Serre Chevalier Airport Bus

The breathtaking scenery of the Cucumelle has offered fantastic skiing for over a quarter of a century, and is the corner stone in the development of Serre Chevalier as we know it.

The Cucumelle is easily spotted on the piste maps - it is the large, white space with one single red line, between Villeneuve and Monetier. There are two different ways of getting here: from Villeneuve/Frejus on La Balme chairlift, or from Monetier on the Cucumelle chairlift via the 'col de l'Eychauda'.

The Cucumelle valley is on the borders of the Ecrins National Park, the off-piste skiing is exceptional when the conditions are good. The best-known itineraries go from the' Grands Pres' peak. Hiking to the top when the powder is deep and fluffy will reward you with a ride down through magnificent backcountry.

In the summer of 1984, the usually peaceful mountain pastures were buzzing with diggers and lorries. La Salle-Les-Alpes had started the building of the Balme chairlift, while Monetier were building the Yret and the Cucumelle chairs. Their objective was to link the two skiing areas and make them into 'Grand Serre Che'.

The decision to create this link was questioned in Monetier. At the time, Club Med still had their centre in this villages and it operated as a fully independent ski resort. However, all the land necessary for the building already belonged to the council, so apart from some heated discussion, there could be no real opposition from the villagers. The community of shepherds were more alarmed, as their sheep herds went all to the top of the Yret (2,830m). A high altitude road was negotiated, 'cross-roads' were built so that the animals would not get mixed up; the work could now start.

In Villeneuve, on the other hand, things were more complicated as the land needed had a multitude of private owners. Despite barbed wire and heaps of dung and gravel placed in strategic places by angry villagers, the project went ahead and the link was ready in December 1984.

The Cucumelle chairlift is the keystone in the link between Monetier and Villeneuve. The departure site is on an old mountain lake, and the footings kept flooding. It was necessary to do some big drainage work for it to be functional. It now holds the generator and extra engine.

'Dede', the operator for the first five years, apparently used to cook up a legendary veal head stew once a month. At the time there were 2,000 skiers per day but today there are over 7,000, so no time for cooking any more. The Cucumelle chairlift is today something of an antique. It has no foot-rest, a rather flimsy security bar and a very steep landing zone. The whole Cucumelle and Frejus area are in effect due a face-lift over the next six years. Some lifts will be replaced and others added, so this area continues to evolve.

Serre Chevalier is a popular ski resort in the Southern French Alps, which is easily accessed by flights to Turin in Italy.

If you need Turin Ski Transfers to get you from the airport to the resort, The Alpine Transfer Company are ready to get you there.

www.serrechevalier.org