If people had known what a playground for the posh the French resort town of Courchevel would become, the many international powers who have ruled it over the centuries may not have given it up so easily. The Alpine region of Savoy was, up until 1860, a spoil of European wars, having been held by France, the dukes of Savoy, and the Holy Roman Empire. Situated in Les Trois Vallées, 138 miles from the Italian border, the world’s largest contiguous ski area now known as Courchevel is the result of one of the most successful experiments in postwar exurban planning (and the creation of the first passenger chairlift). Celebrities and captains of industry have loved it almost since its inception in the 40’s, and they keep coming back. Nowadays, Courchevel claims 60-plus resorts, two Michelin-starred restaurants, designer boutiques, and ostentatious mega-chalets. It’s the kind of place where you can have as much fun off the slopes—was that Posh Spice at J. Mendel?—as on them. And with some of the finest skiing in the Alps, that’s saying a lot.
1860
After Emperor Napoleon III helps the House of Savoy banish the Austrian Empire from its territory, he is given the regions of Savoy and Nice. In one fell swoop, two of the world’s greatest vacation areas—the southwestern Alps and the Côte d’Azur—are united under the French flag.
1936
Skiing changes dramatically as, halfway around the world in Sun Valley, Idaho, James Curran, a bridge engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, invents the simple chairlift while looking for a way to load bananas onto a conveyor. With concurrent advancements in gondola technology, Les Trois Vallées will become the largest fully linked slope system by 1979.
1943
Not even fascism can stop a vacation concept whose time has come. Avid French skier and architect Laurent Chappis, while imprisoned in an Austrian POW camp, finishes his doctoral thesis on…developing a ski paradise in Les Trois Vallées. Chappis even manages to get his hands on a scale map of the area while he’s still in captivity.
1946
As building is completed, Chappis lays the groundwork for mountain resorts everywhere: he experiments with ski-in/ski-out residences and the protection of natural resources. Courchevel’s tiered development has three lift platforms, named for their height in meters; 1850 becomes the most elite, with the Hôtel de la Loze (doubles from $364) opening one year later.
1961
Courchevel’s new airport welcomes the jet set, but building it is no easy task. The perilous 1,722-foot uphill runway, carved out of the mountainside, finishes at an abrupt vertical drop. It seems nothing is too dangerous for society swashbucklers.
Comments (1)
Open / Closewow
i must go here!
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