Discover the history of le Pilatus
Le Pilatus has existed for more than 50 years. It has seen Courchevel ski resort evolve over the years. Today, the chalet offers various services for holidaymakers including its Hotel-Restaurant.
Discover
Hôtel restaurant le Pilatus chalet in Courchevel
The extraordinary tale of adventure behind it all
-
Primarily1960In 1960, Martine and Michel Ziegler arrived in Courchevel. Michel was an airplane pilot and a keen mountain lover and whose plan was to improve access to the Savoyard valleys with the use of planes. Up until then there was only a farm and the ski tow on the Pralong slope when the Mayor and the local council, highly in favour of such a project, decided to build the very first mountain landing strip. The name “altiport” appeared some months later.
-
The first restaurant1962There were no roads leading up to the altiport that first winter in 1961 so the 5 employees of Air Alpes and the customers would either ski to reach it or come on the tracked vehicle bought from Paul-Emile Victor’s expeditions. Certain particularly enthusiastic guests would spend the day on the decking and Martine, who was in charge of feeding the personnel, started by making the coffee… and that’s where the idea of having a restaurant here came from. There were no mod cons at that time, so it was pretty rustic having no running water, just a pipe hooked up to a spring and with provisions being brought up by ski or the tracked vehicle. The 11th January 1962, the Courchevel air strip was inaugurated and the new company Air Alpes was soon off the ground. At first, Martine, Michel and the young Bruno lived in a bedroom in the hangar above the mechanics workshop. Bruno, who was four years old at the time, still vividly remembers the smell of the oil stove which served as their rudimentary heating system! Then the first Altibar chalet was set on a platform. It started off as a prefabricated building which was subsequently bought out by the company Rossignol, who used it to host customers during the 1961 World Ski Championship in Chamonix. Up until 1968, Martine, Michel and Bruno lived in the attic of the chalet.
-
First Chalet Altibar1968In 1968, the altiport platform needed to be extended. The chalet had become too small for the booming business of Air Alpes and the successful restaurant and was dismantled and transported to the Alpe d’Huez where it became L’Altibar at the new altiport. It has remained the base of the current, larger L’Altibar at the Alpe d’Huez. So, in 1968 Martine and Michel bought a plot of land in St Bon above the platform where they built the first big chalet which would house their personal lodgings, the Air Alpes’ offices, the airport and the Altibar. The double-sloped chalet was original as all the Courchevel 1850 chalets had one: the pared-down style of chalets in Méribel, built by the architect Christian Durupt was the preferred choice. Firstly Martine prepared family-style meals around a large fireplace and then when coming to these Alpine ski resorts became popular in the 70s, the restaurant became self-service. During the busy days in the February holidays, the restaurant could serve up to 400 people per day!
-
Altibar1984In 1984, seeing as the company Air Alpes had not used the Altibar chalet for several years, it was the opportunity to modernise it all. Major works were undertaken to give it a more authentic Savoyard style. The Air Alpes counter was removed to make space for a larger restaurant and the second floor with the large windows was turned into a living area for the Ziegler family. The chalet was now entirely used as a restaurant. It still kept its airport to continue welcoming passengers.
-
Olympic Games1992L’Altibar also evokes a wonderful sports adventure. The three Delaup brothers; Steeve, Anthony and Grégory, whose parents Jacky and Christiane worked for the Altibar chalet, grew up there and were members of the French ski jumping team. Steeve came sixth in the Albertville Winter Olympic Games in 1992 and his performance is still considered to be the best in the history of men’s ski jumping. They took Nicolas Dessum along to ski jumping classes, whose parents also worked at the Altibar chalet. Nicolas remains the only Frenchman to have won the men’s world cup. It is now Léa, the daughter of Léone and Pascal Lemare, the current managers of the Altibar chalet, who is flying the flag once more for the chalet. She has participated in the last two Olympiads and hopes to go even further still…
-
New start2001In 2001, the Altibar chalet was refurbished for the fourth time. Martine and Michel found a mountain-loving architect, Christopher Unterkofler (former high-level skier), who worked in the deep depths of an Austrian valley, who in three years, managed to transform L’Altibar into a cosy mountain refuge. Wood and stones were given pride of place and a new trend was set in Courchevel. There was no more self-service restaurant, this time it became a typical Savoyard restaurant with food served at each table. The restaurant was named Le Pilatus in reference to the emblematic plane which flew with Air Alpes for over 20 years.
-
La pilatus2003 - 2017Martine sadly left us in 2003 and Michel is enjoying his well-earned retirement. The chalet is now in the safe hands of their four children; Bruno, Emmanuelle, Sylvain and Stéphanie who strive to maintain a simple and family-style feel to this chalet in loving memory of their mother and such a great adventurous history. They have recently entrusted the management of the restaurant, Le Pilatus to Léone and Pascal Lemare to ensure that this adventure, which started back in 1961, goes on.
