elop *7 “Alpine Mutations”
based its study area on two cross-border valleys: the valley of Chamonix
(France) and the valley of Trient (Switzerland). This territory connects two
large towns of the Alpine region, Chamonix and Martigny. Situated at the foot
of the Mont-Blanc massif, the territory has become the preferred Alpine
destination for mountain sports.
This territory is divided
into two drainage basins, one flowing towards Chamonix (Arve
drainage basin) while the second slope starts with the Trient glacier and flows into the Rhône at Martigny.
The history of this
cross-border territory marks it out as the birthplace of mountaineering. The
ascent of Mont-Blanc by Saussure and Balmat (1787) gave rise to an economic
boom based on tourism at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century.
Unfortunately, the
emergence of skiing in the 1940s and 1950s heralded the end of this economy.
The new sport of skiing required installations of all sorts: ski-lifts and
extensive slopes. It is difficult to find a convenient spot in this valley to
develop that activity. The hotels closed one after another.
However this crisis
situation was offset by considered investments in high-quality hydroelectric
installations, enabling the Trient valley to exploit energy resources in a
rational way.
FURTHER INFORMATION
VIDEOS
> Interviews with key actors in the regional tourism ecosystem (f)
WEB LINKS
> via Alpina
> Espace Mont-Blanc (f)
>PIT Integrated Plan Transboundary for Mont -Blanc Territories (f)
> IUKB
> Vallée de Trient
WRITTEN & GRAPHIC DOCUMENTS
> Ecovillage Les Diablerets with Harvard University
> ESPACE MONT BLANC_Présentation_29.08.2014
> Massif du Mont-Blanc Une strategie davenir
> Perriard-Volorio_The History of Tourims in the VAlley of trient 1991
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