SuperAlp second part: from Gran Paradiso to Mont Avic Jul 22nd 2013, 08:04
The new challenges of sustainable mobility, between big development projects and small steps. Courmayeur and the futuristic new Mont Blanc cable car. Cogne and its wonderful Sant'Orso meadows, searching for the right balance between tourist development and local economy. The second of the three part series of the 2013 SuperAlp! edition by our reporter Simonetta Radice.
We ended the first part of our travels on the top of the Aguille du Midi. We are heading now to Courmayeur, and we easily cross the Italian boarder thanks to the free bus services connecting the two villages, part of the service provided by the Chamonix community. It's a stunning day and the Mont Blanc dominates the small town in the Aosta valley, while its slate roofs are shining in the sun.
Courmayeur it's silent and not so crowded today, but if you glance at Punta Helbronner - where big cranes are working at the new Mont Blanc cable cars - you maybe can argue why. The opening of the new cable car is scheduled on fall 2015 and until then tourist willing to get to the top of the big mountain are more likely to cross the tunnel and use the cable cars on the French side.
The work of the new cable car - estimated cost 105 million euro - is a merge of design and engineering, blending together glass and iron: a number of terraces will be overhanging Pointe Helbronner in order to better exploit the small available space. On the top, a big, circular, 14 m diameter terrace will allow a 360° view on Grand Jorasses, Vallée Blanche and the Giant's Tooth. Tourists - about 300.000 per year - will be taken up in round, spinning and air-conditioned cabins. From Portal d'Entreves the cable car will firstly reach the Pavillon du Mont Frety station and then Pointe Helbronner. Besides, a vertical tunnel, 70 m long excaveted in the rock will have the dual function of both structurally anchoring the station to the rocky substrate and hosting safety staircases and elevators that will connect with the pedestrian tunnel to the Torino Hut.
After leaving Courmayeur and its futuristic scenarios we are going now by bus to Cogne. I have a childhood memory related to this small and cozy village: a school trip with a naturalist guide explaining the difference betweet larches, spruces and pines. But what always strikes me of this place are the Sant'Orso fields - recently awarded with the "Wonder of Italy" recognition. A white blanket of snow in the winter, a blooming flowers party in the summer: according to the time, fields become cross country ski trails, nordic walking or mountain bike trails always searching for the right mix between a sustainable tourism and the safeguard of natural resources. You can't talk about Cogne without talking about the oldest Natural Italian Park: the Gran Paradiso. Here in Cogne the Fondation Grand Paradis has its headquarters.
The foundation was born in 1997 and has always been focused on naturalist tourism. Recently, they have started a new project dedicated to sustainable mobility - RIDE Gran Paradiso - and specifically focused on an electric bike-sharing wtih a photovoltaic charger system. "Our touristic season is quite good in the summer but in the winter we suffer for a relatively short window of time available" says Luisa Vuillermoz, director of the Fondation Grand Paradis "Cogne is famous for its cross-country ski trails while the downhill area is limited. Our effort is therefore to stretch the touristic season as much as possible and the electric mobility in the mountains is a challenge we are happy to embrace.” An existing project to build a train service betweet Cogne and Pila, leveraging on the old miners' gallery, has been dropped down by the Region while a possible connection betweet cable cars is undergoing study. The municipality has thus decided to invest in a number of e-bikes that tourists can use for free: "The project has been positively embraced also by the local community here and many people chose to buy an e-bike for themselves using it every day" says Cogne's Mayor Franco Allera.
Not only: in order to support trekking activities in all the neighboring valleys, The Fondation Grand Paradis together with the Mont Avic Natural Parc has set up the "Giroparchi Trekbus" a call-bus service allowing trekkers to plan itineraries without the need to come back in the same place.
So, the morning after our arrival in Cogne we take these buses to reach the Sogno di Berdzé Hut and then we go walking to the Miserin lake and to Dondena Pasture, in the Champorcher valley. We have the honor to have with us the Italian alpinist Abele Blanc, who in April 2011 reached the summit of Annapurna, its 14th 8000. In spite of this, when I ask him about the ascent to the Punta Rossa della Grivola he simply answers me: "There is nothing easy in the mountains". Good pojnt! Also Marco Onida, former sercretary of the Alpine Convention who in last years worked to rais awareness about the work of the Convention and its protocols among the different areas and the instutions who have to cope with the issue related to the mountains.
There is still a lot of snow at the Fenetre de Champorcher Pass and the Miserin lake is still frozen. after a break at the Miserin hut for tasting the local specialties we start going down towards Dondena, where fields and pastures are blooming with gentians, buttercups and the first edelweisses. From Dondena, we take again the call-bus and we reach Aosta. Then, by bus, we head to San remy and Bosses. From Saint Remy will start the last part of our travel between the Via Alpina and the Walser culture, stay tuned!
by Simonetta Radice
Gran Paradiso Film Festival
Water and water related issues are the focus of the 2013 edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival, one of the most relevant cinematographic event in the Aosta Valley. Aimed at giving visibility to the naturalist movies and to raise awareness about environmental issues, the festival – see all the movies here - includes a series of events and conferences about science, nature and environment related issues. Form August 26th to August 31st in Cogne, Rhemes-Saint-Georges, Valsavaranche, Villeneuve e Ceresole Reale
SUPER ALP! 2013
15/07/2013 - SuperAlp 7: borders, ancient routes, populations and inhabitants
19/06/2013 - Super Alp! 7, the (sustainable) journey across the Alps
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