 Poster: A snowHead
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Claude B, Went to Col d'Ornon last week. Absolutely brilliant day spent doing laps of the unpisted black that was more than knee deep in powder. Quite busy though, there were more than 2 people in front of me at one time 
Be careful about your timing though, I am not sure how long they will stay open for now that the french holidays are finished.
Let me know when you are thinking of Alpe d'Huez, I am there 12th April on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Should have added, La Grave is on my list, maybe this easter........
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not the most flattering picture of offpisteskiing:
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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skitow, Yes I remember you went last February when we were there. I'm supposed to be going over with easiski so it will be a Wednesday afternoon, after the french holidays I think they revert to Sundays and Wednesday afternoon only.
I'll certainly come over in April will be in touch, hoping to meet with Nick D too. If you fancy a day at L2A give me a shout also..
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altis, blimey that's a blast from the past - still have those 1080s gathering dust in the garage but haven't skied them for years & years!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Well as I suspected that article has not gone down to well in La Grave.
I also thought it was not like my mate Per As to give an opinion like that as the politics of a little commune can be quite hard work.
This morning I went ski touring with one La Grave "ancien" character, and he basically said it's a load of bollox, and I commented that I thought it strange Per would have sanctioned it.
After a great tour we ended back at the Lautaret and we were joined by a couple of other La Grave residents, one of whom was still fuming about the piece, twas Per's wife.
Although the article was well written and highlighted the issues, Per was not happy about being quoted etc
There are other factors as well, the election for the new mayor is in three weeks time, and various candidates have different view points about the lift and what should be done.
You might have sensed from my previous thread that young Kelley is not exactly someone I would send a friend request to on FaceBook, not too sure how popular she will be in La Grave for the rest of the season now after that piece.
Though again it might cause some people to think long and hard about the future, and majority of journalists to have a tendency to upset people 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Weathercam, I don't get it. While it's shabby journalism to quote people without permission, the article is nothing more than a outside non-critical summary for an international audience of the myriad politics/issues that affect small French mountain towns. And there is no denying it's a very special "resort" for the keenest of skiers, without equal in the world so legitimate cause of interest.
Maybe it's because the locals don't like the attention being put on them and the prospect of a Mountain Riders Alliance or some other mob rolling up and crapping all over their pet dreams ( or hope of a regional govt dole out) or worse someone who'd like to broaden La Grave's appeal and "develop" stuff. Or is it a fear of outsiders? Hardly I'd have thought given everyone who has establised themseleves there.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Building a new cable car (and drag-lift: they are doing without the lower one at the moment - dragging people up with a piste basher) will be a major undertaking and it isn't obvious where the money can come from. The present one is only kept going by dint of classing it as of Historic Importance (or some such category) - otherwise French safety regulations would have closed it years ago.
They really should make an international appeal for money. I'd contribute.
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| fatbob wrote: |
| Weathercam, I don't get it. While it's shabby journalism to quote people without permission, the article is nothing more than a outside non-critical summary for an international audience of the myriad politics/issues that affect small French mountain towns. |
^ if you live in such a town I guess you don't want to get involved in the local politics. Especially as a foreign outsider.
Whilst the telepherique itself may not make money every winter it is clearly essential for the entire town and brings visitors in. For this reason I am almost certain it will stay open : come 2017 perhaps with some kind of grant / EU or local commune funding? Until push comes to shove then the French locals with influence will argue about who should be contributing funds, and also takes legal liability in event of accidents on the mountain. Any idle talk of lift closure (just now) is probably simply a political card to suggest the responsibility should be transferred elsewhere 
As long as La Grave remains the way it is then there will always be a background question of long term sustainability.
Where else in the world can you ski 2100m vertical with <100 people on the hill ?
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You know it makes sense.
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
| Where else in the world can you ski 2100m vertical with <100 people on the hill ? |
The days with less than a 100 ski passes sold must be pretty rare. That said I've skied a number of big resorts near the end of the season where they have sold about that number of lift passes in a day (after asking at the LP office in the evening).
What happens if the lift closes? People have been skiing the vallons since the 1920s so I guess they will still be skied. Here's a little story, in 1946 Pierre and Auguste set off from their workshop in St Etienne on Friday evening to cycle to la Grave which they reached on Saturday, they skinned and skied the Vallons returning to their bikes on Sunday to cycle through the day and night for work on Monday morning.
http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/way-back-when/
and since the lift to the glacier at les 2 Alpes was built people have been skiind down the vallons to take a taxi back to LDA. Life goes on.
Interestingly Courchevel is suffering similar problems to la Grave on a grander scale. Courchevel now has such a reputation as a Russian hell-hole they have trouble attracting other nationalities. As a consequence lift pass sales have dropped from 2 to 1.8 million over the last decade.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Haggis_Trap wrote: |
| Until push comes to shove then the French locals with influence will argue about who should be contributing funds, and also takes legal liability in event of accidents on the mountain. Any idle talk of lift closure (just now) is probably simply a political card to suggest the responsibility should be transferred elsewhere |
Pretty much what I would guess. The rest is just some outsider 1st rule of gnar club type stuff and a jour no who thinks that just because there is a stack of grot mags somewhere in Objectif that the locals aren't turned on to internet.
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FAQ
