Les Contamines-Montjoie () is a commune in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in south-eastern France.

Etymology

The original name of the village, ''Les Contamines,'' is from the word ''contamines'', which in the ancient local dialect meant ploughable land on the estate of the squire.

History

In 1760, the parish became independent of the parish of Saint-Nicolas de Véroce. The creation of the local Mountain Guides Company which was established in 1850, marked the first corporation in the village dedicated to tourism. Further development surged after 1900, in the form of hotels, restaurants, and, in 1911, a local ski club. The first ski lift began operation in 1937. After World War II, in 1949, the name was changed to ''Les Contamines-Montjoie.'' The first chair lift opened three years later, in 1952, along with a summer attraction at l'Etape.

Location

Les Contamines-Montjoie is located in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

. It is approximately 1 hours from the airport of

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and 15 minutes from the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet train station and from the A40 Highway (exit 21). Les Contamines-Montjoie is situated in between the well known resorts of

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

and

Megève Megève (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Co ...

, it is close to

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

which means that it is used for both

mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

in the Summer and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

in the Winter. Its proximity to Chamonix means that access to Italy is easy via the

Mont Blanc Tunnel The Mont Blanc Tunnel (, ) is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 ...

Aspect of the village

The village of Les Contamines-Montjoie is a jewel at the heart of the Mont Blanc region. The sensation of a hidden valley results in a very close knit local community. The village has preserved its historic aspect. More than 70% of old farm buildings have been restored in respect of the local Savoy architecture. Mont Joly from Les Contamines-Montjoie

Nature reserve

Created in 1979, the nature reserve, La réserve naturelle des Contamines-Montjoie, covers more than of varied terrain rising from high and covering forests, pastures, torrents, rocks, snow fields and glaciers. A local association ensures a link between the reserve and the general public. The information centre, located in the village centre, can recommend various activities for all age groups.

Ski resort

Les Contamines Montjoie main industry is tourism through its skiing area which is moderately sized. It ranges from the village at around to l'

Aiguille Croche The Aiguille Croche () is a mountain in the Beaufortain Massif in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. In 2009, Matthias Giraud was the first person to descent and ski BASE jump BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed ob ...

(Crooked Needle) at around . There are four sections of the ski area: the Tierces, the Roselette, the Montjoie, and the Hauteluce. The Tierces section faces south: it is the highest section of the resort and possesses the resort's hardest black runs, Grevettaz and Rebans. The Tierces section also has easier blue and red runs such as Coins (blue) and Tierces (red). From most places in the Tierces section one can, weather permitting, see a panorama of Mont Blanc and its neighbouring peaks, including Aiguille de Bionnassay and

Domes de Miage A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (ma ...

. The Roselette section is a north-facing area of ski runs which range from blue to black, the hardest run in this section being the black of Olympique. The Aiguille de Roselette towers over the majority of the section giving it its name. There is

off piste Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine ski ...

potential in the steep couloirs of the Aiguille de Roselette. The Hauteluce section is the name given to the section of runs on the other side of the

Col du Joly A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

in the

Val Joly Val may refer to: Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Soviet assault rifle Music *''Val'', album by Val Doonican *VAL (band), Belarusian pop duo People * Val (given ...

(rather than the

Val Montjoie Val may refer to: Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Soviet assault rifle Music *''Val'', album by Val Doonican *VAL (band), Belarusian pop duo People * Val (given ...

). The run difficulty is varied in this section. The Montjoie section is the name used to describe the lower runs.

References

External links

Les Contamines - Tourist Office - Summer and Winter activities

Website of the commune of Les Contamines-Montjoie

Les Contamines - Ski Station Website

Hiking and climbing in Les Contamines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contaminesmontjoie Ski resorts in France Communes of Haute-Savoie