Ski Resorts Cut-Off by Landslide

The ski resorts of l’Alpe d’Huez, les Deux Alpes and La Grave were cut-off by a major landslide on the RN91 at 8am today. The slide occurred between the town of Vizille and Séchilienne.

The landslide has blocked both sides of the major highway that links Grenoble with Briançon. A detour has been put in place via La Mure and the Col d’Ornon but this adds considerable time to the journey. Locals suggest taking a minor road between Chamrousse and Séchilienne, but this has snow on it and vehicles will need to be properly equipped. The slide brought misery to tourists who were trapped for hours. Engineers on the scene have yet to determine how long it will take to clear the road. A system of alternate traffic may be in place by mid-week. No-one was injured by the slide.

The area has been under close surveillance since a major landslide in the late 80s cut the highway. Temporary bridges were a feature of the route until a new by-pass was built. On the 6th of January the RN85 was blocked at Laffrey, close to the scene of today’s landslide. In that incident a driver was lucky to escape with his life.

On the positive side, it has given many skiers the chance to discover the micro-station at the Col d’Ornon with its 3 lifts and 8km of runs including an unpisted black.

The local Isère government web site gives the state of all the routes in the department

Posted by davidof on Saturday, 24 January, 2004 at 06:38 PM

Some 200 tonnes of debris fell in the landslide and two large blocks had to be removed by the highways department. The road was partially reopened this afternoon to traffic.

Posted by davidof on Sunday, 25 January, 2004 at 11:36 PM

The warm weather has been blamed for a landslide in the Vercors mountains close to the ski resort of Villard-de-Lans. The D531 which passes through the Gorges de la Bourne was blocked by several hundred tonnes of rubble. A witness reported that a car was covered by the slide and a father and his 15 year old son are missing.

Posted by davidof on Saturday, 31 January, 2004 at 10:53 PM

The bodies of the two victims of the Vercors landslide have now been recovered. They were on their way to a day’s skiing at Villard de Lans. The road, which gives access to the northern end of the Vecors plateau will remain closed for at least a month. Experts have blamed the rapid rise in temperatures over the last few days for the landslide.

Posted by davidof on Monday, 02 February, 2004 at 04:10 PM