The history of the highest ski resort in Europe..Val Thorens

Val Thorens was created by the real estate developer Pierre Schnebelen at a time when the growth of winter sports resorts was controversial and his project, the construction of the highest ski resort in Europe, was the most controversial. However in a number of years, Val Thorens won the award for the Best Ski Resort in the World at the World Ski Awards!

Under the political authority of Joseph Fontanet, Mayor of the Belleville Valley, President of the General Council of Savoie and Minister, and with the help of his director of SODEVAB (Belleville Valley equipment development company), Bernard Reverdy, and the General Councilor, Ferdinand Martin and with the intervention of Pierre Josserand, one of his young comrades from Arts et Métiers, in 1969 Pierre Schnebelen began the project to exploit the enormous potential of this exceptional site.

Technical and commercial innovations, bold decisions and human challenges, the history of the resort is punctuated by highlights which have contributed to making it an exceptional ski resort.

• 1981 / 1982 : SETAM, although in debt at that time, embarked on the project of building the largest cable car in the world to access an altitude of 3,200m: the Cime Caron cable car. This development is the start of a new era for Val Thorens and will position the resort among the leading winter sports resorts.
• 1985 : Anxious to quickly market the offer of Val Thorens, SETAM defines and finances an ambitious hotel plan and creates the travel agency Val Thorens Round. Its mission is to organise group stays and sell the resort to Tour Operators.
• 1987 : Val Thorens is one of the first resorts to have a reservation center at the initiative of the ski lift company.
• 1990 : In collaboration with Denis Creissels, SETAM engineers invented the concept of Funitel (two-cable carrier-tractor device with excellent wind resistance) and installed the first device of its kind at the foot of the Péclet glacier. This patent will then be transferred by SETAM to ski lift manufacturers who export the concept throughout the world.
• 1995 : Creation of the double boarding chairlift which, at the same time, makes it possible to increase the capacity of the chairlifts and improve customer comfort by giving them more time to settle in. At the same time, construction of the Maurienne/3Vallées link, via Orelle, with the construction of the longest gondola in the world in one section, which among other things, facilitates access to regional areas and allows the real estate development of Orelle.
• 2004 : At the Oxalys restaurant, Jean Sulpice obtained his first Michelin star and became the youngest starred chef in France. This contributed to positioning Val Thorens as place of gastronomy at altitude and bro in its wake numerous establishments which d an increasingly qualitative offering. In 2009 Jean Sulpice was awarded a second star.
• 2007 : SETAM installs 2 detachable gondolas in automatic “ESO” mode (Operation without Operator): thanks to a video and security system, a single driver controls the 2 gondolas as well as the Caron cable car.
• 2010 : Val Thorens questions itself at the dawn of its' 40th birthday. To understand the challenges of skiing in a mature market and identify our strengths, they set up a repositioning study.
• 2010 : Opening of the Altapura in December, which the following winter will become the resort's first 5-star hotel. This is a new shift for the station with an expansion of the range. Three other 5-star hotels open their doors in the following years as well as a 4-trident Club Med.
• 2011 : SETAM installs 2 detachable gondolas in automatic “ESO” mode (Operation without Operator): thanks to a video and security system, a single driver controls the 2 gondolas as well as the Caron cable car.
• 2013 : Val Thorens win an award for the Best Ski Resort in the World at the World Ski Awards.
• 2014 : Jean-Frédéric Chapuis wins a Gold medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
• 2016 : Val Thorens becomes the first Smart Ski Resort: use of digital data to improve the comfort of its customers as well as the management of its natural resources.
• 2022 : The Board, a new Sports and Conference Center, is built.

• 2022 : On the occasion of the inauguration of The Board, Val Thorens celebrated its' 50th anniversary during a special event.

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Photo (c) Val Thorens