Frozen slide and fondue in an igloo: a unique combo in the region
Today, we're heading to the Tobogganing Park in Leysin to try out one of the leading activities in the Alpes vaudoises. On the programme today: a wild ride down the Park's icy slopes, followed by a delicious fondue in a truly wintry atmosphere. Adrenalin and laughter guaranteed!
✎︎ Alpes Vaudoises, ©︎ Alpes Vaudoises, ※︎ February 2024
What we loved❤️🔥
The ultra-professional supervision provided by the Park staff 🏅
Pushing our limits and testing the slopes marked "Big Thrill" 🚀
Go down the corridors together, in "caterpillar-buoy" mode 🛟
Recover from our emotions in the Snow Village with a good fondue 🍙
What exactly is tobogganing?
It's an explosive mix of luge, bobsleigh and toboggan. The concept? You sit on buoys, slide down icy corridors surrounded by walls of snow and simply let yourself slide to the end of the corridor.
In Leysin, the Tobogganing Park was invented and created by local Olympic medallist and bobsleigh world champion Silvio Giobellina. With its eleven prepared lanes, including a mini-park for little ones, there's something for everyone, from easy to vertiginous slopes. What's more? A giant cushion, the Big Air Bag, for the more adventurous who want to try the big jump, or the Looping, which promises to give you a thrilling experience.
Snowtubing: let's give it a try!
It's impossible to miss the Tobogganing Park when you arrive in Leysin by road. After parking, we headed for the ticket office to show our booking (you have to do it online first) and enter the park. We were greeted by Charlotte, who collected our rucksacks for safekeeping and checked that everyone had a helmet. Without them, there's no sliding! We then picked up our floaties for the next 1 hour 50 minutes, and took the covered lift tunnel, the only access to the Tobogganing slopes.
Ascent to the ice corridors on the travelator ©️Alpes Vaudoises
The rest of the activity is all fun and adrenaline. We all started with the blue "little thrill" run to familiarise ourselves with the technique, then moved on to steeper and steeper couloirs (starting from a tower 5 metres high!) and even a 360° turn at the end of a snow tunnel. We love the fact that most of the runs can be ridden with several buoys, attached to each other, so that we can share the same sensations at exactly the same time.
At the top of the 5-metre tower, a (brief) moment of hesitation! ©️Alpes Vaudoises
The Snow Village: fondue in the domes
Time flies by and after watching the brave ones take off and land gently on the big air bag, we take our tubes back to the entrance and collect our things. On this sunny late February morning, there are lots of families out and about in the tobogganing area, enjoying the sunshine at the tables on the terrace of the snow village outside the icy tracks.
At the entrance to the charming Snow Village ©️Alpes Vaudoises
We skirted the end of the runs to get to the domes and igloo at the bottom of the park. Inside, we discovered a cocoon-like version of the Great North. Wooden tables, animal skins on the benches, candles and bouquets of dried flowers: the decoration inside the domes is carefully thought out and makes you want to socialise over a nice fondue pot. You can also sit in the igloo (where the temperature is cooler than in the domes) and enjoy your fondue Inuit-style. An experience you should definitely try next time!
The cosy interior of the dome ©️Alpes Vaudoises
