Après-Ski Culture

When the word "Ski Trip" comes to mind you would expect a week of just purely just skiing, but little did i know Val-d'Isère had much more to offer than that. This TikTok sums up what we did over the week. Being a first timer on the slopes, i have never gone skiing in my life, and i was completely unaware of the whole "Après-Ski" culture.

To those that are unfamiliar with what "Après-Ski" is, it refers to the social activities and entertainment following a day's skiing. Pronounced like "ah-prey ski" , the activity could range from bar games, tobogganing, to simply grabbing a beer and socializing with new friends you just made. My favourite of them all - La Folie Douce.

La Folie Douce: The Party on the Mountains

When i say "party on the mountains" i literally mean it, La Folie Douce is a club that is perched on a mountain 2400 meters high! The party starts at around noon, and did i mention there was absolutely no cover charge? In order to get to this club, you have to either take a gondola cable car up, or ski down from the neighbouring mountain slopes. The club mostly plays electronic dance music, however, we happened to be there during the 90's theme which mostly consisted of Eurodance classics such as "Freed From Desire" and "Darude, Sandstorm". This is what the party looks like at the club:

Who says partying has to be a night activity? The atmosphere and energy of the place was incredible: Fellow skiers and snowboarders grooving to the loud music and dancing on the tables, in the middle of the day under the sun! Pyrotechnics and party smoke bombs were a frequent sight, where they even have champagne showers quite often. It was my first time experiencing a champagne shower too and they actually dump the bottle on you. You might also wonder - What does everyone wear to this club? - the answer is literally anything you want.

Most people would show up in their ski equipment, which includes ski goggles, helmets and boots. You plant your skiis or snowboards in the snow right outside the club and walk right in, although i would not reccomend it as our ski instructor told us skis get stolen pretty often. There are also plenty of party animals that wear cool onesies, like this chick dressed as super girl and even a dude dressed as a traffic cone, i have no idea how they were going to continue skiing in those outfits. The party lasts until approximately 5pm which coincides with the last gondola ride down. Those that miss the gondola would have to ski down drunk which was a hilarious sight to watch!

Being responsible adults we chose to take the gondola.

Cocorico: The Party in the Valley

What do you do when the party ends at 5pm on the mountains? Of course you carry on partying in the valley! Cocorico is another club that is nestled within the french alps, located right at the foot of Solaise and the Face de Bellevarde, the vibes at this Après was just as awesome as La Folie Douce! It also does not have a cover charge.

Cocorico has a cosy outdoor terrace with live music playing. The band playing was very lovely and definitely knows how to hype up the crowd (perhaps we were already all hyped up from partying on the mountains). They played all sorts of music: popular tunes from ABBA, Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", and even modern jams from Bruno Mars. The crowds at this club were just as wild, with people drinking out of their ski boots, a sight which i almost gagged looking at.

We arrived 'early' which was slightly after 5pm, where the larger crowds have not come in yet. It definitely did started to get crowded towards 7pm where they had to position a bouncer at the entrance. The band was eventually done performing for the day and a DJ took over.

The attire at this venue was the ski or snowboarding attire, with the occasional onesies. There is a rack conveniently placed just outside of the club for everyone to place their equipment at, but the location of Cocorico is so convenient that you could just ski back to the ski school to use your own lockers (we do not want stolen skis).

Pre Drinks in the Cable Car and the Slopes

Pre drinking is what comes to mind as we were cheapskate Singaporean partygoers. Coupled with the fact that a cup of beer costs a whopping 8 euros at La Folie Douce, aint no way we were going to pay for Singapore alcohol prices in Europe. There were clearly two options:

What better place to consume your pre drinks than a cable car? this takes pre drinking to a whole new level. Although not advised, we also had pre drinks along the slopes straddling La Folie Douce.

One thing for sure was that we definitely had to consume all our booze before we stepped into the club. Unfortunately, La Folie Douce does not allow outside food and drinks, where the bouncers positioned outside the club would do a quick search on you before letting you in. On one of the days we went, 3 of our friends got bounced out and subsequently blacklisted for the day — they were caught trying to sneak booze in.

Tips for your very own Après-Ski

As you pack your gear and prepare for your very own ski trip, here are a few pointers that i hope would help you have as much fun as i did in the french alps:

1) Buy alcohol from the duty free shop at the airport!

Geneva airport which is the nearest airport to Val-d'Isère has a duty free shop, which you should purchase cheaper alcohol from.

2) Check the weather before going to higher altitude clubs

When the visibility is low and the winds are bad, the cable cars running to/from La Folie Douce would not be operating. There is also no point trying to get to La Folie Douce when there is bad weather.

3) Keep your equipment in the lockers before partying

We were warned by our ski instructors that leaving your skis outside the clubs would result in them getting stolen, you should first store your equipment at your lockers prior to heading for the clubs. Besides, it is actually really difficult to walk (especially dance) in your ski boots. You could always still keep the goggles and helmets on!

4) Shot-sized bottles are easy to carry

Some airports and booze stores sell those shot-sized alcohol bottles. These are small enough to fit into the pockets of your ski jacket, and could potentially evade detection from the bouncers. If you happened to get shot-sized Jägermeisters, La Folie Douce sells them and hence you would blend right in! (Proceed with caution)

5) Get wild

Who knows when will you be back? Get up on a table and dance! Help pour a beer into a stranger's mouth! Get close to the stage to try to snag merchandise that they toss around! Get crazy and have the time of your life!