Val d'Isère and skiing
Val d'Isère adores skiing and skiing adores Val d'Isère.
A mutual admiration that exists since time immemorial. Devotees used skis as an easy means of transport to go to church on Sundays and children enjoyed gliding over the bumps before attending the small school in Le Fornet. Val d'Isère became a ski resort in 1934. At the time one could only ski on the "Front de Neige" area as it would take a whole day and a pair of seal skins to reach the top of Solaise. The pioneer ski school was created two years later. The first cable car, Solaise, was inaugurated in 1942.
From then on, Val d'Isère expanded rapidly and the "Critérium de la Première Neige", created in 1955, gave it international renown as a "sporting resort".
The local Sports Club is proud to be the most titled ski club in the world.
Henri OreillerHenri Oreiller
First French skier to win two Olympic gold medals (Downhill and Combined) at the 1948 St Moritz games,
Firmin MattisFirmin Mattis
French National Slalom Champion in 1952 and 1953.,
Jean-Claude KillyJean-Claude Killy
Triple gold medallist in the 1968 Olympic Games and World Downhill and Combined Champion at Portillo in 1966.,
Christine GoitschelChristine Goitschel
Olympic and World Champion in 1964 in Innsbruck. French National Slalom Champion in 1962 and 1964 and Giant Slalom in 1963. et Marielle GoitschelMarielle Goitschel
Joined the French National team at the age of 14 and whose list of victories is yet unrivalled. Olympic champion in Innsbruck in 1964 and Grenoble in 1968. World Champion in 1962 in Chamonix, 1964 in Innsbruck, 1966 in Portillo, 1968 in Grenoble., Patrice BianchiPatrice Bianchi
Winner of two World Cup slalom events in 1992 and French National Slalom champion in 1990 and 1991.,
Mathieu BozzettoMathieu Bozzetto
Snowboarder. Overall Winner of the Snowboard World Cup rankings in 1999 and 2000. Five times overall winner of the World Cup Dual Slalom rankings from 1999 to 2003. 27 World Cup victories.,
Ingrid JacquemodIngrid Jacquemod
-1 Downhill World Cup victory (Santa Catarina on January 7th 2005).
- 6 French Championship titles ( Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom).
- 4 World Junior Championship medals in 1998. Overall winner of the Europa Cup Giant Slalom rankings in 1996-97.,
Audrey PeltierAudrey Peltier
Vice French Giant Slalom Champion in 2004. Audrey also won the overall Europa Cup Giant Slalom rankings in 2003/2004.
have between them brought home 10 Olympic medals and 22 World Cup Skiing medals.
Val d'Isère
Altitude : 1 850 m / 1 640 inhabitants / 28 057 tourist beds
The skiing area
Skiing area : 1 000 hectares / 300 Km marked slopes
90 ski lifts and 140 slopes
Highest point: 3 456 m / Maximum vertical drop: 1 000 m
Number of instructors: 540
Number of ski patrollers: 90
History
A ski resort since 1934
First ski school opened in 1936
Ski lift company (Société des Téléphériques de Val d'Isère) created in 1938
1st " Critérium de la Première Neige " organized in 1955
1968: The " Critérium de la Première Neige " officially becomes the opening event of the World Cup season.
