commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in southeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
It is a small
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
in the
French Alps
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...
, dominated by
La Meije
La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère ''départements''. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-piste ...
(3982 m). It was the birthplace of
Nicolas de Nicolay
Nicolas de Nicolay, Sieur d'Arfeville & de Belair, (1517–1583) of the Nicolay (family) was a French geographer.
Biography
Born at la Grave in Oisans, in the Dauphiné, he left France in 1542 to participate in the siege of Perpignan which was ...
; adventurer and Geographer Ordinary to
Henry II of France
Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...
.
Skiing
The area is unpisted and although patrolled, has no formal
avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
control. The area is dangerous to ski unless supported by a guide, including much
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
travel at the very top.
La Grave is visited by off-piste and extreme skiers. The vertical drop totals 2,150 metres, although it is possible to ski below the resort to the road and increase the vertical descent to 2,300 metres.
Mechanical access to the mountain is limited to a closed, two-stage, pulse gondola system. The first lift starts at 1,450 metres, runs through one intermediate station (known as P1 at 1,800 metres) then terminates at Peyrou d'Amont (2,400 metres). The second stage of the gondola runs directly from Peyrou d'Amont to the Col des Ruillans (3,200 metres). The top of the gondola then allows access to button lift (which is the world's only fully suspended surface lift) to reach the top of the Girose Glacier (3550m). The Girose Glacier can also be reached from the resort of
Les Deux Alpes
Les 2 Alpes () is a ski resort in the French '' department'' of Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The village sits at and lifts run to . It has the largest skiable glacier in Europe and is France's second oldest ski resort behind Chamonix. It h ...
on the other side, although this entails a one to two kilometre walk.
There are two main routes of descent. To the skier's right of the gondola station at the Col des Ruillans are 'Les Vallons de La Meije', a variation of which leads to the Trifides couloirs, and ultimately to the valley bottom and the Romanche River. Skiers can also make leftwards traverses to return to Peyrou d'Amont or P1 to avoid skiing the lower section which can be rocky or even grassy meadows in poor snow conditions.
To the skier's left from the Col des Ruillans is known as the Chancel route (also accessible from the Girose Glacier) which leads to several couloirs (the Banane, Patou, Couloir du Lac) around the Lac de Puyvachier and the Refuge Evariste Chancel. Below this point skiers can either traverse right to return to P1 or descend directly to the valley floor and village of Les Fréaux via the steep Fréaux Couloir.
Alternative descents include various routes to the south of the highest point of the lifts (the Dome de Lauze, at the top of the T-bar) in the Vallon du Diable. These lead to the village of St Christophe en Oisans from which alternative transport must be arranged in order to return to La Grave or to join the Deux Alpes lift system and return via the top of the Girose Glacier. There are several direct routes from the top of the Girose Glacier to the valley such as Chirouse and Orcières; these involve complex routefinding and sometimes abseils. Other routes include the Pan du Rideau and Y-Couloir, reached via a walk from the top of the first T-bar; they involve a steep ski down onto the Glacier du Rateau then rejoin the Vallons de La Meije.
In April 2006
Doug Coombs
Doug Coombs (September 24, 1957 – April 3, 2006) was an American alpine skier and mountaineer who helped to pioneer the sport of extreme skiing, both in North America and worldwide.
Early life and education
Coombs was born in Boston and gr ...
died while trying to save a friend in the Couloir de Polichinelle.
There are restaurants at Peyrou d'Amont and the Col des Ruillans, and food is served at the Refuge Evariste Chancel. Beds at both the Refuge and in a sleeping space in the Col des Ruillans restaurant.
The lease on the cable car is due to expire in 2017. As of 2015, no one had shown interest in taking over the cable car.
Ice climbing
La Grave is also a location for ice climbing. The valley receives little sun in winter and icefalls form on the valley sides. Climbing routes range from under 100 to over 300 metres long and are climbed in a number of pitches. Routes range from easy La Gorge II/3 to hard Diabolobite II/5+.