Geneva is the starting point for many visitors to the Tarentaise. If you hire a car on the French side of the airport, you have the exciting opportunity to travel from Switzerland to France (on foot), go back to Switzerland in the car, and then rejoin France again at the Bardonnex border crossing.
All this cross-border movement is very much a feature of daily life for the 150,000 French workers who cross the border every day. A new Ipsos poll, L'Observatoire des Frontaliers 2015, sets the scene.
The number of frontaliers has risen by 60% overt the last 10 years (and the number coming from the Savoie departments is up 78%).
The poll shows that the relationship with la Suisse is more than simply transactional:
Three in four feel integrated socially and 66% "have a social life" in France outside work
And 57% have been working in Switzerland for more than 10 years
All of this is causing more than a little pressure on the frontier. The Bardonnex crossing has a capacity of some 3,600 an hour, which is woefully unable to cope at peak times. Plans are afoot to alleviate the situation at least to some extent, with the recent announcement that cars will be allowed to use one of the lanes currently reserved for lorries. Looking further ahead, there are vague plans to look at other possibilities, for example a car sharing lane. But this would involve a complete reorganisation of the set-up and the Tribune de Geneve points out that it's not that big a priority.
A French flag on a Swiss lake with a French
mountain (Mont Revard) in the background
Le Grand Bornand offers something very different to the "ski factories" of the Tarentaise.
An old village, at the heart of Reblochon country, with more than 400 traditional chalets, set at the foot of the striking Aravis range.
Parking at the main village (1000m)
It's very close to civilisation - a little over an hour from Geneva, with regular ski buses direct from Annecy. If you get the early flight from Luton or Heathrow, you will be on the slopes by 11.30 (with a following wind).
"Le Grand Bo" has been developing quietly over the years. Its population has risen from 1,500 in 1960s to 2,000+ now, making its current population now above 1807 levels (for more, see the wikipedia page). It actually has more inhabitants than its better-known neighbour, La Clusaz, which boasts 130km of pistes. There has been talk about linking the two areas via Le Danay since at least 1974/75 apparently. The reasons for this not having happened yet appear to be as follows:
1. Local rivalries between La Clusaz and Le Grand Bo
2. Low natural snowfall - apparently there was a draglift there until 1950 but it got taken down because there wasn't enough snow, even then...
3. Environmental concerns associated with developing a virgin site
4. Environmental concerns associated with having to build a mega neige de culture facility to keep the link open (see 2 above)
5. Would it be worth the investment - it's a moyenne montagne area, very familial, people coming here aren't into the motorway piste-bashing experience you get in the Tarentaise. Etc
I can't find much recent by way of debate about the proposals. So, for the foreseeable future, you need to rely on what seems to be a reasonably well organised network of ski buses to access the 200km+ of Aravis pistes.
The skiing
It won't keep you going for a week, but Le Grand Bo's 90km of pistes are a lot of fun. There are a whole series of areas to explore, including a real "away from it all" valley below the Col des Annes. It has one of France's leading snowparks. There is a great kids' area at the top of Le Rosay gondola. The area is peppered with restaurants. And at 31€ for a day pass, you have money in your pocket for a plat du jour, when compared with Les Arcs' €46...
Col des Annes (1)
Col des Annes (2)
Ski geeks will find just about everything they'd wish to know about the ski areas of both Le Grand-Bo and La Clusaz is on the excellent www.ski-aravis.com site.
Day-trippers can stop in the old village where there is a car park by the two gondolas and some street parking (1000m).
At the top of Le Rosay gondola
This is probably neater than driving up to Chinaillon (the summer gateway to the Col de la Colombiere). The pistes at Chinaillon (1300m) are great for second week skiers:
Above Chinaillon
Le Grand Bornand has been trying to brand itself as a real "sporting town" in recent years. For example, it has been very assertive in investing in its role as a regular Tour de France location. The 2013 Tour will finish at Le Grand Bo for the fourth time in a decade - you can read more about its TDF history here and see a profile of the 2013 stage here.
