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Domaine Skiable Les Houches

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I see on Facebook that Les Houches is now calling itself “Domaine Skiable Les Houches Saint Gervais”.
Have I missed something lately? I know you can ski Les Houches from Saint Gervais but it up by the old, once per hour tramway Mont Blanc & there is no run back down to Saint Gervais, so why are they starting to call themselves this!
Anyone any more information on this?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I know you are getting excited about a new lift but I reckon its just the tramway Very Happy
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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?
There are provisional plans to build a new lift (telecabin) from St Gervais into back of Les Houches.
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"provisional plans" for ski lifts are vapourware Very Happy

I can't think the loss of one and a half seasons is going to leave lift companies better placed to order new lifts either.

It would be great if they did build that lift though. I rather like Les Houches but not really enough to drive round from Les C. But hopping on a lift in St G would be more enticing
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Jonny996, I think you don't appreciate Savoyards' jealousness over territory. Something like half of Les Houches ski area is actually situated in the St Gervais commune. If you look you will see the piste markers are different, indicating which parish you are in.

Back in the 1930s when skiing became the latest big thing in the Chamonix valley, an entrepreneur wanted to put up a cable car at Les Houches (I think it would be the one to Bellevue) and needed permission to build the top station on St Gervais land. The canny Maire of St Gervais at the time gave it on condition St G territory use was acknowledged and the company also built a cable car up Mont d'Arbois. That was the first Bettex lift - incidentally the majority of pylons now are still the ones from 1936 though upgraded.

Despite the acknowledgement of commune boundaries the jealousy continues. I think the current Maire has pushed for St Gervais to be able to sell combination passes covering Les Houches as well as EMB for a small supplement, but is always rebuffed.
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@Jonny996, It's always officially been called that.
Why. A fair bit of the ski area falls within the commune of St Gervais.
In France it is very important which Commune a ski area is in, for legal reasons this is more important than who the lift companie(s) is(are).
In this case the top 3 pylons of the Prarion Telecabine are in St Gervais, if memory serves col de Vosa and all of the TMB is in St Gervais.
As for Telecabine or Chair to connect, this has been talked about for 50+ years. 5 years ago the CMB prommised us that in 2019 we would have new trains on the TMB and doubble service and early and late trains, thus not needing a new lift. Of course they never delivered.

The Le Fayet train station to St Gervais telecabine is much more likely to happen.
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Every time I’m at top of Mont Arbois I look over and see natural routes. But I agree it’s very very unlikely.
Just seems strange that they are marketing themselves as Saint Gervais when Chamonix is an option

My post crossed the historical explanation above but if they could install a lift to Les Houches & another over to Les Contimenes while they were at it in next 4 years ready for my retirement, it would be appreciated
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
As @Idris says, a better TMB service would do, the real need is for Les Houches to be included on the lift pass. I can't see there is anywhere a new lift could go that would connect on skis, so the train is fine.

For Les Contamines, I can't see a feasible skiing route between the two. But a two-way cable car between Cote 2000 somewhere and the top of the LesC area would be feasible (what is now the Aiguille Croche drag so would have to be upgraded).

What looks more possible to me is a bit of earthmoving to create a link between the Rochebrune region and Cret du Midi above Praz sur Arly. On the map there look to be potential ski routes down each side of the valley in between (there are existing footpath routes if those could be widened) as long as there were return lifts. More beneficial to Megeve (and Praz s A), it would be a hard challenge to ski from StG to Hauteluce and back in a day.

But after this year and last, what hope of serious investment anywhere?
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I think they are still going ahead with the new gondola up from La Fayet train station to the gondola house in St Gervais. Strangely for me this will be a plus as my wife doesnt ski but does like the spa, so a way to the spa for her & going against the flow of traffic
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There was a lift plan to put a chair along the Mont Jolly ridge to connect St Nicholas and Les Contamines - wouldn't be able to run much due to weather.

Top of Cote 2000 to Les Contamines, the ground is to unstable to support anything, it has been looked into.

Connecting Megeve to Praz - there is already a historic piste that connects the 2. The problem is enviromental or rather NIMBY's not wanting a lift building through that part of the world. Many plans have been drawn up over the last 50 odd years. Last time I think was about 5 years ago.

Round the shoulder from Contamines to the top of Cote 2000 would be easily feasable, but there is a nature reserve (and a non skiiing farmer) in the way.

Hauteluce (Back of Contamines) to The top of Praz is possible and there have been tentative plans - it's the sunny side and would need snowmaking infrastructure to make it work in a non busy area. But there are (at the moment) no major hurdles stopping this one.
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Chair form Contamines to Plancert draglift is feasable and when the snow is low enough is very skiable most of the way down. More practical would be a chair that connects to the Meleze Chair. Crozat chair (although origionaly touted as part of a future conection to St Gervais) is just too far round the mountain and would put the bas station way outside the village - for the invesment it NEEDS to go fromthe village.
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