Les Menuires: Return to the Roots

Every winter, we ski down the incredible slopes of Les Menuires, without always imagining that just a few decades ago, there was nothing here: no houses, no slopes, no ski lifts.

A small isolated village

In Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, a small village hidden at the bottom of the valley, farming was the main source of income and shaped daily life. Conditions remained harsh, and young people, seeking a different future, gradually left the valley. The village was slowly dying out until one day its mayor, Nicolas Jay, had a crazy idea to revive it.

What if, higher up, at an altitude of 1,800 metres, where few people had yet ventured, a winter sports resort were to be created?