Ski-Areas > Vosges > Vosges (88) > La Bresse Hohneck
The ski resort of La Bresse Hohneck is situated in the Vosges department in the Vosges region. It is part of the La Bresse ski domain. The lift served area extends from 650 metres to 1350 metres. There are 60 km of lift served runs. There are 50 km of cross country trails. The resort features a snowpark.
Compared to other resorts in the Vosges La Bresse Hohneck is more on an alpine scale. The resort, and car-park are extremely busy at weekends, full to the brim with Dutch enjoying breakfast outside their motor homes. Hohneck is well equipped with chairlifts including a couple of high speed quads.
La Noire is the challenging black in the resort. Although the vertical is not great the steepness and the size of the moguls would grace any ski station in the Savoie. The lack of vertical, le Jumeaux gives you just 350 meters, is not that big a disadvantage as a lot of city skiers have difficulty skiing more than a few hundred meters without taking a breather. At la Bresse they can have the satisfaction of skiing the entire slope then hopping on a chairlift for a well earned rest!
The Kastelberg
The Kastelberg and Lande lifts seemed to be particularly busy, best just to use them once to get elsewhere in the resort. Kastelberg is the summit of the ski lifts, it is a large, round hill culminating at 1350 meters. Despite being called Hohneck the ski lifts dont actually reach this other peak.
There are two other lift installations under the Hohneck: Col de la Schlucht and the Retournemer giving a total of 37 pistes and 220 hectares of skiing. These three areas are not linked but there were some curious hatched lines on the piste plan, perhaps implying some future projects? There is also the nearby station of Le Lispach which has some extensive cross country ski routes.
I would suggest skiing in the Thiaville sector to avoid crowds and there is also a nice Gasthof / Auberge on the Chaume piste which would be ideal for lunch. Assuming the satellite ticket offices are open I would recommend driving to Col de Falimont or even on towards the Kastelberg and skiing from here. This provides some interesting walks for anyone not skiing in the group but make them aware of the dangers of venturing too close to cliffs. It also offers some of the best off piste possibilities, either by using skins or Nordic skis to get completely away from the slopes or skiing down between the trees.
La Bresse started life as a hotel business run by the Remy family. Remy-Loisirs (LabelLeMontagne) still has over half of its turnover in the Vosges. The current president is Jean-Yves Remy, son of the founders. The family own 80% of the business with financiers Avenir Tourisme et Institut Lorrain de Participation holding the remainder.
In the 1960s the family built the ski resort of la Bresse with the aim of attracting clients to the family hotel and restaurant. Situated between 900 and 1350 meters snow canons were installed in 1987. However the almost total lack of snow in the winter of 1989-90, which also severely affected the Alps, nearly caused the business to go bankrupt. Turnover was just 20% of a normal year. Since then the group has diversified into other ski areas leaving it less exposed to the vagaries of the Vosges climate.
At 1362 meters Le Hohneck is the second highest summit in the range and also the most alpine in character with many steep couloirs on its eastern flanc. These couloirs are extremely dangerous and have seen a number of deaths due to avalanche, falls and cornice collapse. They are also the home to chamois and many rare alpine flowers.
There is a legend that during the retreat from Moscow by Napoleon's troupes the Cossacks overran the area and set about massacring the local population. When a charcoal burner and his wife returned to their house under the slopes of the Hohneck they found their three children had been killed. The woman dressed up, collected a basket of potatoes and mixed them with blue Aconit flours. She descended the hill to the Cossack troupes and offered them the food to eat. The next day the soldiers were dead killed by the poisonous flowers.
The Vosges resorts are about 400 miles from Calais, or 6 hours drive.
Nearest Airport(s): Colmar
Road: D417 from Colmar -> Munster -> col de la Schlucht -> la Bresse or N47 Nancy (radars on Nancy ring road and at Haroué) -> N420 Bruyères -> D423 Col de la Schlucht.
Rail:
The resort owner also operate a hotel in the town and the Belle Hutte apartment blocks by the slopes. The latter look a bit grim, early eighties and in need of a refit. There is an Accor-owned chain hotel in town that is modern with a passable restaurant, good parking and warm rooms. Other accomodation is in chalets, guest houses and small hotels spread across the town. Rerimont, down the valley about half an hours drive, is on a transport route so has some more motels.
At the weekends ski station proper is very crowded and offers nowhere pleasant to eat. The local restaurants are all very busy and you would need to reserve for lunch. There are plans by the owners Rémy Loisirs to redevelop the front neige which is now dated. Dining in town requires some planning. Many of the restuarants are in hotels so tend to operate round their guests. Walking in at 9pm does not mean you will get fed. Plan ahead
The town itself has a high street and square of shops similar to an market town. There are a few sports ski shops. One is very good and also carriers a lot of cross-country kit.
Only include guides and instructors who cater for off-piste or backcountry. Please specify whether they take snowboarders.
La Bresse offers floodlit night skiing, there is also has 6am dawn skiing at weekends. Their is an additional lift pass for these times. Getting up at 5.30am to get up to the resorts for this can be worthwhile. A fast quad serves the blue cruiser run at the right extreme of the resort (facing the slopes). With only a dozen early-birds it can mean you can lay out GS turns or high speed carves on deserted sections of the slopes. Your own private slope. With no queueing for the lift you can rack up the runs on the freshly groomed slope. With a nip in the air it is worth putting on an extra layer or wearing a neck muff to keep the face warm while riding the lift.
Website: http://www.labresse.net/
email: info@labresse.net
The Snowgo snowboard team made a weekend visit to la Bresse and wrote this trip report
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Category: Ski Areas
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