Ski area open from 13 december 2008 to 25 april 2009
250 km of pure ski pleasure
With 250km of pistes, Serre Chevalier is one of the Alps biggest ski areas.
The resort with 13 villages is spread over 4 areas: Briancon, Chantemerle, Villeneuve la Salle and le Monetier les Bains, at the gates of the Ecrins National Park. Great Ski in an high mountain atmosphere, peaceful ski in the mélèzes woods, ski with family in special areas... one Serre Che for everyone!
115 trails from the most peaceful to the most exiting... 250km of pleasure with 300 sunchine days per year!
Ski area Stats
115 trails:
-15 black
-42 red
-33 blue
-25 green
66 lifts
-3 cable cars
-6 gondola lifts
-9 high speed chair lifts
-12 standard chair lifts
-36 ski or drag lifts
Snow Making
The Serre Chevalier’s ski resort owns a large snow making network to ensure good ski conditions all season long.
146 ha of the ski area are covered by snow making facilities.
Resort Info
Serre Chevalier is one of the biggest ski resorts in Europe. Grand Serre Chevalier covers 250 kilometres of pistes, at altitudes of between 1200 and 2380 metres, for everyone from beginners to expert skiers!
Serre Chevalier is a long south-facing valley between the Col du Lautaret and Briançon with several villages and hamlets dotted along the way, ranging from the ultra modern to the most traditional.
Location
Serre Chevalier is in France’s Hautes-Alpes department, part of the PACA or Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. The Hautes-Alpes is France’s only department in the alpine chain situated entirely in the mountains, making it the highest department in the Alps.
The ski area covers several ’communes’ (the name for France’s smallest administrative districts).
Briançon
Puy Saint André
Puy Saint Pierre
Chantemerle (St Chaffrey)
Villeneuve (La Salle les Alpes)
Le Monêtier les Bains
Latitude and Longitude
Latitude : E 06° 34’ 18’’ - Longitude : N 44° 56’ 45’’
Resort lift highest point
2830 m, The Yret pike (Le Monetier les Bains)
Population
Permanent: 18,000 from Monêtier to Briançon (including all the townships)
Where does the name Serre Chevalier come from?
A valley as full of history as Serre Chevalier doesn’t have to ask a designer to come up with a logo for its resort. Thanks to its local heritage, the villages of Serre Chevalier came together under the banner of the ’Crowned Eagle’ that appears on the coat of arms of the Borel du Bez family.
The name Serre Chevalier comes from the ancient ’Oc’ dialect of southern France in which ’serre’ meant a hill or mound and ’cambeou’ was a flock… And it’s not difficult to work out the rest. Skiing was very much in vogue in the period after the First World War and Briançon was already attracting the world of show business. The Second World War would put an end to all that…
Opened in 1941, the Chantemerle ’téléphérique’ or cable car was Serre Chevalier’s first ski lift and was the longest ski lift in Europe. By the 1950s the resort was really starting to take off.
The name Serre Chevalier was finally adopted in 1968 and, with the inclusion of Mônetier les Bains, in 1984 the resort of Grand Serre Chevalier was born. In 1990 it was joined by the completely new Briançon ski area, and today the resort as a whole is known as Serre Chevalier.
A unique environment
Above Serre Chevalier rise the mountains of the Ecrins National Park and the area’s main asset is its climate, which is both Mediterranean and alpine in influence. With its protected environment and its clean and pure air, far from the traffic and the pollution of big cities, it has become a haven of health and well-being for its visitors.
There is a friendly atmosphere in the Guisane valley. This small valley opens its doors to tourists, without losing a sense of its traditions. Its permanent population are mountain folk at heart with an affinity for the south, a friendly smile for their visitors and a real sense of ’well-being’. In the Guisane valley you’re not just a tourist, you’re a guest.
As the winter winds blow in from the east, huge drifts of snow build up here. Yet the bad weather doesn’t stay for long, and as the clear blue skies return mountain lovers ski and board the slopes of the immense plateau that overlooks the right bank of the Guisane river. It is mostly north-facing and drops down towards Briançon just after the Pic du Prorel (2572m).
With its superb forests of centuries-old larches and a huge variety of pines, the ski area offers extremely varied and athletic skiing and boarding through valleys and coombs, from tree-lined pistes to wider, more open runs.
In this high-mountain environment you can ski or board from one slope to the next, from cosy runs through the woods that meander through and between the trees and each other. Also on offer in Serre Chevalier are some exceptional off-piste runs where the more extreme riders will feel at home.
A good skier in Serre Chevalier can cover more than 6000m vertical metres of descent in a single day.
Cross-country skiers are also catered for in Serre-Chevalier. The resort has a ’real’ cross-country track that winds its way along the bottom of the valley, running through the villages and larch forests, and which holds a quality label from the French cross-country skiing association.
History has left Serre Chevalier with a rich heritage and it acts as a beacon for the cultural identity of the region. Among the visible signs of this identity are the guardian-like 15th century clock towers built in the Lombard Romanesque style that appear in virtually all of hamlets in the valley.
Serre Chevalier is also blessed with natural hot springs that have been bubbling away in Le Monêtier les Bains (Serre Chevalier 1500) since the dawn of time.
This is currently the only resort in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region able to offer its customers a naturally heated swimming pool. The water rises to the surface at 44°C and cools as it is used in the outdoor and indoor pools (36°C) as well as individual tubs. It retains its healing properties and is beneficial in the treatment of rheumatism and skin conditions, and most of all it’s a great way to relax and recover at the end of the day. At night and during the day, there is nothing nicer than taking a relaxing dip in a hot tub while taking in the magnificent views of the surrounding glaciers, peaks and larch forests.
How to get here
Road
Three Motorways take you to within 100 km of the resort :
From Paris, Lyon, Turin or Nice, Motorway A43 (via Frejus Tunnel from north) : Exit Oulx, Montgenèvre, 35km from Serre Chevalier.
From Marseille, Montpellier, Take A51 motorway via Aix en Provence, Sisteron. Exit “La Saulce” at 90 km from Serre Chevalier. Much of the road is 3 lanes.
From Grenoble, Lyon or Paris : Motorway A51 exit Pont de Claix at 80 km from the resort via Lautaret Pass
Info Line : +33 (0)4 92 24 44 44
Rail
Briançon railway station is 6 km from the resort.
A direct night train links Paris to Briançon.
Other services connect with the major french towns and some european capitals : Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Brussels,
Amsterdam.
Information from French Railways SNCF.
Bus connections with TGV Paris-Grenoble
TGV station of Oulx (Italy), Paris-Milan line, is only 30 km from the resort : only a 4h40 journey from Paris to Oulx.
Plane
Nearest international airports :
Lyon-St Exupéry (160 km)
Turin-Caselle (110 km)
Greboble St Geors (160 km)
See the following carriers.
www.easyjet.com
www.ryanair.com
www.ba.com
www.flyglobespan.com |
