The rise of skiing in France and in Tignes : from its beginnings to today

Every winter, we come to the mountains to practice winter sports and get a change of scenery. Skiing remains the most popular winter sport, but only 13% of French people practice it regularly. But what do we know about this mountain sport? Where is he from ? Let's take a look at the subject together!

First of all, take a look at this period report produced by the INA:

> The origins of skiing

Since the dawn of time, humans have needed to move in hostile environments. They then invented devices to facilitate travel and hunting, in particular to gain speed on snow.

Etymologically, the word "ski" is often attached to the Norwegian word "ski", which actually derives from the old Norwegian "skidh", then designating a billet of wood, a shoe or a snowshoe for snow. The history of skiing goes back to 3000 years before Jesus Christ in the Scandinavian countries.

The first skates and skis date from the 18th century. The skates are defined as being blades associated with leather straps enclosing the shoe. They allow, in particular in the Scandinavian countries, to move on lakes or frozen rivers.

> The arrival of skiing and tourists in the mountains

Thanks to the romantic trend of the 19th century, the mountain, most often presented as a "hostile and horrible environment", is back on the scene. Its many virtues allow it to become a "sublime" space, both for the natural and wild beauty of its landscapes and for the calm and harmony of its various elements. These advantages appeal to many wealthy men of the upper aristocracy, who come to the mountains for several reasons. First of all, many doctors of the time recommended staying in the mountains to breathe fresh, invigorating air. This is a "medical" tourism. In addition, scientists study the flora and fauna there. This "scientific" tourism subsequently evolved into "sport" tourism, focused on mountaineering and the discovery of high mountains.

In the French Alps, mountaineer Henri Duhamel was the first to get on skis. This athlete got a pair of these funny skates from the Swedish stand at the 1878 World's Fair, but it took a long time to understand how they worked.

He nevertheless tried his hand at this new discipline on the slopes of Chamrousse. Despite a few falls stopped by the big Isère fir trees, he decides to get a dozen pairs of skis that he will distribute to his friends. The Grenoble Ski-Club was created in 1895.

Beyond this local initiative, it is the military, more precisely the alpine hunters, who really introduce the practice of skiing in the Alps to protect the Alpine border.

The army then encouraged young soldiers to teach skiing on a voluntary basis in their own villages after completing their military service. Gradually, doctors and postmen are taking their rounds on skis, and the children are sliding down to school.

The enthusiasm for skiing was confirmed during the first international alpine skiing competition, organized by the military and the French Alpine Club, on February 9, 1907 in Montgenèvre. More than 3,000 soldiers, civilians, spectators and journalists will participate in the event. Skiing is no longer a simple means of locomotion, it becomes a game, a sport, but also a fashion phenomenon.

In 1924, the French Ski Federation (FFS) was created and winter sports were institutionalized.

> Creation of the first ski resorts

After the Second World War, skiing gradually conquered the mountain, which was slowly being built. The first developments began in the mountain villages, which were gradually transformed into first-generation resorts. Victims of rural desertification, these depopulated villages decide to modify their activities and thus find a new economic boom. Likewise, people are starting to flock from the valleys to invent a new life through skiing. The mountain is diversifying. In fact, in summer, farmers work the land and practice animal husbandry. In winter, they accompany tourists on vacation.

Subsequently, Savoyard engineers and architects such as Maurice Michaud and Laurent Chappis, who had long dreamed of modernizing the infrastructure for sports, set up a resort created from scratch on virgin land. This is the Courchevel resort, built in 1946. This initiative prompted the State to launch a mountain development plan in 1964: the Snow Plan.

The 1968 Olympic Games, organized in Grenoble, gave this social phenomenon an international scope. From there, the ski resorts fill up every winter. Until then reserved for an elite, skiing is democratizing and becoming fashionable. The white gold industry is in full swing and prices are skyrocketing.

We are also witnessing the proliferation of major national projects. Vast unspoiled spaces are being used to build second-generation stations. We build roads, we expropriate, we offer tax incentives, we choose favorable land. We sculpt the mountain, we design ski slopes, we install chairlifts, cable cars. And we build the same buildings as in the city.

> The rise of Tignes

During the interwar years, from 1936, Tignes experienced a significant increase in attendance. Tourism is no longer limited to the simple summer season, the practice of skiing is also developing strongly. Under these conditions, the village is equipped with a ski school, a ski lift, a sports shop, a tourist office, new hotels and pensions such as the Aiguille Percée, the he Grande Sassière hotel, the Grande Motte hotel ...

During this period, ski competitions multiply. Thus, at the beginning of March, a ski competition is organized which lasts a week and is open to all age groups. These competitions, featuring cross-country running, bring together many skiers from all over Haute Tarentaise and help build real local legends like Innocent Bognier.

At the same time, we are starting to get to Lake Tignes despite difficult access conditions, the ascent being on sealskins or on the back of mules depending on the season. In 1925, a chalet-refuge was opened.

To conclude, skiing was not supposed to evolve over the centuries to become the one we all know today. And it was not until World War II that the first ski resorts were born. Nowadays, this winter sport is among the favorite of the French.

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