General
Tuesday, 29 August, 2006
Black day for the white forest
Risoul and Vars have been linked since the 1990s as part of the Forêt Blanche ski domain (white forest). The single lift pass is an important marketing tool for both resorts. However the two ski areas are run by separate lift companies, the private / public partnership SEDEV at Vars and the private company Sermont at Risoul and this is proving to be a bone of contention with SEDEV claiming that Sermont owes them the sum of 262,264 €.
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Thursday, 24 August, 2006
Permit system to climb Mont-Blanc?
The mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex, has called for a permit system to be established for Mont-Blanc. Speaking as part of his initiative “La Montagne A l’Etat Pur – The mountain in its purest form”. M.Peillex said that Mont-Blanc has far too many climbers and this brings with it ecological and safety concerns. He called on the government and other concerned parties to study some way of regulating the number of visitors as happens in other countries.
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Thursday, 17 August, 2006
Mountain of debt for Tignes avalanche families
In April 2005 PisteHors reported the death of two snowboarders in a massive avalanche on the north face of the Grande Motte glacier. Sam Harber and James Rourke, both in their mid-twenties were doing a season with tour operator VIP Snowline. It was supposed to be their final run before returning to the UK. Mr Rourke’s body was discovered under meters of snow and ice the following day. Mr Harber’s body was only found 2 months after the accident when the avalanche debris began to thaw. Now the families are being threatened with a bill of over £20,000 to cover rescue costs.
North face of the Grande Motte
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Thursday, 13 July, 2006
Val Thorens avalanche families long wait for justice
At around 3pm on the 21st of November 1992, an avalanche triggered by a cornice fall in the ski resort of Val-Thorens, hit the open Jean Beranger ski piste. Ten people were buried; only three were dug out alive. Following the incident the resort was accused of doing “too little, too late” in its response and yesterday, after 14 long years, a Lyon court agreed with this view.
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Sunday, 09 July, 2006
Ray of hope for Brit snowboard instructors
On the 29th of June the European Commission sent what is referred to as a “reasoned opinion” to the French government concerning its breach of articles 39, 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty and Directive 92/51/EEC on the general system for the recognition of diplomas. The opinion concerned France’s continued non-recognition of diplomas awarded to British and German snowboard instructors by their national bodies. France does not recognize snowboarding as an independent discipline and requires all snowboard instructors to pass difficult ski instructor examinations.
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Wednesday, 07 June, 2006
Sainte-Foy doubles size of ski domain
The opening of the Marquises chair will double the area of pistes in the youngest of the Tarentaise’s ski resorts but the project has not met with universal approval. Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise has planned 15 million € of investment over the next few years including a new area of ski runs under the Camp Filluel to the west of resort but environmental and local pressure groups have described this as “a very risky bet at the expense of the local environment”.
Vallon du Clou
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Saturday, 06 May, 2006
PisteHors in the press
It has been a very busy year for us at PisteHors.com. “Avalanche deaths hit new record” – BBC, “Ski slopes’ hidden perils take record toll” – The Guardian, “Skiers dicing with death off piste” - The Times, “Alps see climb in avalanche fatalities” - USA Today, were just some of the headlines in the British Press. Questions and comment from journalists from as far afield as North America, Sweden and Australia kept us occupied just as the poor March weather in the Northern Alps served to keep us indoors for much of the month.
PisteHors features on France’s main news bulletin
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Wednesday, 29 March, 2006
Tartiflette - keeping it real
Nothing beats a good old Savoyard Tartiflette when you are on a winter sports holiday. A traditional recipe of potato slices, bacon, onions covered with a half block of Reblochon cheese and left to melt in the oven. Certainly that is the image that young Savoyard farmers and members of the FDSEA (the departmental federation of agricultural unions) would like to promote. They have taken direct action today against supermarkets in the region that are selling what they see as “fake Tartiflette cheese”.
In Tartiflette We Don’t Trust?
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Monday, 27 March, 2006
Crap Shoot for Andorran Ski Mountaineers
Andorra would no doubt prefer the press to focus on its Grandvalira domain linking the ski areas of le Pas-de-la-Casa, Grau Roig, Soldeu, El Tarter and Canillo, its luxury hotels and its ultramodern high-speed chair lifts but the Shanghai of the Pyrenees shares another problem with the oriental boom-town, serious water degradation. Or rather in Andorra’s case it shares its problem with its neighbours France and Spain much to their annoyance.
Pas-de-la-Casa and the Ariège below
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Friday, 24 March, 2006
Savoie Dries Out
With the recent snow and rain it is hard to believe that the Savoie is currently in its third year of drought. The residents of Saint-Gervais close to Mont-Blanc have been told to reduce their water consumption and both Megève and le Grand Bornand faced restrictions in 2005. In February les Arcs had to be supplied with bottled water for a week after the supplies became contaminated.
Could this be the future for the Alps?
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