{"id":298,"date":"2016-11-23T04:28:07","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T04:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/2016\/11\/the-future-of-la-grave\/"},"modified":"2016-11-23T04:28:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T04:28:07","slug":"the-future-of-la-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/2016\/11\/the-future-of-la-grave\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of La Grave"},"content":{"rendered":"

thelastchair<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

(Written by Alastair Instone – November 20, 2016)<\/i><\/p>\n

Many of you know La Grave<\/a> – you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been there and experienced everything
\n that is wild, crazy and weird about it<\/a>. If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t visited, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s
\nwhat you need to know about it: big mountain, big (old, slow) ski lift,
\n7,000\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 vertical drop, no pistes, no signs, no ski patrol. You take
\nresponsibility for yourself – for having fun, but also for getting down
\nsafely (or at all – far better skiers than me have gone out, never to
\nreturn). THIS FILM <\/a>and THIS FILM<\/a> give an impression of what the place is about. It can be a place of the
\n best of times, also the worst of times. It is unique, and one of the
\nmost special places to ride mountains.<\/p>\n

Alongside this, the local native population have suffered from long-term
\n poverty and depopulation as their children chase jobs elsewhere. The
\nFrench locals have always had an uncomfortable relationship with
\ntourism.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

\nLa Grave – as we know it – is under threat. The lease to manage the lift
\n is due for a change of management; different parties are in the running
\n but the most likely candidate is Compagnie des Alpes<\/a> (effectively the
\nEuropean Intrawest). Their MO runs against what makes LG special in
\nalmost every way: they do high-speed, high-capacity lifts; pistes; real
\nestate development and so on. If, as looks likely, they win the contract
\n to operate the lift, La Grave will probably become just another typical
\n ski hill, albeit with some insane terrain beyond the rope.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

A big investment by a big company would bring some benefits to some of
\nthe local people, but they would not be evenly shared. Many local people
\n are thrilled at the possibilities a big inward investment would bring;
\nmany are uncomfortable with the prospect of the character of the place
\nbeing dramatically altered. It is a complicated issue.<\/p>\n

A group of skiers (not people I know personally) are trying to offer an
\nalternative to a big company running the lift: a crowdfunded campaign to
\n raise funds to put together a bid to operate the lift, but also to show
\n the depth of support for keeping La Grave special and unique. Their aim
\n is to run the lift, but also to improve its operation and bring about
\nsustainable development and growth for all the local people.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

\nI think the whole local political situation is complex, but I believe
\nthat this campaign offers the best chance to keep La Grave special for
\nskiers. Many of us are increasingly faced with ugly political situations
\n at home, but – as skiers – this is a positive movement to get behind.
\nPlease watch the video below, have a look at the Crowdfunding Page<\/a>, and consider pledging.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

thelastchair: (Written by Alastair Instone – November 20, 2016) Many of you know La Grave – you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been there and experienced everything that is wild, crazy and weird about it. If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t visited, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you need to know about it: big mountain, big (old, slow) ski lift, 7,000\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 vertical drop, no pistes, no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[103,104,105,94,102],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-backcountry","tag-france","tag-la-grave","tag-ski","tag-skiing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samh.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}