 Poster: A snowHead
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I am not keen on the scenario described in this article where flogging apartments is the driver for any improvements in ski resort infrastructure.
It is a bit like setting up golf courses in Portugal just to sell villas.
Europe has not followed this pattern as much as North America, but there is a worrying trend now for big corporations to buy into existing European resorts. I also take issue with the idea that it is a 'necessary evil'.
Fair points about global warming, though the article does not indicate what steps corporations will take to address it.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20061116/NEWS/111160040
On a slightly different note, it was interesting to see that environmentalists are attempting to block a new Russian ski resort near Sochi. Apparently, they have some success before in Russia. That surprised me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Latchigo wrote: |
I am not keen on the scenario described in this article where flogging apartments is the driver for any improvements in ski resort infrastructure.
Europe has not followed this pattern as much as North America, |
This has been virtually the only business model in the Tarentaise since the 1960s. Build 'em cheap, pack 'em in. The policy has taken hold in the Maurienne over the last few years.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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easiski, I agree. There's been a bit of building up at La Foux in the last few years and while there have been some lift upgrades in the local school holidays when the ski school lessons are on you can wait up to 10 minutes to get on the main lifts out of town. It's not a problem once you're on the pistes - one or two places where numbers build up but the slopes aren't wall to wall skiers.
Outside those 4 weeks a year the place is practically empty and the apartments unused - they need to work on getting people who don't have kids to use the place off-peak. Quite why anyone without children and who didn't work in education would go skiing in the school hols is beyond me.
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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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ben wright, hear, hear. I have friends with adult kids who still come in mid- feb  why.  We have 35,000 beds at the moment and about 240Kms of pisted runs. Loads of off piste of course + La Grave. However, the marketing is slanted towards the average skier. If it was towards the good all mountain skier, then the extra beds wouldn't be an issue; but if they build, say, another 5,000 beds and continue to market to the average skier market - where will they all go? We actually don't have a lot of expansion options without the ADH link. Les Travers and St Christophe would probably be too avalanche prone and steep to be sensible. The rest of the mountain is already used. 
Once up the mountain there really isn't much of a problem with queuing (5 mins possibly), but the bottleneck at the Jandri Express on a Feb morning at ski school time is pretty aweful. there are ways round this, but I'm not going to tell you what they are.  
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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easiski, there's scope for expansion down in the Val d'Allos but no real appetite for it at the moment from the lift company. The lift company is in dispute with local government about something or other (the level of subsidy, I expect). The recent apartments have been built by third parties so have no control over lift/piste expansion and not much interest in it as long as they can sell the places.
There are a couple of areas in our village that are used by off-pisters that could easily be converted to piste by chopping down a few (not that many) trees and wouldn't need new lifts to serve them but while the lift company can have days in April when they don't sell a single ticket they're not going to rush to spend more money than their contract obliges them to.
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Arn't there loads of mountains that have the potential to become purpose built resorts in the alps.. or are all the suitable ones already taken?
Ok its a big profject form sctratch but if the demand is there.. Also isnt there scope to extend current resort onto the next mountain..?
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CANV CANVINGTON, It is not that long ago that they were looking at closing some of the purpose built resorts. I believe Les Arcs was one of the places that was in financial difficulties.
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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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Latchigo,
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I am not keen on the scenario described in this article where flogging apartments is the driver for any improvements in ski resort infrastructure.
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It's this scenario which drives most infrastructure development in many countries. In GB it's known as 'planning gain'. A developer seeking consent and the local authority agree on some extras to the planning consent. The developer will use part of the profit arising from development to upgrade roads, schools, health centres, gyms or whatever else the council thinks the area will need. In GB much of the infrastructure around us is provided in this way. Without it the taxpayer will have to pay anyway.
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FAQ
the rest of the time it's probably OK - so long as they don't spoil my view. 
