{"id":13322,"date":"2023-01-05T12:07:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T11:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/?p=13322"},"modified":"2023-01-05T14:22:46","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T13:22:46","slug":"when-skiing-replaced-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-features\/when-skiing-replaced-mining\/","title":{"rendered":"When Skiing Replaced Mining"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you start to look around<\/h2>\n

T<\/span>he better we ski, the more our instincts take over basic essentials, keeping us upright and out of trouble. When that happens we relax and become more aware of the scenery, but have you ever wondered what might lie deep underground beneath that piste you\u2019re following? Probably not, if you\u2019re anything like me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Look closely at today\u2019s piste map and you\u2019ll find clues as to the location of what was once Europe\u2019s highest coal mine, sited at around 2,600m altitude<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A surprise on the Alpe d\u2019Huez piste map<\/h2>\n

So you might be as surprised as I was to discover that some well-known French ski resorts had a former life as mining villages established in remote locations after valuable mineral deposits had been discovered in the complex geology below the mountain pastures.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Alpe d\u2019Huez<\/a>, for example, once boasted a sizable year-round community supported by silver mining in the Massif des Grandes Rousses. Look closely at today\u2019s piste map and you\u2019ll also find clues as to the location of what was once Europe\u2019s highest coal mine, sited at around 2,600m altitude between the pistes of La Sarenne and La Combe Charbonni\u00e8re.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Coal mined from deep beneath the snow<\/h2>\n

Anthracite from the Mine de l\u2019Herpie was transported down the mountain to Bourg d\u2019Oisans, first in horse-drawn wagons, and later when production increased via a cable bucket system much like a ski lift. The movements came to an abrupt end, however, in 1950 when an avalanche claimed the lives of 12 workers and the mine was forced to cease operations. Next time you ski the 16km-long La Sarenne you\u2019ll know that somewhere far beneath your skis are the Herpie mine\u2019s long-abandoned galleries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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