Vercors

 

One of the largest Nordic skiing system of Europe is available in Vercors. In the core of the winter season, it is possible to link Saint Nizier, at the northern tip of the plateaus, to the Rousset pass that mark the southern limit of the massif.

The largest Nordic skiing stations of Villard de lans-Corrençon and Autrans have an international reputation as several hundred of kilometers tracks are accessible from each of these stations.Other nordic skiing stations include:

Les Coulmes

Saint Nizier

Fond D'Urle

Every year, two Nordic skiing races are organized:

Grande Traversée du Vercors

In March, the Grande Traversée du Vercors GTV, for Great Vercors Crossing is organized between Vassieux and Villard de Lans. Unlike the "Foulée Blanche", this race is reserved to highly trained peoples.

events

Vercors Massif is not only a place of nature and traditions. The village of Autrans, in the northern plateaus, hosts every year a national festival of the Internet, the Autrans Meetings Rencontres d'Autrans, website in French and the mountain film festival, website in French.

Calendar & Events : Have a look on Agenda on Initiatives-Vercors.fr in french

alpine skiing

Several ski resorts exist in Vercors Regional Park.

Villard de Lans the largest - Website in english

Autrans website in english

Gresse en Vercors Website in english

Le col du Rousset

Font d'Urle / Chaud Clapier

Lans en Vercors Website in French

Autrans/Méaudre Website in French

paragliding

The Vercors mountains, with their plateaus surrounded by cliffs, are especially conductive for Paragliding Parapente. Several launching areas are available around Lans and Villard de Lans. Website in French of a commercial paragliding school

canyoning and caving

Being a karstic mountain, Vercors is rich in caves grottes and deep, narrow canyons. The best known caves for speleologist in Vercors are:

Grotte de la luire, with its pure shaped tubes

grotte de gournier

Le trou qui souffle

Le gouffre Berger, one of the deepest caves in the world.

Grottes du Bournillon

Some of the canyons of Vercors:

Gorge des ecouges in the Coulmes, a very nice, but rather hard canyon.

Canyon du Furon an easy canyon.

Canyon of Léoncel in the Royans

Les trois blaireaux is not really a canyon, but a single large cascade

Rio Sourd is a very nice canyon at the south eastern tip of the park, in Diois.

Locals generally do caving spéléologie or spéléo and canyoning descente de canyon outside of structures, or in small not-for-profit club structures that are not easily accessible for foreigners visiting the place for a short time. Nevertheless it is possible to practice this activity at any level for anybody.

Trained caver or canyoners who want to share their passion with locals can contact local clubs for conjoint explorations. Members of local clubs will generally propose guiding, or participation in upcoming explorations, and can lend spelunking gear. The cost will be limited to a yearly inscription fee that includes specific insurance coverage. In this kind of structure, be aware that people will not provide you a service for a fixed price, but will share with you some of their leisure time. The fee you pay is not for them and in fact, they also paid it, but for the insurance and the non-profit structure itself.

People interested in initiation in caving or canyoning can contact the “bureau des moniteurs” guides association. A personal guided initiation or exploration of a cave or a canyon will be proposed to them. In this structure, you can expect a more classic customer/salesman relationship. The “bureau des moniteurs” can also organize for you other sporting activities such as escalating and via ferrata.

Bureau des Moniteurs du Vercors: 15 av. des Francs-Tireurs BP 25 38250 Villard de Lans France Tel.: +33 4 76 94 14 50 Website in English