's. The binding is designed to give you three different settings to angle your boot, keeping your foot reasonably horizontal whilst you climb the mountain. Whilst climbing the mountain you also attach a 'skin' to the sole of your ski to stop it sliding backwards. Historically these were made of animal skin complete with fur which gripped the snow, now they are made with a man made material. The skins hook over the tips and stick to the base of the ski, or they hook both tips and tail. When you reach the summit of the mountain you remove the skins and the bindings have a fourth setting allowing you to clamp down your boot giving you a suitable attachment for down hill skiing.
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This is a similar idea to the above but the kit is different. The skis are shorter and the soles have chips taken out of them which give the same effect as the skins above. The boots are like a stout walking boot with a bar at the toe to hold them into the bindings. The bindings are similar to cross country binding but there is a large ridge down the middle of the bindings which corresponds with a grove in the sole of the boot, when skiing this stops lateral movement of the foot.
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We skated on the frozen lake at Lamora and it was very popular, when we were there. Dog walkers, skaters, ice hockey players and dancers all enjoying the ice. Boot rental was 2 Euros and there were crepes and hot soup being served al-fresco. There is also a frozen lake in Les Rousses
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I don't need to give information about equipment here, there are many web pages to be found with extensive information. The area however is a cross-country skiers paradise. The famous GTV trail providing many kilometers of prepared track, traverses the length of the Jura and passes through Bellecombe. A Pass is compulsory and contributes to the daily marking and maintenance and comes with a map. For more information Phone (33) 03 84 52 58 10 email jura-ski-nordic@wanadoo.fr
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Le Pesse is the favorite site for dog sledding. See above also available in Les Moussieres for the day or for 2 to 5 day excursions. Les Rousses has a 4 km track for use with dogs. We found a wonderful location at Bellecombe with Monsieur & Madam Mellina (mellina.gauthier@wanadoo.fr)
See link to their site from the Gite Page
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There are a variety of trails available in Les Molunes, Les Moussieres, Lajoux, La Pesse Les Rousses, Bellefontaine, Bois d'Amont, Premanon, Morbier and Longchaumois and La Mouille. Equipment was readily available from ski rental shops. It is advised that you walk only on the marked trails and take care not to damage cross country skiing trails that you may cross.
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Available on all the pistes where dog sledding is available.
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