 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Would have useful to warn it is behind a paywall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
I didn't have to pay
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@davidof, not for me, it still wants my money
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Nope. Which one was it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ulmerhutte, me too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@davidof, I was fascinated by the article and particularly another ski resort I hadn’t heard about . Always good to hear from someone on the ground so to speak . Feel for those apartment owners .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
If you want to read a 'Paywalled' article - copy the URL, then paste into :: https://archive.is/ ::
if it has been 'saved' before, just read it ; it not, click 'save' and then read !
the OP article..
https://archive.is/vc2Ru
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
It's a shame about Col de l'Arzelier. It was a very small resort but very picturesque. We used to enjoy going up there when la petite was, er petite! And it was usually quiet, which I guess was the reason it closed...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Red Dave wrote: |
| It's a shame about Col de l'Arzelier. It was a very small resort but very picturesque. We used to enjoy going up there when la petite was, er petite! And it was usually quiet, which I guess was the reason it closed... |
Fashions change. I think people want to ski bigger ski areas, even the locals. Plus the legals are more complex: lift maintenance, insurance. You need deep pockets for the bad years. The Col de Porte, for example, has the Grenoble Metro behind it plus it normally has good snow. the article makes the point that any investment is for 25 years - so you want to be sure you can get payback. No bank would invest in anywhere below 1500 meters now, 1800 meters would be sensible.
There was a drag at Mont St Martin (you can still see the piste) and at Planfray both just 10km from Grenoble but both removed in the 90s. It used to be a big thing for every mountain village to have a tow for the kids but I guess better transport makes it easier to take the ski club to a local resort - with snowmaking.
At the end le Col de l'Arzelier suffered sabotage from "eco fascists"/"disgruntled local rate payers" [delete as appropriate] which was the final nail in the coffin. Otherwise the snow is generally not too bad on the east Vercors.
Ski resorts are a bit like the railways in the 1840s - a mania followed by consolidation and people realise that some were never really economic to run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Fashions change indeed! Funnily enough I'd been moving against the tide and skiing in much smaller, local resorts over the last dozen years; though I'm sure in the future we'll move back to the bigger resorts. I like the Vercors and Chartreuse resorts, and have bought season passes for Lans / Meaudre / Autrans the last few years; and it suits where were positioned. If there was still a drag at Mont St Martin or Planfray, I could cycle up to it!
However, if I lived on your side of the valley I'd probably buy a season pass for Les 7 Laux.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Was the opening paragraph of the article lifted from a Snowheads TR?
"We took with us several peasants, some to be our guides and others to carry wine and provisions. In order to prevent those among us who were the most in wind from fatiguing the rest by pushing on too fast, we made the following rules . . . that he who led the way should go a slow and even pace; that whoever found himself fatigued or out of breath might call for a halt; and lastly, that whenever we found a spring we should drink some of our wine, mixed with water."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
