L’Alpe d’Huez (French pronunciation: [l‿al.pə d‿ɥɛz]) is a ski resort in Southeastern France at 1,250 to 3,330 metres (4,100 to 10,925 ft). It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
It is part of the Grandes Rousses massif, over the Oisans, and is 59 km (37 mi) from Grenoble. The Alpe d’Huez resort is accessible from Grenoble by the RD 1091 [fr], which runs along the Romanche Valley passing through the communes of Livet-et-Gavet and Le Bourg-d’Oisans as well as Haut-Oisans via the Col de Sarenne.
Alpe d’Huez is known internationally as an iconic cycling venue, as it is used regularly in the Tour de France cycle race, including twice on the same day in 2013. In 2019, it became the site of the first Tomorrowland Winter festival.
The site of the Alpe has been permanently occupied since the Middle Ages. East of L’Alpe veti, a medieval agglomeration had grown from the end of the 11th to the 14th century under the name of Brandes. It was composed of a castle, a parish church with a cemetery, a village with about 80 homes, surface and underground mine workings, as well as several industrial districts. Its occupants operated a silver mine on behalf of the Dauphin. It is currently the only medieval coron [fr] known and preserved in its entirety, making it a unique site in Europe and classified as historical monuments by a decree of 6 August 1995.
Excavated and studied continuously since 1977 by a team of the CNRS, this site is registered as an historic monument. The medieval mining operation stretched from Gua (the Sarenne [fr] Valley) to the Lac Blanc [White Lake] (Massif des Rousses). The massif was also the subject of mining operations, including copper, from the Bronze Age.
It is also at Alpe d’Huez where botanist Gaston Bonnier began his study of flora of France in 1871.
The station was developed from the 1920s. This is where the first platter lift for skiers was opened in 1936 with perches by Jean Pomagalski [fr], creator of the Poma company.
On average, Alpe d’Huez experiences 159.9 days per year with a minimum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F), 22.7 days per year with a minimum temperature below −10 °C (14.0 °F), and 42.4 days per year with a maximum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F). The record high temperature was 29.5 °C (85.1 °F) on 18 July 2023, while the record low temperature was −25.2 °C (−13.4 °F) on 5 February 2012.
Each year, the Alpe d’Huez Film Festival is held in January.
Alpe d’Huez also has an altiport, the Alpe d’Huez Airport, built for the 10th Winter Olympics held at Grenoble in 1968. It was named for Henri Giraud [fr] on 15 April 2000, in memory of the famous mountain pilot. The altiport hosts helicopters including those of civil security, SAF Helicopteres and the Dauphiné flying club. A gourmet restaurant is located on the edge of the platform.
The church
Main article: Notre Dame des Neiges, L’Alpe d’Huez
Alpe d’Huez has a modern and original church, the appearance of which recalls a silhouette of the Virgin Mary. Under the leadership of Father Jaap Reuten, head of the parish from 1964 to 1992, it was designed by the architect Jean Marol in the 1960s (completed in 1970), and decorated with colour-rich stained-glass windows by the artist Arcabas.
This church houses a pipe organ which is unique in the world. The organ takes the form of a hand drawn up towards the sky, designed by composer Jean Guillou and the German organ builder Detlef Kleuker. Each year, concerts are held around this instrument on Thursday night, winter and summer, as well as organ, pan flute and choral courses during the summer.
The Heritage House of Oisans [fr] (or Musée d’Huez et de Oisans), of the Musée de France.
Alpe d’Huez is primarily used for downhill, or Alpine skiing.
Alpe d’Huez is one of Europe’s premier skiing venues. The site of the Pomagalski’s first surface lift in the mid thirties, the resort gained popularity when it hosted the bobsleigh events of the 1968 Winter Olympics. At that time the resort was seen as a competitor to Courchevel as France’s most upmarket purpose built resort but the development of Les Trois Vallées, Val d’Isère, Tignes, La Plagne and Les Arcs saw Alpe D’Huez fall from favour in the 1970s and early 1980s.
With 249 kilometres (155 miles) of piste and 84 ski lifts, the resort is now one of the world’s largest. Extensive snowmaking facilities helped combat the ski area’s largely south-facing orientation and helped Alpe d’Huez appeal to beginner skiers, with very easy slopes. The expansion of the skiing above the linked resorts of Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard Reculas and Auris boosted the quantity and quality of intermediate grade slopes but the resort is mostly known for freeskiing, drawing many steep skiing enthusiasts to its high altitude terrain.
Aside from the Tunnel and Sarenne black runs, the latter the world’s longest at 16 kilometres (10 miles),……