DREAM OR REALITY? The Fast Track to Flaine

As the Vanoise Express celebrates its 10th birthday, plans for another similarly ambitious project are resurfacing.

Le Dauphiné, 17 October 2013

Step forward Le FuniFlaine.  This new link would take skiers from Magland (down in the valley, just 45km from Geneva) to Flaine in 15-20 minutes, creating 80 jobs in the process.

It's been muttered about for decades, indeed for some 40 years.  A rudimentary cable car was set up to transport materials up the mountain during the constuction of Flaine, and apparently an electricity pylon remains to mark the spot.

The engineering challenge is making sure the lift
can cope with the steep cliffs and wind on the Magland side

Middle station at Les Carroz (1100m)

From a technical point of view, the plans seem to be well advanced.  The route would take in 1,350m vertical, with 6 pylons.  There would be several large cabins, rather than a gondola-style lift.  It would use some of the latest technology (along the lines of that recently deployed at Avoriaz, apparently).   Meanwhile, the latest economic feasibility studies are positive, despite the crisis.  That said, funding from regional and national government would be needed, given the €80m cost.

Perhaps more importantly, it does not appear to have universal support locally. Politicians from rival ski areas (eg St Gervais) are not particularly keen, while those from the valleys (eg Sallanches) are rather more positive about the idea...



For more on what to expect when you do get up the mountain, click here.

NEW SKI SEASON: 10 Things You (Possibly) Need To Know

Here are some fascinating facts you can use on the chairlift to impress/bore your companions:

1.  We have lost 300,000 British skiers since the start of the recession.  Last year just 900,000 of us hit the slopes.  France remains the market leader, with Austria in the ascendency and North America in freefall.  More here.

2.  This has contributed to a pretty flat market in France.  The financial results of lift operator giant Compagnie des Alpes are disappointing, and the French ski resort association is in open revolt about changes to the French school holiday calendar which mean the Easter break now starts after many resorts have closed.

3.  Even if a slow recovery has started, the concern is that skiing, never a cheap activity, is losing market share to other travel destinations/pursuits.  This has been the spur for various rebranding initiatives, for example Méribel, Chamonix and, most notably, Val Thorens (United):

#WantToSki: Website here.

4.  Other resorts are looking to build their share of the wallet by developing new products.  The 100% freeride area below the 2877m Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees looks a neat idea, not least if it is accompanied by a night in the observatory at the summit.



5.  Swiss Connections No1: 2013/14 sees resorts coming together in bids to enter the premier league.  Lenzerheide joins with Arosa in a CHF50m project which will create a 225km area.  It opens in January, apparently.

6.  Swiss Connections No2: The Val d'Anniviers is celebrated by all those who visit. This year the previously separate Grimentz and Zinal ski areas will be linked by a new cable car.

7.  The original and best?  The Vanoise Express celebrates 10 years of Paradiski with a makeover of the cabins.

8.  On the Les Arcs side, there are some new developments for 2013/14.  There is a new roundabout at the foot of the climb, a new 4 star Aiguille Grive hotel, and a new mountain restaurant on the golf course.  More here.

9.  And there are BIG CHANGES planned for Les Arcs over the coming years. The masterplan for Arc 1800 includes a reorganisation of the Chantel slopes, a new indoor pool and new links to both Edenarc and Arc 2000.

The Alpages du Chantel and Edenarc developments
will (finally) be linked to Arc 1800 over the next few years

10. The "British ski hosts banned" row rumbles on, with Crystal now having done a deal with the Evolution 2 ski school.  The ESF is starting to respond/think about the implications of all this, for example offering free hosting in La Rosiere on Sundays - more here via Planet Ski.

10 YEARS OF PARADISKI

Paradiski is 10 years old this season:

To celebrate, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac has given the Vanoise Express a makeover.

There will be tightrope walking on 16th December, again at the Vanoise Express.  A "world premiere" is promised, with a 60m walk between the two cars:



It's also the 10th anniversary of Arc 1950, whose arrival marked a complete departure from the original Les Arcs' approach.  (See interview with Claudie Blanc for some history).  I personally find it hard to love the place, but it certainly means that Les Arcs and Peisey-Vallandry can offer a pretty full range of accommodation options, for all budgets and tastes.  And it certainly has helped fund the transformation of Les Arcs' lift system.

Here's the official Les Arcs press release on Paradiski's 10 years.

YES WE CANNES: Film and the Mountains

Some of the best film and TV moments were of course shot in the mountains, for example many of the best James Bond scenes and unforgettable pop videos by Wham, the Police and the Jacksons.  Not to mention the, er, iconic Apocalypse Snow, shot on Les Arcs' slopes in 1983:

But a number of resorts have developed their own niche in hosting film festivals, as part of their bids to broaden their appeal - for example in Les Arcs.

The season kicks off above Bourg St Maurice with the  Les Arcs Film Festival which runs from 14-21 Dec.  This year includes a special focus on film from  "Yugoslavian countries", for example the 2011 Serbian/Macedonian production "Punk's Not Dead":



Prior to all this excitement, next week sees the 30th Mountain Film Festival taking place at Autrans, over in the Vercors:

Click here for the official Autrans site

Over Christmas, Autrans' neighbour Lans-en-Vercors will be holding its own festival, this time centred on childrens' cinema.

It looks like some of the new Belle et Sébastien film was shot in the Vercors - in cinemas from 18th December:



Finally, at the end of January, Alpes Magazine will be hosting a 3 evenings looking at alpine cinema, including this classic film from 1944:

28-30 January, Palais des Congrés, Chambery

ALBERTVILLE: Gateway to just about everywhere

It's now 21 years since the Albertville Olympics, and it's not hard to see the legacy (for example the upgraded RN90 through the Tarentaise or indeed the La Plagne bobsleigh track).

Albertville may struggle to make a claim to be a ski resort in its own right, but has options stretching out in all directions - more here.

Its setting, at the confluence of the Isere and Arly, is a beautiful one.  But one would struggle to describe the town as attractive.  With one exception.  The medieval city of Conflans, just above the town, is quite something:

The Wikipedia guide to Conflans is here.

The Auberge de Costaroche sits just below, and is a budget base for visiting some of the following:

• 30 mins: Brides-les-Bains, with direct access to Méribel and the Trois Vallées
• 30 mins: Areches-Beaufort.  Here's an appreciative write-up in today's Sunday Telegraph
• 35 mins: Valmorel - if you want to be a bit different, you can access the skiing via access via Doucy-Combelouviere or (even more daring), Celliers
• 35 mins: Crest-Voland and the Val d'Arly

PS: If you are buying ski equipment, the Decathlon, just off the RN90, is well worth a stop - both for the range (including ski rando and ski de fond) and the prices.

REBRANDING MATTERS: Méribel, Chamonix and Alpe d'Huez

Val Thorens isn't the only resort having a good think about how it markets itself to a population of skiers that is showing little sign of growing.

In Méribel, there is a move to rationalise things, highlighting the merits (and location) of the various villages in the valley - the excellent Skipedia sets out the background:

The "retro" logo.  Recent versions
have used a more "modern" font

The new identity has an air of Arc 1950 about it

Meanwhile in Chamonix, powered by its ex-Danone marketing director, it's out with the two logos which had previously been sitting side-by-side:

Out

Out

In comes the new, "One Valley, One Brand" concept.  It's one which the smaller local resorts (eg Vallorcine) are able to sign up to.  Again, there is lots more on this via Skipedia.

Click here to see how Vallorcine is using
the new brand identity

Further south, Alpe d'Huez appears to be getting rid of the Domaine des Grandes Rousses label.  It is now boasting about the merits of its "grand domaine Ski".  This has been criticised both for its irregular use of upper and lower case lettering, and for creating potential confusion with Valmorel's Grand Domaine.

If the official website is anything to go by, it looks like the new branding for the ski area will sit alongside the rather good (and rather longstanding) Alpe d'Huez visual identity:

Back in the Tarentaise, a bit of background to what Les Arcs and La Plagne have been up to when it comes to marketing themselves can be found here.

REBRANDING MATTERS: Val Thorens United

"If you're not clear about where you want to position yourselves, 

others will do it for you"

Gregory Guzzot, Director of Val Thorens tourist office

Val Thorens has been thinking carefully about what it is all about, and where it wants to be.  The results is an ambitious rebrand.  Out with the old:

And in with the new: Val Thorens United:

Launched for the 2012/13 season

Gregory Guzzo sets out the thinking in this Skipedia interview, pointing out (i) that the ski industry is reaching maturity and (ii) that it is losing market share to other activities, as the world travel market develops.  

In thinking through what Val Tho was all about, they decided to move away from focusing on being "the biggest" or (in their case) the highest.  Their review included a survey of 5,000 recent visitors:

We didn’t want to define our resort in terms of one group over another.  

The survey showed that Val Thorens combines the best of skiing with the best atmosphere, and that gave us our message.

We are a melting pot of activities, emotions, lifestyles, pulled together by a team spirit.  

We are a unifying, united resort – Val Thorens United. 

Gregory Guzzo (Source: Skipedia)

You can read more about the background in this action plan (in French).  But the Slideshare presentation, given a couple of months ago at a tourism conference, is more accessible.  It's in French too, but in a sort of franglais-management-speak.  Val Thorens United is now a registered trade mark.

As www.valthorensguide.co.uk points out, some things can be lost in translation.   The la neige en couleurs slogan has been translated by the tourist office as "multi-coloured snow".  Ahem.

And the resort's marketing busy-ness does not stop here.  This season, @Val_Tho is laying claim to the #wanttoski hashtag.  It even has a series of YouTube videos to go with the campaign:



The excellent Skipedia site tells the full story.

***

More about Val Thorens:

Here's how to drive there, via Nick Trend in the Telegraph.

Summer skiing on the Peclet ended in 2002.

Its Premier League partner is Newcastle United.

In December 2011, it was the site of the "Nazi Salute" stag party, attended by Tory MP Aiden Burley.

It is hardly a cycling mecca, but did feature as a Tour de France stage finish in 1994: