Alpe d'Huez

L'Alpe d'Huez (l‿al.pə d‿ɥɛz) is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of the fr massif, over the Oisans, and is from Grenoble. The Alpe d'Huez resort is accessible from Grenoble by the fr, which runs along the Romanche Valley passing through the communes of Livet-et-Gavet and Le Bourg-d'Oisans as well as Haut-Oisans via the Col de Sarenne. Alpe d'Huez is known internationally as an iconic cycling venue, as it is used regularly in the Tour de France cycle race, including twice on the same day in 2013. In 2019, it became the site of the first Tomorrowland Winter festival. The site of the Alpe has been permanently occupied since the Middle Ages. East of L'Alpe veti, a medieval agglomeration had grown from the end of the 11th to the 14th century under the name of Brandes. It was composed of a castle, a parish church with a cemetery, a village with about 80 homes, surface and underground mine workings, as well as several industrial districts. Its occupants operated a silver mine on behalf of the Dauphin. It is currently the only medieval fr known and preserved in its entirety, making it a unique site in Europe and classified as historical monuments by a decree of 6 August 1995. Excavated and studied continuously since 1977 by a team of the CNRS, this site is registered as an historic monument. The medieval mining operation stretched from Gua (the fr Valley) to the Lac Blanc [White Lake] (Massif des Rousses). The massif was also the subject of mining operations, including copper, from the Bronze Age. It is also at Alpe d'Huez where botanist Gaston Bonnier began his study of flora of France in 1871. The station was developed from the 1920s. This is where the first platter lift for skiers was opened in 1936 with perches by fr, creator of the Poma company. On average, Alpe d'Huez experiences 159.9 days per year with a minimum temperature below , 22.