Page 9 - Guida di Claviere e Montgenevre

sotto l’impulso del Club Alpino Francese (CAF), del Touring Club di Francia e
dell’esercito, la stazione accoglie il suo primo concorso di salto con gli sci. Il
norvegese Durban Hansen vincerà la competizione superando più di 26 me-
tri. Nel dopoguerra il villaggio vede sfilare un’élite di turisti dove aristocratici
si mescolano con borghesi oziosi. Con l’installazione di uno skilift al Prarial nel
1936 la pratica dello sci diventò gradualmente un vero e proprio fenomeno
di massa.
Negli anni ‘30 e ‘40 Montgenèvre è luogo d’appuntamento del jet-set parigi-
no. Il proprietario del ‘Boeuf sur le toit’, celebre cabaret di Parigi, M. Moyses,
rileva il Grand Hôtel e trascina con sè una scia di famosi artisti e scrittori. Du-
rante quest’epoca, si potevano incontrare nel villaggio Cocteau, Gabin, Colet-
te, Paul Emile Victor, Mistinguett ed altri ancora...
introduction

Situated at 1.860m., Montgenèvre joins the charm of an alpine village to the presence of
modern skiing structures, it is in fact the only French resort connected to the Vialattea. It
is easily accessible: 4h30 from Paris; 1h5 from Turin; 19Km from the train station of Oulx;
12Km from the train station of Briançon.
Situated between two mountain slopes, the town is made up of two villages, Montgenèvre
on the hill and Les Alberts at the entry of the Vallée of the Clarée. The top of the hill, that
represents the watershed of the Durance, is set among mountain lawns and river springs like
that of the Dora that for its geographical position, enjoys an exceptional exposure (300 days
of sun a year). Its slopes follow larch trees, woods and pines and the valleys offer a panora-
ma at the Massicio of the Oisans, of the Queyras and of Italy. The slopes stretch over 400km.
Since 2010 the Monty Express has been operative: a sleigh track 1,400m. long. It is in fact
a resort of excellence for families: entertainment, luge piste, safe skiing area for beginners,
playgrounds, etc.
The name of Montgenèvre derives from the word ‘auberge’, in fact in ancient times it was a
stop for the travellers that transited to the hill. Still visible testimonies are the ‘cours’, porti-
cos where the wayfarers mended wagons and mounts. Montgenèvre has been able to main-
tain its mountain ‘charme’ despite the adverse historical events: part of the delfinato from
1255, was then incorporated in the Kingdom of France in 1349, the village was set on fire
by the troops of the Duke of Savoy in 1706. Montgenèvre, intended as a real skiing district,
was opened in 1907. In 1895 skiing presented itself in the village for the first time: two
Norwegian officers effected a ski demonstration and the French soldiers were introduced
to this discipline.
In 1903 the Department of War created the first ski school in Briançon: more than 5,000
soldiers, up to 1914, learnt the techniques of skiing. At the time, a baton was used for
maintaining balance and, to stop, you simply let yourself fall to the ground, an empirical
technique that is still known as ‘Briançonnais stop’. The transformation into a real ski resort
st
is marked by the organization of the 1 international competition in Montgènevre: in 1907,
under the impulse of the French Alpine Club (CAF), of the French Touring Club and and of the
army, the station welcomed its first ski jump contest. The Norwegian Durban Hansen won
the competition by jumping more than 26m.
In the postwar period the village saw an elite of tourists where aristocrats mix with the idle
bourgeois. The installation of a skilift at the Prarial (1936) accelerated the phenomenon and
gradually the practice of skiing became a real mass event. In the 30’s and 40’s, Montgenèvre
was the rendez-vous spot of the Parisian jet-set. The owner of the ‘Boeuf sur le toits’, famous
Parisian cabaret, Mr. Moyses took over the Grand Hôtel and took with him a group of artists
and writers. During this period, it was possible to meet celebrities such as Cocteau, Gabin,
Colette, Paul Emile Victor, Mistinguett and many more...