Croisiere Blanche
Heading for the snowline in La Croisiere Blanche
La Croisiere Blanche is a relaxed Alpine rally with a distinctly Gallic flavour. Nobody seems to mind too much who wins, as long as the lunch is good.
Snow crunching and crackling under your wheels, steep climbs and steeper-looking drops; winter driving is a trip. Going off-road on purpose, choosing to skid around in the freezing cold and dig your car out of deep snow, is perhaps not for everyone, but it is great fun.
This is the premise behind La Croisiere Blanche (The White Cruise), a rally in the old sense, with the emphasis more on the journey than on any kind of race. It is held every January in Orcieres, a small ski resort in the Hautes-Alpes of France, not far from Gren-oble.
The format is simple enough: three days of off-road action driving bikes, quads and cars through new-year snow. You bring your own vehicle, buy your ticket and, as long as your machine passes the scrutineering (a check to ensure you have the right equipment, plus emission and noise tests) you're one of the gang. Routes for the 270 or so vehicles take in all manner of terrain, from swinging rope bridges to woodland and breathtaking mountain view.
We are now taking bookings for the 2009 event but places are limited.
