2023-08-21 15:57:36
From our special correspondent in Vars (Hautes-Alpes),
Perched at an altitude of 1,600 meters, among the trees, at the end of a winding road, the Val d’Escreins car park is visibly filling up on this Monday morning in August. Sébastien and Elsa’s car adds to those that make up this high mountain ballet, in this flagship location of the resort of Vars, in the Hautes-Alpes. This is the first time that the couple from Lyon have come to this resort, popular in winter with ski enthusiasts. “We didn’t want to go too far, not have too many people, and above all, we didn’t want to have heat, recognizes Elsa, who equips the two young children before tackling the hike of the day. Last year, we were in the Lot. It was the heat wave. We had sunstroke. And with the little ones, it’s not easy. »
This Monday, in fact, a heat dome fell on France, following several days of intense heat wave, especially in the Rhône valley and the Lyon region. And it is enough to scan the license plates in the car parks of the resort to realize that the Lyon family is far from the only ones to have fled the heat. Cars from Marseille, Vaucluse, Ardèche, etc. Either departments classified this Monday in “heat wave orange vigilance”. “We see them, the new ones, laughs Véronique, owner of a chalet in Vars for ten years. We see families without hats, without glasses, with young children. Worst thing I’ve seen recently is a cane buggy on a trail. »
The Dijonnaise, however, understands the enthusiasm of these new mountaineers for her favorite resort. And not just because of the larches and the beauty of the flowers she talks regarding with passion, but also because “at night, you can leave the duvet on!” »
“They come to seek freshness”
According to the Vars tourist office, 60% of tourists staying in the resort this week are coming for the first time, compared to 40% of regulars. “We have new customers who have never been here, notes Frédéric Bernardi, restaurateur for twenty-three years in the resort and owner of the restaurant La Marmotte. They come looking for freshness. We have Marseillais, Toulonnais, a lot of people now from Nantes or Angers too. When they arrive in the restaurant, the first thing they say is: ”Oh, there, there, how good it is here!” Usually, in the summer, we only worked when there was an event: a mountain bike competition for example. There, now, people come in the summer, mostly for short stays. You will see, global warming will change summer holiday habits. We also have a lot of people who want to invest and who are looking for apartments for sale. »
Behind her computer, the director of the Vars tourist office confirms the trend. “This week, we have an occupancy rate of 58%, announces Nicole Gaillan. This is more than the same period last year. We have a lot of young couples with small children, a lot of short last minute stays in view of the heat wave surely. People ask for hikes, not necessarily accompanied, short easy walks, white water sports, electric mountain biking in particular. »
“At 2,300 meters high, it was 21.6 degrees at 8 p.m.”
“The thing that does us a lot of good is the alarming speech of the press, smiles Marc Gueydon, president of the Union of trades and industries of the hotel industry of the Hautes-Alpes, himself owner of a hotel in Vars. The more the journalists say that it’s hot and that we’re going to burn down in the valley, the more people book with us, in the mountains! If you might also say that there are jellyfish in the sea…” Vars did not however escape the heat wave and, this Monday, the thermometer there abnormally came close to 30 degrees to the great surprise of the locals. “It’s getting hotter and hotter,” notes Frédéric Bernardi. Before, in the summer, we didn’t serve outside. Last night the terrace was full until 10 p.m. “” We live in crazy temperatures, is surprised Nicole Gaillan. Yesterday, at my place, at 2,300 meters high, it was 21.6 degrees at 8 p.m. The weather is unusually dry. We haven’t had the occasional thunderstorms that we have in the summer. The grass usually is green. She’s already here in her late summer version. »
A short distance away, in Chanousse, in the heart of the department, a fire has covered nearly 140 hectares at the time of writing.
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#hotter #journalists #people #book #mountains
