Dauphine
The Dauphiné region covers the Isère and Drôme. departments. The area is home to over 30 ski resorts including l'Alpe d'Huez and les Deux Alpes and the area is also home to the Tuesday, 15 January, 2008
The Col du Porte is blanketed under a meter of fresh snow. Perfect skiing conditions. But the five “Poma” lifts and the lone chair sit idle, the only sound the clinking of the perches as they move in the breeze. The Col du Porte started life back in 1935, one of the France’s very first ski resorts. Before the war motor transport was rare and the Grenoblois would cycle up early on Saturday morning, skis strapped to their backs.
After last season’s poor winter with a loss of over 600,000 euros mid-mountain ski resorts have been looking skywards with some trepidation over the last few weeks. The storm which has blasted Austria and Switzerland, dumping around a meter of snow in 24 hours in Davos, finally ground its way south into the French Alpes. Although it had lost some of its early force it still managed to leave 50cm of snow at the top of the pistes of les 7 Laux in the Isere department. Enough to give the piste director the seemingly crazy idea of opening his ski resort in mid-November.
There are certain childhood experiences that bind a nation. For the French it is birthday trip to see Casimir, the first beach holiday at Le Lavandou or the school ski trip to the Jardin des Enfants of Bachat Bouloud Sneaking from bed at midnight to look out over the winter wonderland of the plateau d’Arselle from the bay windows of the dormitories. The contrast with the grey-grim apartment blocks of the Parisian “banlieu” could not have been more stark.
For the last eight years, Les Deux Alpes has been raising awareness amongst its clients to the risks and dangers posed by mountains as part of its Free Respect programme. Contrary to the sea the mountains are at their most dangerous when they appear most tranquil, blanketed by fresh powder. Going off piste requires an understanding of the basics of safety (appropriate equipment, knowledge of snow, orientation, emergencies) even if you are skiing with a professional, guide or ski instructor.
Looking across from the slopes of l’Alpe d’Huez it seems that you could almost reach out and touch the ski runs of les Deux Alpes. Dreams of linking the two resorts have been around for a long time. At its closest just 3km separates the south-west facing slopes of les Grandes Buffes to the east of Auris from the Mont de Lans chair lift. The opening of the massive Vanoise Express cable car in 2004 lent credibility to the idea that the Romanche Valley could also be spanned, linking these two giants of Dauphiné skiing.
The SIVU of Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse/Le Planolet which runs the area’s ski lifts has come up with a novel way of financing its new ski lift. It is planning to offer a bond from mid-October with the option to repay the debt with lift passes. As we reported in the spring the Saint Pierre was in crisis as it had failed to secure the 4.8 M€ funding required to replace the aging four-seater fixed Battour chair. Built in 1974 this lift had reached the end of its life. Without the new lift and the skiers it would attract the resort was threatened with closure.
It could be the theme from one of those “feel good” movies. A tiny mountain community is threatened with economic disaster unless they can raise three million euros in one month to replace a faithful but aging ski lift. However this is no film script but the real life drama being played out in the Chartreuse Mountains 30 kilometres north of Grenoble and it could cost 125 jobs and affect one family in two in the area. It may also be the shape of things to come for the region’s mid-mountain ski resorts.
It is a warm, sunny evening in the ski resort of l’Alpe d’Huez. Music pumps from the apres hangouts, places like O’Sharkeys, Crowded House and the FreeRide Café. Cigarette smoke hangs in the air like spring fog. Lubricated by beer on-tap the resort’s riders are admiring the feats of their heros on video monitors suspended from the ceiling. Guys like neo-punk Seth Morrison and Doug Coombs, filmed in the nearby freeride mecca of la Grave.
The ‘phantom’ ski station of Saint-Honore in the Isère region was sold at auction on Tuesday to an anonymous bidder. The station, abandoned since 1983, fetched 838,000 Euros.
After last season’s green fields l’Alpe d’Huez obviously wants to show that they are capable of opening the ski area despite any snow difficulties. They’ve taken a leaf out of Autran’s book, the tiny Vercors station that opened their small ski area at the end of November last year. They benefited from a great deal of publicity in the French press.
Col de Porte ski station closed
Sunset on the col de Porte
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Monday, 19 November, 2007
Record breaker for les 7 Laux
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Sunday, 19 November, 2006
Chamrousse Bachat-Bouloud
Bachat Bouloud
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Thursday, 09 November, 2006
Les Deux Alpes Free Respect 2006/7
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Friday, 13 October, 2006
Oisans Express
Artist’s impression of the Oisans Express
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Friday, 06 October, 2006
Resort finances new lift with ski passes
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Sunday, 21 May, 2006
St-Pierre de Chartreuse - Paradise Lost ?
Anger at the town hall
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Monday, 18 April, 2005
Video Nasties?
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Tuesday, 28 October, 2003
Saint-Honoré Goes Under the Hammer
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Sunday, 20 October, 2002
L’Alpe d’Huez to Open for Half Term
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