While the town hall of La Grave and the concessionary company are considering replacing a ski lift on the glacier, a group of citizens is campaigning for the project to be abandoned. Supported by Patagonia, this alternative solution favours returning the area to nature.
After the launch of its BackCountry Touring campaign (see below), Patagonia will unveil the film "Vanishing Lines" in December, in which we discover the issues surrounding the fight led by snow brand ambassadors Mitch Tolderer and Lena Stoffel against the expansion of the ski area on the Pitztal glacier in Austria (see the film trailer below).
This local problem also resonates in France and more particularly in La Grave where the glacier is also at the center of attention concerning its use for alpine skiing. Niels Martin, a member of the " La Grave Autrement ", explains the stakes in this Hautes-Alpes resort.
The specific context at La Grave
"You have to know that La Grave is not a classic resort. We have a cable car initially built for the summer in the 1970s which gradually started to open in winter. But there has never been a specific piste under the cable car. So those who ski here have always done so off-piste. Today, we have a clientele that comes specifically to La Grave for off-piste skiing. In the summer, we have a clientele made up more of people who come here to observe the panorama as well as a small clientele of mountaineers."
"The cable car is in two sections that take you from 1500 metres to 3200 metres to the Col des Ruillans, located at the foot of the Girose glacier. On this glacier, a small and rather rudimentary ski lift was built in 1986, which allowed us to create ski slopes from 3,600 metres. So in the summer, this section obviously doesn't work. Today, this small lift is completely obsolete, the glacier is melting and this lift is no longer suitable for the height of the glacier."
I love this photo taken last year in La Grave 🏔 Especially as this glacier tunnel has disappeared since then, it makes it unique 🙌
#alps #adventure #photography #outdoor #outdoorphotography #glacier #skier #mountains #experience #freeride #alpes #photography #photography pic.twitter.com/Z75ACcEcln
- Paul Brechu (@paulbrechu) February 12, 2021
Two opposing visions
"Today, there are two ways of looking at the future of this ski lift. One is to replace it and build a third section of the cable car to continue to go to 3600 metres. The objective of this project is economic, because it will bring in an additional clientele, especially in summer. On the other hand, in terms of traffic management, making a third section on the cable car will avoid a traffic jam on the first two. This project would cost 14 million euros, including 4 million euros of public money.
With the collective "La Grave Autrement", we defend another vision, namely to dismantle the ski lift and put nothing in its place, leaving this space virgin. We believe that the clientele who come in winter are mainly interested in off-piste skiing and are not necessarily looking for groomed runs. In 2021, planing a glacier to make a ski run on a glacier is a bit outdated. We are campaigning to improve the current arrival point at 3200 metres where we are already on an exceptional site, 30 metres from the glacier with an incredible view. It's also a starting point for easy mountaineering trips, ideal for initiation and training, which is obviously more interesting for mountaineers without a cable car overhead."
"At present, the city council has refused to hear our arguments. We are now trying to demonstrate that our idea is relevant. That's why we launched a crowdfunding campaign which has allowed us to finance a study by an independent firm is in the process of making a diagnosis of the territory, and will then evaluate our proposal as well as the one proposed by the city council and the concessionaire. The firm can prove us wrong, but we are confident. The study is currently underway and we expect the first results in the spring of 2022. If the study goes our way, we would like both projects to be proposed to the local population, who were not, moreover, associated with the decision taken by the Town Hall."
How Patagonia is involved in this issue:
"Patagonia is helping us to publicize this issue at La Grave. The brand has also been helpful in allowing us to complete our crowdfunding campaign. We still need a small part of the funding for the second part of the study. So we applied for a grant through 1% for the Planet. A program that Patagonia has been involved with for a long time."
Patagonia's BackCountry Touring campaign:
Through its ski touring clothing range, Patagonia aims to involve skiers and snowboarders in their choice of more sustainable ski touring clothing, thus allowing them to use their equipment for longer. Preserving our playground is part of our responsibility as winter sports enthusiasts and consumers.
1% for the Planet:
" 1% for the Planet "This now global corporate movement is to dedicate 1% of its revenue to the protection and restoration of the environment. This now global corporate movement is to donate 1% of its sales to environmental protection and restoration. "To date, we have donated more than $89 million in cash and in-kind donations to U.S. and international environmental groups conducting grassroots activism," said Patagonia.
