Tourist Office

Office de Tourisme
Flaine
Haute Savoie
France
F 74300

Telephone: (450) 908001
Email: welcome@flaine.com
Website: www.flaine.com

Description

Popularly regarded as an ugly, but functional, purpose built resort, Flaine has infact been designed to the Bauhaus school of architectural design and is the only modern ski resort to be recognised as an architectural treasure . The resort will celebrate its 40th birthday in 2009. Lifts radiate out in a skier-friendly natural basin, extending to Les Carroz, Morillon, Samoëns and Sixt.

Review

Flaine sits on a forested hillside in a natural snowy bowl only 30km (18 miles) from Mont Blanc. The origin of the resort’s name is rather romantic – legend has it that a huge giant slept in the mountains and valleys, resting his head on the spot where Flaine now stands. Flainoz was an old French word for pillow.

Established in 1968, Flaine dates to the baby-booming years when France was building big ski resorts in big ski areas very quickly. The emphasis was on constructing resorts that were cheap to stay in but offered doorstep skiing in some of the world’s biggest and best ski areas. Nothing else really mattered very much. Twenty years on, with the emphasis switching to quality, the concrete rectangles deposited in areas of great natural beauty have drawn much criticism but Flaine has hit back pointing out that its architecture is purposely stark and functional and that it was designed by Marcel Breuer, a master of the Bauhaus school. Although its design may at first appear incongruous it in fact echoes patterns of light and shade that are to be found in the rocks and crags at the base of the valley. What Flaine also points out, is that whatever your first impressions of its concrete monoliths, you should not judge a book by its cover!

The resort is located at a snowsure altitude in the huge Grand Massif ski area, which has lift-links down to quaint traditional villages like Samoëns and Sixt in the valleys below. Flaine itself is also a more vibrant place than many of the purpose-built resorts dating from the same era, it is more genuinely family friendly too, with lots to do besides sliding and a car-free environment.

The main part of the resort is split in to three sections – Forêt, Forum and Front de Neige, linked together by pedestrian walkways and lifts – the design is very functional. There is also now the choice of staying in the new development, ‘the Hamlet of Flaine’ – which despite the resort’s complete confidence in its original concept, is a complete architectural and design contrast. Wooden built to Scandinavian-style design using a range of delicate colours, the hamlet is fully in keeping with the aspirations of ’90s skiers.

keywords

Flaine, Haute-Savoie, Alps, Le Grand Massif, Araches et Magland

Faced with a significantly reduced ski tourism market and and an eroding investor base looking to buy up mountainside real estate opportunities, ski resort giant Intrawest is reported to be looking at ways to reduce its debts according to Canadian media reports in the past week.
Ski Rebel Magazine has learned the company which owns ten leading North American ski areas including next winter’s joint winter-Olympic venue, Whistler Blackcomb, could potentially consider selling one or more of its resorts, although the company itself has made no comment on this suggestion.

If you build a mountain will they come? Intrawest considering selling resorts

Intrawest is reported to have approximately $1.7-billion (US) in loans, and during the low point of the global financial collapse last autumn it managed to re-finance the debt to save needing to seek creditor protection.
The original owners sold the company at the peak of its financial success in 2006 to Fortress Investment Group LLC for $2.8-billion.
At the Canadian Ski Council’s annual conference in Whistler, Intrawest president Bill Jensen delivered a sobering speech declaring the ski industry would be mired in hard times for at least the next two years. ‘Things are not looking good,” he said while speaking about the general situation.
Intrawest was established in the 1970s and has gradually grown over three decades, acquiring Whistler Mountain in 1996 and then many other noteworthy resorts including Tremblant and Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Steamboat in Colorado.
The innovation brought on by Intrawest in the ski market may just be too hard for the company to climb out of, as it struggles with an aging demographic and declining real estate sales that were largely fueled from the US market which was also coupled with a significant decline in tourism related spending.
The company has made its name and had much of its financial success on the basis of well-designed resort base pedestrian villages, generating more income from real estate than from ski area operations. Its model was brought to Europe with ski resort developments at Les Arcs and Flaine in France, and it has been copied by many other ski area operators.

• Intrawest: Read more related stories to Intrawest by clicking here.

• Financial situation: Debt may force selloff of Intrawest ski resorts

• Ski Resorts: Stay up to date with ski resort news by clicking here.

Two new six-seater chairlifts are currently under construction in the French Grand Massif region which includes the resorts of Flaine, Morillon, Samoens, Sixt and Les Carroz.

The first lift in Samoens, the new “Chariande Express,” will cut transfer time from bottom to top of the Samoens ski area by a third and more than double capacity on the route. The lift replaces two old chairlifts and one old ski lift. Continue reading ‘New six seater chairlifts to serve le Grand Massif’

Two new fixed grip quad chairlifts are due to begin service in Flaine this December, in accordance with to its five year improvement plan, and the resort’s famous bucket lift which links two of its sectors, is due to be renovated.

Continue reading ‘Two new quads and more snowmaking slated for Flaine’

Flaine will see the second and third of five new chairlifts that are being built as part of a four-year upgrade plan open this winter with Europe’s second Intrawest village also ready to open. At the same time widening of the key Tomaline run, which began last year, is due to be completed, and a whole new area for beginners is scheduled to open.
The new six seater detachable Tete des Verds lift on the snow front will create a link between the left-hand and right-hand sides of the Flaine ski area, improving communication between the two sectors and reducing the need to take your skis off and ride up on the bu8ket lift (Itself due to be renovated shortly as part of the upgrades). The lift will be 1,751m long and have a queue-gobbling 3000 people-per-hour capacity.
A new fixed quad chairlift Les Gerats is also scheduled to open to provide fast connection to the entire Gérats zone of the ski area (four green runs) meaning shuttle buses will no longer be required at the area.
Flaine will also create a new zone reserved for beginners and children this winter, increasing the range of the easiest green runs. Skiers will be able to return from the top of the resort without removing their skis in a naturally sunny area with direct access from the Front de Neige and Flaine Forum.