“Courchevel is first and foremost one among the founding elements of the huge touristic complex of les Trois Vallées in France. Linked to the neighbouring Allues and Belleville valleys by a 3,000 acres network area of regularly packed and maintained ski slopes, Courchevel has become a name associated with a ski resort grouping covering such a huge and prestigious area that from now on skiers from the remotest countries yearn to get to know it.”

This was in 1946, an excerpt from the presentation report of the Savoie Conseil General’s 3rdCommission!

As for Emile Allais the ski champion, former director of Courchevel and inventor of the « ski boulevard », he wrote as early as 1954, in a visionary enthusiasm stance, that he « hoped to turn Courchevel 1850 into the greatest ski resort in the world».

A little over sixty years later, the resort admittedly still boasts substantial assets which we shall describe and reassess yet genuine fears are coming to light that compel Courchevel to evolve and morph.

What challenges must it take on? Does it run the risk of losing its soul when facing them? Courchevel in the years to come is likely to change for good. This article hence describes an exceptional resort at a turning point of its history.