The new 10-man bubble – or the Télécabine du Vallon to give it its full name – from the top of the Fornet cable car is due to be ready for the start of the Winter 2024-25 season. Replacing the rickety bubbles that have been in place, well, in most of our living memories, it will make the ride to Val d’Isère’s Pisaillas glacier quicker and a lot more comfortable.
The Critérium de la Première Neige, the World Cup ski races held annually in Val d’Isère in December, was scheduled on 9-10 December 2023 for the men, and 16-17 December 2023 for the ladies. Conditions for the men were a bit warm on the Saturday, so only Sunday’s Giant Slalom was held – won, unsurprisingly by Swiss Marco Odermatt. The ladies were luckier and had perfect conditions for their training session and the Downhill and Super-G. Swiss Jasmine Flury won the Downhill on Saturday, then Italian Federica Brignone won Sunday’s Super-G, while her compatriot Sofia Goggia took third. We always root for Sofia after she once made a huge fuss of Recco, YSE’s avalanche rescue dog, when she should have been in the zone (she still won on that occasion, though – what a gal!).
