"Courchevelshire"

“Courchevelshire”

I spent a week in a skiing resort (Courchevel) in the Alps which consists of four levels of villages (altitude: 1300 m, 1550m, 1650m, 1850m). The landscape is marvellous but the price of everything is in relation to the altitude!
I arrived in Courchevel 1650 in a flat in a big chalet. On the shelves, I found a lot of books in… English. It was normal the owner is an Englishman. The equipment often comes from England too!
The next day, I went to a crowded shop to rent some skiing equipment: surprise! everybody was speaking English (manager, assistants and customers). I was the only French person! The manager came and spoke to me in… French (whew!).
After that, I went to the ski runs. There were groups of people with French instructors: everybody speaking in… English. But where was I? : on the other side of the channel…
No, the signs are also in French!
At the end of the afternoon, I went shopping where people were speaking mainly in English including the shop assistants (or at least trying to) and passed by a few pubs: English people were numerous and the beer was flowing (coulait à flot in French). People were speaking noisily and drinking out of large glasses (one litre maybe). I didn’t see the exit from the pub of these people but their trajectory would have to be a slalom…(normal in the mountains!). I am not against pubs but I drank at home as it is more prudent than walking in the snowed-up streets.
I learned that there is a big problem between French instructors and English instructors managing a group of English people. They don’t have the same level of training (not at all the same diploma) or the same knowledge of the mountains. You can be sure the real problem is a problem of… money!
Courchevel 1850 is another, more cosmopolitan planet: Russian, Japanese, Chinese, French and… English people of course. It is a posh place where you can find great hotels, marvellous chalets, luxury goods shops, art exhibitions. You can attend concerts, ice skating shows and so on.
It is the place where you have to be seen and I saw more “Ladies” wearing mink coats and men in superb 4X4 cars (Porsh, Merc., BMW, Range Rover…) per ‘square metre’! Here it is not beer which is flowing…but money!
At this period of the year, around 70% of the people Courchevel 1650 welcomes are English. Fortunately for the trade!

Claude.