The ski resort of Saint-Nizier du Moucherotte is situated in the Vercors area of the Isère department in the Northern Alps region. The glory days when Saint Nizier du Moucherotte was a prime winter sports destination for the beautiful people a long past. Grenoble makes much of its oh so fashionable tramway but up until 1950 there was a tram line all the way to Villard de Lans in the Vercors. This line passed via Saint Nizier and contributed much to the village’s early success. In the mid 1950s planning got underway to build a hotel on the summit of the Moucherotte to be served by a cable car. The lift opened on the 3rd of March 1956 and the hotel “l’Ermitage” three years later. In the early 1960s Laurent Chappis, who had done much to plan and develop Courchevel, was “exiled” to the Isère deparment and suggested that Chamrousse host the Olympic games. His idea was an integrated site hosting all the events rather than the extended games we have become used to. He didn’t figure on the local politicians all of whom wanted a slice of the Olympic action. A 90 meter ski jump was built in Saint-Nizier for the 1968 Grenoble games at the bottom of the Trois Pucelles summit. The ramp dominated Grenoble and gave jumpers the impression they would land somewhere in the town centre.

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