Page 9 - Guida di Claviere e Montgenevre

l’equilibrio e, per fermarsi, ci si lasciava semplicemente cadere a terra, tecnica
empirica che resterà sotto il nome di arresto Briançonnais.
La trasformazione in vera e propria stazione sciistica è segnata dall’organiz-
zazione a Montgènevre della prima competizione internazionale: nel 1907,
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 parigino.
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. Durante
quest’epoca, si potevano incontrare nel villaggio Cocteau, Gabin, Colette, Paul
introduction Situated at 1.860m., Montgenèvre joins the charm of an alpine village to the presence
Emile Victor, Mistinguett ed altri ancora...

of modern skiing structures, it is in fact the only French resort connected to the Vialat-
tea. 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, Mont-
genèvre 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 exceptio-
nal exposure (300 days of sun a year). Its slopes follow larch trees, woods and pines and
the valleys offer a panorama 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’, porticos where the wayfarers mended wagons and mounts. Montgenèvre has
been able to maintain 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 em-
pirical technique that is still known as ‘Briançonnais stop’. The transformation into a
st
real ski resort 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