Train To Slopes
Leave the car at home. Forget the hell of air travel. There’s a quiet revolution happening centred on the historic French alpine and spa resort of Saint-Gervais. Focussed on sustainable mountain tourism three ground-breaking transport innovations offer direct cable car access from major European railway lines, marking a significant step forward in eco-friendly mountain mobility.
Climb aboard the TGV in Paris, 4hr 45 minutes later arrive at Le Fayet station, walk across to the new Le Valléen gondola connected directly to the new L’Alpin gondola accessing the ski slopes at 1,400 m just seven minutes from the train station. St Gervais is the only French Alpine resort offering direct train-to-slope travel. For those that come by car, there’s free parking.
Climb Every Mountain
The historic Mont Blanc tramway also departs from Le Fayet and trundles charmingly to its terminus at 1,800m. The rack-and-pinion railway has been carrying skiers, mountaineers and walkers since 1909. The fully electric trains and downhill recharging system minimise energy consumption. There are four different engines – Jeanne, Anne, Marie, and Marguerite, each with her distinctive colour – to haul tourists, and is accessible to those with reduced mobility.
Getting Into Hot Water in Saint-Gervais
It’s a mark of the importance of this overall eco-package that Mayor Peillex pulled considerable political strings and invited French President Macron to open the whole thing just before Christmas. Despite a team of crack operatives from the French ‘SAS’ –1er RPIMa – sleeping out under the many and various pylons of the lifts to deter sabotage, Macron wasn’t able to attend. These clever movers and shakers haven’t stopped at trains and slopes. The famous Thermal Baths can now be accessed from the village centre in just three minutes by funicular, powered by wastewater, a journey previously only possible by car.
The ascenseur can carry up to sixteen people, disabled passengers, bicycles and pushchairs and is free of charge. The Spa Thermal des Bains du Mont Blanc is worth at least half a day of relaxation after your train journey or a day’s skiing or walking. The thousand-year-old thermal water trickles down at a natural 39º, with relaxation workshops, saunas at different temperatures, steam baths, herbal tearoom and indoor and open-air pools at the foot of the Bonnant Gorge. There’s even a ‘Forêt Sous la Pluie’ (‘an enchanted forest, where a gentle mist of pure thermal waterfalls delicately from the sky.’) Mmm. Jolly nice this, but we Brits probably get enough rain at home.
High Art
In the immediate vicinity, there are two ski areas, Saint-Gervais/Les Houches, and Évasion Mont-Blanc, with access to France’s third-largest ski area with over 400 km of runs, an improved beginners’ area at 1,840m, and 1,022 snow cannons providing ever more needed cover.
If ski-touring is your thing there are several signposted routes, including one that links Le Bettex (via the L’Alpin gondola) to the mountain pastures known as Sous les Freddy’s. Running between the forest and the slopes, this trail begins gently before demanding a little more effort as you skin up towards the Monts Rosset chairlift. For an afternoon of sightseeing and cultural exploration, head to the beautiful chapel of Saint-Nicolas de Véroce on an eco-friendly Facilibus service running on clean energy. The church is a jewel of Alpine Baroque Art.
Fondue Or Fondon’t?
The pistes in Saint-Gervais are perfect for learners through to good intermediates with plenty of tree-lined groomed slopes if the visibility gets poor. If you enjoy celeb-spotting, ski over to the uber-posh resort of Mègeve as part of the same Évasion Mont-Blanc area. If your taste, and pocket, sway more toward Piaget than Primark, Hermès than H&M, then stroll down the Place de l’Église and indulge in what the French charmingly call lèche-vitrine – window shopping (literally window licking).
For a five-star gustatory experience wander into l’hôtel M and eat at the Les Grands Crus de Fondue where the neologism ‘Fromelier’ has been created to advise on a personalised fondue, pairing artisan cheeses with wine, apple and pear cider, or artichoke, pineapple and raspberries, morels and snails. My pals partook and pronounced it tasty but I had that good old mountain staple, egg and chips, (I am a cheese-free zone).
Peace On Earth
The surrounding region, newly branded Haute Savoie Mont Blanc, has much to offer to skiers, non-skiers, nature seekers or just plain tourists, the obvious being Mont Blanc. At 4,805.59 m it’s the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, and, if you don’t want to climb it you can ascend the Aiguille du Midi cable car to 3,842 m which will leave you breathless, literally, the air being much thinner.
I did the opposite, stayed at ground level and contemplated the ‘King of the Alps’ from the nearby Blue Lake at Morrillon where I met expat Julia Barnes for some down-to-earth yoga. She led me on a forest walk, monk-like without conversation, my senses heightened, the crunch of ice beneath my feet, birds twittering overhead, and the rustle of leaves, until we passed into a clearing.
We placed our mats on the snow, ankle-deep here. Coats off, she took me through a series of gentle exercises, stretching, inhaling, the still air at -6º. Finally, we lay on our mats wrapped in blankets, and I slipped into a dreamy endorphin-charged state overlooked by mighty Mont Blanc, the warm winter sun on my face.
For more information visit: www.saintgervais.com
SNCF Train Station in Saint-Gervais Le Fayet – TGV direct from Paris: 4 hours 45 minutes.
