Illustrative photo of skiers on a Courchevel slope, in a season preceding the arrival of the Covid-19.

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Courchevel Tourism

  • The closure of ski lifts for the entire ski season, a priori prevents the practice of alpine skiing in France.

  • But in addition to maintaining children's lessons in most resorts, the municipality of Courchevel (Savoie) provides everyone with a 2 km blue run.

  • Open on Saturday, groomed and secure, it will make it possible during all the February holidays to welcome winter sports enthusiasts.

The alpine ski season officially started on Saturday morning in Courchevel.

Do not imagine, in a sweet dream, the reopening of the colossal 3 Valleys area, with its 600 km of slopes.

Deprived of ski lifts, the general public will have to be content with free access, by road, to a 2 km blue run.

Until Sunday March 7 and the end of the holidays, this Bellecôte slope is groomed and secure.

"We are the only ones in France to have opened a track in this way, and we hope that this initiative will have a snowball effect in the other resorts," indicates Alexia Lainé, Marketing Director of Courchevel Tourisme.

The idea is to prevent people from skiing anywhere, and we want to please tourists.

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The difficult weather did not help the enthusiasm for this initiative on Saturday and Sunday, while Courchevel also offers five ski touring routes and 90 km of area dedicated to cross-country skiing.

But a few hundred curious took advantage of this free track under the sun this Monday.

Unlike in Val Thorens, for example, the configuration of this resort made it possible to consider this fallback solution, so that snow sports fans can reach the Altiport by car.

"It's our only open track so we pamper it," smiles Alexia Lainé.

There is not the slightest risk of avalanche because there are no high mountains around.

This Bellecôte slope is also proving to be invaluable for the (maintained) lessons for beginners in ski schools, as well as for the four restaurants in the area offering take-out.

A snowshoe climb rather than a car?

"This openness can only promote our economy and give a good image of the mountain", considers Alexia Lainé.

Including whether groups have fun going up the path to the Altiport ten times a day with their vehicle?

“Until then, I mostly see a lot of people going up the track on snowshoes before putting on their skis once we get to the top,” assures the marketing director of Courchevel Tourisme.

With the closure of the ski lifts, we are currently at 40% of our usual road traffic for a month of February.

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The town, which does not set up a shuttle to reach the Altiport, also takes care to reduce the schedules of its shuttles from Praz "to prevent holidaymakers from crowding into these buses".

So, conquered by this blue dream versionCovid-19?

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