Montgenèvre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Montgenèvre |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Hautes-Alpes |
| Arrondissement | Briançon |
| Canton | Briançon-Nord |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Briançonnais |
| Mayor | M. Guy Hermitte (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 1,360 m–3,124 m (avg. 1,860 m) |
| Land area¹ | 40.07 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
497 |
| - Density | 12/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 05085/ 05100 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Montgenèvre is a commune of the Hautes-Alpes department in France.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Montgenèvre is located in the French Cottian Alps. It is on the Franco-Italian border at the top of the Col de Montgenèvre.
The source of the River Durance is in Les Gondorans ski area of Mongenèvre, this river is a tributary of the Rhône River.
[edit] The Ski Area
Montgenèvre is a ski resort. It is linked to the Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area, which has 400km of pistes. However in the resort there is only 65km. The 2006 Winter Olympics were held in the Via Lattea. The resort is famed for lots of sun, good snow record and very good for intermediates. There is ski from your door accommodation. The resort height begins at 1,860 meters and its highest point is 2,680 meters. It was built in 1907 and is celebrating its centenary year this year. It claims to be one of the first ski resorts in France. There is also an ice rink, but it lacks night life, which makes it family friendly.
Snowboard facilities include a half pipe and a snow park in Claviere.
Lifts
There are 35 lifts. This includes 2 gondolas, 12 chair lifts and 23 drag lifts.
Pistes
There are 59 pistes in the Montgenèvre. There is also 25km of cross-country skiing terrain. There is 18km of snow making equipment on the pistes. In the Monts de la Lune ski area which is connected to Claviere there is 71 pistes including 8 green, 19 blue, 30 red and 14 black runs.
[edit] Winter Activities
The winter season starts in late November and closes in late April.
Alpine Skiing - 65km in the resort with lots of lifts and snow making facilities.
Snowboarding - There is a half pipe and lots of wide slopes for the boarders.
Slaloming - There is a slalom course, which has regular competitions.
Cross Country Skiing - 25km of terrain where the French national team train.
Heli-Skiing - There are trips organised for the powder on peaks in both Italy and France.
Telemark Skiing - Involves walking up the mountain on skis and skiing back down for the super fit.
Snow-shoeing - There are numerous walks up the mountain side if you don't feel like skiing.
Snowmobiling - everynight there are octane fuelled adrenaline ride through the mountain at night time.
Sledging - There is a moving walkway to take you up the beginner slopes in the day. Lots of people come out at force in the evening and sledge.
Ice Skating - On the ice rink in the evenings.
Ski Tuition
There are 2 ski schools in the resort. They are ESF & APEAK. They both offer private and group tuition. APEAK ski school has a team of 12 instructors all fluent in English Italian and even Dutch for some of them. They all provide tuition and guiding adapted to the skills of their students. Most of APEAK instructors are locals and will know every single corner of the mountain. A top quality teaching and guiding place to go. Highly recommended for the ones that don't want just to follow. ESF has 90 instructors, and offer alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing and heli skiing activities as well as trips to Serre Chevalier and to the Olympic facilities. There is a snow garden when 4 years olds and children older can experience skiing.
[edit] Summer Activities
Golf - An international 18 hole golf course on the beginner slopes. This border gold course has 9 holes in France and 9 in Italy. There is also a driving range.
Mountain Biking - 3 Lifts are open in the summer for bikers and there is a bike park which has recently been built.
Kayaking/Rafting - Down stream on the Durance towards Briancon there is a gorge where clubs from Briancon use the river. There are lots of clubs which offer rafting/kayaking trips on the local rivers.
Walking - Discover the forests, lakes, forts and the source of the mighty River Durance. You can see the floura and fauna of the mountain side. This includes eagles, marmottes, rabbits, chamois and deer.
Fishing - There are numerous lakes at the bottom of the resort and up in the mountains. The main fish are trout.
Canyoning - In the local gorges and torrents.
Via Ferreta - Climbing and zip wires in the forest.
Swimming - There is a swimming pool in the village.
Tennis - there are 6 courts in the resort.
Horse Riding - In Les Alberts there is Cheval Montagne, which take horse rides up the Claree Valley.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Roads
The RN94 which climbs up the Col de Montgenèvre runs through the village. A tunnel has recently been built to divert through traffic under the village, making the resort more peaceful. The road runs to Briançon and Oulx. There is a road to Grenoble from Briançon on the RN91 over the Col du Lautaret.
Calais Ferry Port is a 10 hour 30 minutes drive away on French Motorways.
[edit] Aeroplane
The nearest interneational airport is Turin International Airport, an hour and a half drive (101 km) away. Grenoble-Isère Airport is 222km away and a 2 hour 25 minutes drive away from the resort.
[edit] Train
There is a bus to Oulx Railway station in the Susa Valley. This station serves the TGV line between Milan - Turin - Modane - Paris. Paris is 4 and a half hours away from Oulx.
There is an SNCF train station in nearby French town of Briançon. Which has a train service to Gap, Valence TGV, Lyon and Paris.
[edit] Bus
There is a bus service which connects the resort to Briançon and Oulx railway station.
There is also a village bus for skiers so that they can return to their accommodation which runs between 8.30-18.00.
There are 3 buses a day to the village of Les Alberts at the foot of the Col de Montgenèvre in the Val Claree.
[edit] Linked Resorts
It is a part of the Via Lattea (Milky Way ski area in Italy, where the 2006 Winter Olympics were held.
Claviere - This small resort is just over the border in Italy and is included in the Monts de la lune lift pass. It is where the Olympic cross country ski teams practised in the Olympics in 2006.
San Sicario - They held the Biathlon and Alpine skiing events here in the 2006 winter Olympics. They also held the Bobsleigh and luge events here. You can attempt the Olympic women's super G and downhill courses.
Sestriere - This resort was founded by the owner of Fiat. It has been recently sold. The resort held the downhill skiing events and the Olympic village is situated in the village for the 2006 winter Olympics. You can attempt the men's Olympic downhill and super-G courses.
Sauze d'Oulx - Free Style Skiing Olympic events held here in 2006. The resort is acclaimed for its lively apres-ski.
Serre Chevalier - Nearby French resort with over 250km of skiing. There is a free day of skiing here on your lift pass.
