Uplifting Fun In La Plagne: Air Boarding For Beginners

Air Boarding is a great break from the slopes. With speeds averaging 50km/h, it is not for the faint hearted.

Holidays are always better with friends, especially ski holidays. However, choosing a resort that will please everyone can be tough as each destination offers different perks and limitations. A destination like La Plagne can solve this dilemma. It is a huge resort with a great variety of things to do on and off the slopes. Of these, air boarding is one of the most popular. Exhilarating, exciting and at times laugh-out-loud funny, this activity is well worth your time and money.

Air boarding is a well-developed sport with many different facets. Before you take off down the slopes, here’s a short guide to give you a head start on your mates:

The Board – This is essentially an inflatable sledge. Every board has two handles on either side which boarders must grip tightly while shooting down the mountainside. Hold onto it at all times, without it you won’t get very far.

Technique – The technique is very similar to bodyboarding on water. You jump on to the board belly first and navigate your way down the slopes. Squeeze yourself against the board as tight as possible for maximum control and the best aerodynamics. There are no breaks, so to slow down or stop push your weight onto one side of the board and make a quick turn.

Speed – You can reach very high speeds with good technique. The fastest anyone has reached was over 140km/h, but don’t worry you won’t be going this quick. The average speed at which a competent air boarder floats down the mountainside is around 50km/h, still enough to make the hair on your neck stand up. 

Clothing – Warm clothes are as essential for this sport as they are when skiing. With air boarding, your whole body will be very close to the ground, and you’ll experience a constant spray of snow into the face and all over the body. For this reason, goggles are very necessary and, as you will be descending head first down the mountain, so is a helmet.

Where to Air Board

There are a number of companies offering these activities in La Plagne, but the local ski school, ESF Montalbert, is a great place to start. They offer sessions with trained instructors at the end of each ski day and have all the equipment you will need. 

Getting to La Plagne

The best way to get to La Plagne is to fly direct from London to Geneva. Passengers can fly with major airlines such as British Airways and Swiss Air: both fly direct in around 90 minutes.

La Plagne is very easy to get to from Geneva Airport. Ski transfers take you from the airport to the resort in between 1½ and 2½ hours depending on the weather conditions. For this reason, it’s sensible to book a transfer with Shuttle Direct and let them do all the hard work for you. Agree a fixed, low-cost fee before you get out there and Shuttle Direct will meet you when you touch down at Geneva Airport. Ski transfers with Shuttle Direct also allow you to bring along your ski equipment for free, if you let them know in advance.

Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct, the number one provider of shared and private airport transfers all over Europe and northern Africa. If you’re looking for affordable Geneva airport ski transfers, Lukas and his colleagues can make sure that you and your luggage get to and from the airport swiftly and safely.

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