By Adam Bloodworth
For most of the year, the ski resort of Les Deux Alps, 68 kms south east of Grenoble, is all about – well – skiing. But during Rise Festival, December (12-19th), the 220 kms of marked pistes turn into more of a backdrop to a diverse range of entertainment, the centrepiece being indoor and outdoor music stages.
In contrast to the better-known high altitude festivals, such as Snowbombing in Austria and Bulgaria’s Horizon, Rise is a relative newbie, celebrating its second birthday this year by doubling in size from 2,000 to 4,000.
Venues are hosted by the likes of Hospitality, Ibiza Rocks, Eton Messy and Rinse FM, and will cover grime, dance, house, drum and bass, techno and rock music. Artist attendees this year include Naughties garage and hiphop outfit So Solid Crew, fronted by throwback celebs Lisa Mafia & Romeo; dubstep pioneer turned tech-disco authority Skream; deep house and garage duo Blonde; drum and bass veteran High Contrast; Jackmaster, Applebottom and another Naughties sensation, Dynamite MC.
An independent ski and music festival, Rise has enough going on to attract all kinds of people, via a host of festival add-ons: Love Lifts transport daters for flighty speed-dating; there’s a mountaintop German Market with classic mulled wine, German craft beers and hot chocolate; an outdoor cinema screen; woodlands to wander through and mysterious mountaintop ‘beach parties’ (hint: you might require hefty doses of imagination and/or booze to imagine you’re on the beach up there. All will be revealed…)
Then there’s the warmth: on-site campfires, a 'Yeti’s Cabin' with more mulled wine and more hot chocolate, hireable vintage ski wear and the Hot Tub Cabin, above, which Rise festivalgoers end up in after particularly successful ventures on the Love Lifts.
RISE Festival | book now for a final pre-Christmas getaway| December 12-19th
Les Deux Alpes, 38860 Mont-de-Lans, France, £169 includes six days of skiing and full festival access and entrance to official parties. Accommodation and flights aren’t included but self-catered apartments for the full week start at £99 pp. Book tickets and accommodation here
It’s best to arrive on Saturday 12th December to make full use of Rise’s free shuttle bus service from Grenoble airport to Les Deux Alpes.
EasyJet, Ryanair, Monarch, Norwegian Air, Thomas Cook all fly to Grenoble for the festival from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, for under £99 return.
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Adam Bloodworth edits Just Opened London and Culture Or Trash. He also writes a monthly new openings column for the Standard
