One of the many ski areas in the valley where we live when in France is Les Houches, the resort is not connected to any of the other ski areas, although over the years lots of discussions about linking it to others have gone on, like linking Les Contamines to Saint Gervais lots of talk but never anymore than that.
You can access Les Houches either from the village itself via one of two cable cars or from Le Fayet and Saint Gervais via the Tramway du Mont Blanc. The tramway is definitely the cooler way to do it.
The line was started in 1906 with the first section opening in 1907, work then continued until the current end point was reached in 1912, plans were drawn up to extend it further but World War I put pay to any further expansion.
In the summer the line runs to Nid d'Aigle, well actually just short of the refuge that bears the same name, although in the last year funding was agreed to extend the line the remaining 500 or so meters so the terminus is at the refuge itself. In the winter months the terminus is Bellevue as the line above that sits in an avalanche zone.
That said even in the winter you can clearly see the line of the railway beyond the winter terminus.
The last two stations on the line which Nid d'Aigle is one are the only two stations over 2000 meters in France. That said it is the highest cogwheel railway in France and some 85% of the track requires cogwheel.
Steam power was used until 1956 when the line was electrified (11Kv at 50Hz AC for those interested) and the trains used since then have just been replaced for the start of the 2022 winter season and very nice they are to, ski racks included.
For the technically minded the line itself is 12.4 km long with a gauge of 1 meter, the average gradient is 15% maxing out at 24%, would make an interesting summit finish for the Tour de France, definitely an Hors Categorie climb, if of course you could ride it.
Even if you don't ski the train ride itself is worth a ride as the views are stunning. You can see Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc itself, whilst enjoying a vin chaud.
Les Houches is also known for Kandahar (green in name only) ski run which drops 870 meters in 3340 meters in length it is one of only two runs in France used for the Alpine downhill cup. It typically takes the racers around 2 minutes to cover the course.
At the start of the season the resort of Les Houches is generally quiet as are the trains so we took the opportunity today to head up on one of the new trains from Saint Gervais along with the dog.
Despite having passes that cover Les Houches we don't often get upto it, what I will say is it is looking tired and is in need of investment from its new owners, Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, hopefully having just invested in four very nice new trains they'll now invest in the resort itself.
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