Roaming on skis and transition in Queyras

It is in the Queyras massif, in the Hautes-Alpes department, that guide Yann Borgnet chose to experiment with his roaming project. A field that he knows well as part of his thesis that he is conducting in the social sciences laboratory. Pacte from the University of Grenoble ( UGA ). “ We are going to discover its history, its economic, social, political, cultural logic… Because living in Queyras is not just living in the mountains. It's living in a specific territory, a valley which only has one access point in winter and which therefore lives in an island way ,” says Yann Borgnet.

For five days, from January 31 to February 4, 2022, participants traveled the massif on skis from Arvieux to Abriès via the village of Aiguilles, meeting local stakeholders: farmers, ski instructors, hoteliers, elected officials and former elected officials, regional natural park technician, director of the tourist office, etc.

Accompanied by two researchers in social sciences, Yann Borgnet and Mikaël Chambru – member of the laboratory Gresec to the UGA and Labex ITTEM – they questioned the tourism transition in the mountains. “By putting social science research in dialogue with the territory, this ski raid questions alternative future models to “all skiing” and “all tourism” taking shape in Queyras,” explains Mikaël Chambru.

The first edition of this raid focuses more particularly on the place of agriculture in the dynamic of transition of mountain tourism. In Queyras, these two activities are closely linked. Agricultural development tools made it possible in the 1960s to finance the development of tourism. Today, the roles have been reversed: agriculture has almost disappeared in favor of tourism... But many initiatives are emerging in the region, shaking up this intertwining.

The route and stops are chosen for the aesthetics of the line traced on skis and the relevance of the encounters with regard to the chosen theme.

The project, led by the Alpes Lines association, combines recreational roaming and scientific mediation in the mountains. It gave rise to various interviews and reports in the field and will be the subject of a documentary, co-produced by Labex ITTEM, intended to be presented in mountain film and scientific film festivals from fall 2022.

Find the details of the project in the Montagnes Magazine article