Hi  All
 
I thought you'd be interested in a bit of flying I did recently. I was on holiday in Courchevel in the French Alps where they have an 'altiport'. These are small strips at high altitude, which use short runways that are inclined. It was my first time (1) flying in the mountains, (2) operating from an altiport.
 
You have to be rated for altiports in addition to mountain flying and there's a further 6 month currency requirement for Courchevel specifically. A photo shows why
The runway centreline is straight and there's no optical illusion or Photoshop tricks involved. The runway has a 1 in 5 gradient in the central 280m portion, the part nearest the camera is flat. Needless to say takeoff is downhill and landing uphill regardless of wind direction. Also, I'm standing on the ground and still looking down at the 1 in 5 part.
Go-arounds are possible only if you're in a Harrier! But it's a real airport with ICAO and IATA codes and you can see the tower on the right of the apron. It exists mainly for the very wealthy to fly straight in to this upmarket ski resort from Paris, Geneva, or increasingly Moscow.
Incidentally, trying to set QFE is futile when the airfield elevation is at 6583' so we flew all the way on QNH, and anyway there's a 7mb difference from one end of the runway to the other! That kind of altitude affects performance and with a total runway length including the apron of 537m, the steep slope is a necessity rather than a hazard. Nonetheless I was impressed to see a Beech King Air operating in and out of here during the week.
 
I contacted Alexander at the Aero-club des 3 Vallees before I went out there and booked a 2 hour lesson. There was a choice of a Cessna 172 or a Jodel D.140 Mousequetaire, we took the latter on Alexander's recommendation of it being easier for the job in hand. This also meant it was my first time (3) in a Jodel and (4) in a tailwheel type. And I've not counted a control column instead of wheel since I did that when gliding.
[See the attached file]
Having signed on the dotted line to become a club member and had a briefing on the plan we went out for the walkaround. There's the usual checks on control surfaces etc plus another new feature. Courchevel has a tarmac runway and apron, whereas most other sites are snow covered. To cope with this the Jodel was equipped with retractable skis that had a hole for the wheels to protrude through when raised. There was a hand operated hydraulic pump between the seats - like the flap lever on a PA28 but higher and further back - to raise and lower them and the tips were far enough forward of the leading edge that you could check them visually before landing
 
A small tailwheel aircraft would normally lift its tail early on but that would mean a kamikaze dive angle here so we did a 3-point takeoff. Having cleared the resort itself we did a gentle left 180 turn whilst the passengers pumped the skis down. We flew over Meribel Altiport doing a figure of 8 style circuit before my first (5) landing on snow. Back to 2 POB and off we went. If anything Meribel is more scary than Courchevel as the runway is much flatter and I think a bit shorter as well as snow covered. Definitely no King Airs here.
 
Airborne again and off to the South, climbing to clear the ridge into the Belleville valley, over the ski resorts of Val Thorens and Les Menuires, and then the much larger Maurienne valley. We were heading SW more or less parallel to the Italian border and climbing steadily to 12000', the highest (6) I've ever been in a light aircraft. Initially I'd been using 130km/h on the ASI but as the air thinned we reduced this to 125 then 120 to maintain the climb. I was also opening the throttle wider and wider to keep 2420rpm. I'm used to judging height and distance over the flatlands of Southern England but I found it very difficult to judge distance horizontally to a mountainside. This is important as you need to fly up the right hand side of a valley not the centre for two reasons - the 'pass left to left' principle and to enable the maximum room for turning should you find yourself in a dead end e.g. due to cloud.
 
The original plan was to land at another ski resort altiport, Alpe d'Huez, however the trip into Meribel had taken time out of the 2 hours so that was dropped. That wasn't a problem as Meribel itself was interesting and instead we headed for the Lombard glacier which is in the middle of nowhere about 20km E of Alpe d'Huez. We circled 3 times at progressively lower heights. Once to check the area is clear, second time to check the surface, third time to check for wind and turbulence. This was all OK though there was some turbulence on final.
 
The landing is uphill again, on 3 points. However as an unprepared surface there are natural ridges in the snow which make for a slightly bumpy run as if landing on grass. The snow is also not packed down so the skis sink into it. Alexander turned the Jodel across the slope as we slowed down, until we pointed slightly downhill. The snow wasn't able to hold us though and we slid slowly down the glacier so after just a few seconds we opend the throttle, turned fully downhill and took off. The drag of the loose snow means the takeoff technique is to use of a bit of flap, get airborne as soon as possible in ground effect, and climb away as the speed builds.
 
Due to the turbulence and soft snow we left Lombard a few minutes later arrived at the St. Sorlin glacier instead, which lies in the centre of a horseshoe shaped mountain ridge. Same principle of 3 circuits, with the memorable instruction for the downwind leg of "not below 10,300 feet". I'm handling the plane rather than just 'following through' what Alexander does most of the time but he still takes the control and I follow for the final approach as this is not the place to make a mistake. Flare, touchdown, turn across the slope and this time the snow holds us. Save for the tracks of one very adventurous skier the only sign of human existence up here is the series of U shaped ski tracks from previous landings.
[See the attached file]
 
After a few minutes to savour the experience and to take a few photos, open the throttle and ... we're stuck. I've been stuck in soft grass after parking for lunch at Shobdon but this is a rather different proposition. Equipment for mountain flying includes an EPIRB, survival gear and a shovel to dig the plane out of the snow. Thankfully none are needed as the alternative approach of Alexander and I bouncing up and down in our seats is enough to unstick the skis and we're off again. Two more approaches and on the third and final landing at St. Sorlin I have control and Alexander is following me on the stick. Aim below the touchdown point, keeping the speed up, flare at the right point, touchdown on three skis. Left rudder before we stop, and select takeoff flap. When we're pointing down the hill straighten the rudder and open the throttle to 2420rpm. Eyes open for a rock on the right that we spotted during the pre-landing circuits, then we're airborne. As soon as we start to climb, turn right to keep to the side of the valley. My first ever (7) glacier landing and takeoff.
 
We climb clear of the nearby peaks and head back to Courchevel. We cross the Saulire pass at a low enough level (500'?) to throttle back for the sake of the skiers beneath then bank left past the cable car station and right to take us over the altiport and observe the windsock. When I said I couldn't see it - not knowing where exactly to look - Alexander takes control and stands the little Jodel on its cranked wingtip, pulls what feels like about 2g and shows me the altiport out of the left side of the canopy. The 'circuit' is actually a triangle from above the altiport N to above the valley town of Bozel, then turn SE and aim at the mountain shown in the middle of the first photo. Do the radio and pre-landing checks  - remembering to raise the skis - then turn onto final. The landing technique is similar to the glacier, aim low then flare and land with poweron. If I remember correctly, I did the approach but Alexander did the flare. You need power on to get up to the apron. Left turn and park at the fuel pump, and the end of a memorable 2 hours.
 
There was so much to take in that I'm sure I've forgotten some of it. If you know a pilot who's going to the Alps I'd recommend having a go, and there's quite a number of altiports around. I have the contact details for the Aero-Club des 3 Vallees if anyone wants them.
 
Simon


 
We taxied across the runway thershold to wait for the engine to warm up before take off. At this point a couple of other guys approached and we shut down for Alexander to have a chat with them. It subsequently transpired one of them was the club's head of mountain flying (or something like that) and they wanted a lift to Meribel in the next valley. The warm up resumed with
4 POB, Alexander handled the radio calls in French and we lined up. To give an impression of the view at this point, here's a photo of a Cessna 182 I took some time later just as he was starting his take-off roll.