"Unfortunately, there will be no opening of the ski lifts on February 1 due to the sanitary situation",
confirmed Wednesday late afternoon, during a press conference, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, the Secretary of State for Tourism.
“And the prospect of opening in mid or late February seems highly improbable.
We are moving towards a
white season,
”
he added, definitively showering the last hopes of skiers and mountain professionals.
They do not see themselves opening the slopes in March or April, while spring skiing has not been successful for a long time.
“Work on an opening date is over, now we have to work on economic support measures”
, concluded Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
So what can be done in the resort if downhill skiing is not possible?
As the February holidays approach,
"this is the first question for customers,"
the tourist offices of four resorts in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Vosges and the Jura, answered us yesterday, which are radically different but where the skiing of descent is, in normal times, the attraction number 1. Thus in Gérardmer (Vosges), where the Nordic area is however three times larger than the Alpine area,
"80% of holidaymakers come to hit the slopes"
, explains Bruno Poizat , the director of the tourist office.
"Even if they vary the pleasures by alternating the leisure activities of snow, downhill skiing remains despite everything the main activity in February"
, indicates, for its part, the tourist office of Métabief (Jura).
Read also: Cross-country skiing: the top 10 resorts in France
Will the skiers who had booked give up coming to the mountain?
"For the moment, we have not recorded any cancellations
", replied yesterday Laurent Garcia, the director of the tourist office of Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (Hautes-Pyrénées).
At the start of the week, the booking schedule for February had not changed since the end of October.
People were waiting.
"Before the government decision not to open the ski areas, we were at 60% average occupancy over the four weeks of school holidays
," continues Laurent Garcia.
Now there will surely be cancellations but also hopefully reservations.
I therefore expect 70% attendance thanks to an increased range of activities compared to Christmas ”
.
There will surely be cancellations but also, hopefully, reservations.
I therefore expect 70% of attendance in February, thanks to an increased range of activities.
Laurent Garcia, director of the tourist office of Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (Hautes-Pyrénées
Postcard landscapes
At the top of the Métabief ski area, panoramic views of the Alps and Mont-Blanc.
Métabief mont d'or @ smmo
In Tignes (Savoie), on the other hand, cancellations began on Monday, January 18, following press articles announcing that the ski lifts would likely remain closed.
In Gérardmer and Métabief, optimism remained despite everything about attendance during the holidays.
Yesterday, these two stations had, in fact, recorded no cancellations.
By New Year's week, they had a hit with almost 100% infill, and since the holidays, weekends fill up.
The reasons of this success ?
The exceptional snow cover of the Vosges and Jura this winter and the proximity of major cities, Nancy, Strasbourg, Luxembourg and even Paris for Gérardmer, Besançon and Dijon for Métabief.
“The snowy Jura is a postcard
, enthuses Julien Vrignon, director of the Haut-Doubs tourist office.
People will come, they want the great outdoors and beautiful landscapes and they want to enjoy the snow.
Every weekend, we receive a lot of students from Dijon and Besançon ”
.
Read also: Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing ... In the Jura, our selection of Nordic activities
“
Unlike the Alps and the
Pyrenees
, our little isolated massifs are easy to access
,” analyzes Bruno Poizat, in Gérardmer.
This winter, the landscapes are sumptuous.
In just over an hour's drive, a Nancy man leaves the grayness and arrives here in Alaska!
As for those addicted to great alpine skiing who do not usually opt for the Vosges, if they really want white, they will be less frustrated at not being able to wear shoes here than in
Val-d'Isère
.
And as long as they come by car, they will be able to get around easily, we are not in the high mountains, just to vary the activity sites and to discover the region ”.
So, back to square one, what can we do since the ski lifts are at a standstill?
Running in during the end of year holidays, the B plans are ready.
Featured are snowshoe outings, possible everywhere, followed by Nordic skiing, ski touring and, for children, introductions to alpine skiing in the snow gardens equipped with a treadmill.
So much for it.
Now let's go into detail for each of the stations.
Read also: Ski touring, everything you need to know before starting out
Tignes (Savoie): multi-activity
Nordic atmosphere in Tignes, Monday January 18.
Hugo Template
"Even if the ski lifts are not running, we are still a holiday destination"
, insists Frédéric Porte, director of Tignes Développement.
The large sports resort has therefore gone to great lengths to occupy holidaymakers.
Starting with cross-country skiing, accessible to all floors, Tignes-les-Brévières (1,500 m), Tignes 1,800, Tignes-Le lac and Val-Claret (2,100 m).
That is to say a total of 14 km of ascending routes marked in green and blue, assorted, to descend, with dedicated green and blue tracks as well, plus a red and a black one.
Friendly.
Read also: Ski touring: five resorts in the Alps to learn about
The rest of the time will be shared between snowshoes, on these same uphill routes, around the lake or crossing it, if safety permits;
a little Nordic skiing, also around the lake;
tobogganing and snow tubing.
Plus guided snowmobile and moon bike outings.
This electric mini-snowmobile, therefore silent, is the novelty of winter.
In the ice chapter: skating and curling on a small specially equipped track plus, as usual, driving on ice on the circuit of Brévières and diving under ice in the lake.
Finally, to get some fresh air in every sense of the word, we can fly in a microlight.
Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (Pyrenees): downhill skiing and ski lift
It is with sealskin or snow groomer that we will gain altitude in Peyragudes.
OT Peyragudes
No, you're not dreaming.
There is indeed a ski lift in service: the cable car which connects the village of Loudenvielle (900 m) to the station of Peyragudes (1,600 m).
A stroke of luck this recent "valley lift", inaugurated in summer 2019 and considered as a means of transport in the same way as a bus and not as a ski area equipment, even if it serves one.
Result: it has the right to function, since no ski slope plunges into the valley.
On the other hand, you can go back down there, as in summer, on a mountain bike or mountain scooter, or even on the handlebars of a fatbike, this all-terrain bike with large wheels specially invented for riding on snow.
There will be more snowshoeing and ski touring routes than at Christmas, around fifteen in all, the first marked out at the top, at Peyragudes and below, at Loudenvielle, especially around the lake.
As for ski touring, it traces on the closed ski area.
Already equipped with two dedicated climbing routes, this one will offer three or four more in February, prepared on closed ski slopes, all of course with safe descents.
Read also: Snowshoeing: the new routes to test this winter
So, what about downhill skiing?
Patience, we come with ski and snowboard initiations for all in a dedicated area, equipped with a conveyor belt.
And above all, this brand new initiative, registered yesterday: snow groomer and ski descent.
“A skier will obviously not be able to do this all day because a snow groomer can only carry 18 people and, given the compulsory distance, there will be fewer people on board,
warns Laurent Garcia.
The number of elected officials, upon paying registration, will therefore be limited ”
.
but it's better than nothing.
To make the pleasure last, the descent, 600 m of vertical drop, will be supervised by trackers who will multiply the stops to explain the snow, the life of mountain animals, etc. ... That non-skiers be reassured, this Educational groomer ride will be open to them for a commented round trip.
Métabief (Jura): Nordic skiing and hiking
If you've never been on Nordic skis, it's winter or never.
A founder at heart, the Jura has hundreds of cross-country trails.
With this profusion of snow, everything is open, perfectly maintained and signposted.
And the instructors are ready to provide skating-style snow lessons and not alternative.
For two years, however, Métabief has subscribed to the fashion for alpine ski touring.
Three routes have therefore been signposted to climb sealskin.
Traced in the forest, they leave the station (900 m) and arrive at the top of the ski area, 1,420 m, modest altitude but gigantic panorama on the French and Swiss Alps, from Mont-Blanc to the Bernese giants.
As for snowshoe trails, they are legion in this northern territory.
So fitted, you can even play mountaineers by climbing the King's summit of the Doubs: the Mont d'Or rises to 1,463 m above Métabief, right next to the ski area, so it also offers a view breathtaking.
“In addition to supervised outings, we hope to set up outdoor activities
,” adds Julien Vrignon.
And we will also publish a small guide to restaurants that sell take-out ”
.
Good idea, the local specialties are a treat.
Read also: 10 small hotels for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in the Jura and the Vosges mountains
Gérardmer (Vosges): thoroughly and on foot
Gérardmer lake: 6 km on foot to go around it.
Mathieu Bigard-Hautes-Vosges inter-municipal tourist office.
The "pearl of the Vosges", according to Abel Hugo (Victor's brother) in the 19th century, is a pretty little town of 10,000 inhabitants, located 1,000 m away, on the edge of a lake crimped between mountains covered with pine trees.
Its Nordic area slides over 100 km, in conjunction with the neighboring resorts of Xonrupt and La Bresse-Hohneck.
The region also has a total of around one hundred kilometers of snowshoe trails, including 40 km in the town of Gérardmer.
In short, there is something to rebuild your health.
Except that rackets are taken by storm in sports shops.
“Better to book them before coming, or even rent or buy them at home,”
advises Bruno Poizat.
But if a simple oxygenation walk is enough for you, go around the lake, 6 km all the same on well-packed snow, the walk is very busy, so no need for snowshoes, phew, saved.
Read also: Nights in a hytte, forest baths and spa: Scandinavian-style weekend in the Vosges
As for ski touring, be careful.
The darling of the marked and safe routes not having contaminated Gérardmer, it is practiced here as in the good old days: off-piste, in powder snow and downhill itou.
This winter, the locals are doing it on the closed alpine domain.
But their favorite terrain is the crests of Hohneck, a "balloon" (AOC from the Vosges summits) of only 1,363 m in altitude but with a breathtaking view of the famous blue line of the Vosges.
High mountain atmosphere guaranteed, so avalanche risks to be feared.
If you are a good skier, why not, but go with an instructor or a guide, it's safer.
Finally, once is not customary, treat yourself to an après-ski session of sales, normally impossible in the resort in high winter season.
Except in Gérardmer where household linen is king.
The opportunity to redo, not your wardrobe but your collection of tablecloths, napkins and tea towels.
The first two waves of vacationers will be able to enjoy it until Tuesday, February 16.