-
Paris hospital dog trial goes from strength to strength
An English setter rescue dog at one of the world’s top cancer hospitals in Paris has been described as “a bubble of oxygen”
-
PHOTOS: Olympic Flame to travel to France on beautiful historic ship
The 127-year-old ship sets sail on Saturday with ‘the most important passenger it has ever carried’
-
Phone scams, gardening, insurance claims: 5 French practical updates
Our roundup of recent practical articles you may have missed
Video: driver in 80s ends up with car on red ski run in east France
Skiers could not believe it when his white estate car emerged onto the piste in late afternoon
A French driver in his 80s found himself in for a snowier and steeper drive than planned this week when he managed to drive onto a red ski slope.
Skiers at Le Markstein ski station in Haut-Rhin, Grand Est were surprised to see the white estate car emerge onto the piste at around 16:00 on Monday, January 24.
How the driver managed to make it onto the piste is still somewhat of a mystery, but the driver said he had not done it deliberately.
Director of the ski station, Thomas Cron, said: “In winter, the [summit road] Route des Crêtes is closed to cars, and we also have a little snow wall that separates the road from the pistes.”
He added: “Luckily, the snow was not icy, so the car didn’t slide down too far and the driver got out fine. The gendarmerie were called on-site, and they requested a hospital check-up [for the driver] anyway.”
Le Markstein ski station is crisscrossed by the main road, the Route Departementale 430 (D430), also known as the Route des Crêtes. It is possible that the driver accidentally came off the main road and instead turned onto a red piste.
The ski station called a snowplough to tow the car, which was not damaged despite its ski adventure.
Skiers on the slope quickly filmed the scene and it was shared on social media.
This is not the first time a car has made a break for it at the Markstein station.
Mr Cron said: “It’s the third time [since I’ve been director]. Sometimes at the weekend, under the influence of alcohol, some people think it’s funny to have a go…and sometimes we find empty cars, but that’s usually on a green slope…”
Le Markstein is a winter sports station in the Vosges mountains in Haut-Rhin (Alsace), between 1,020m and 1,268m. It has four green pistes, four blue, two red, and two black.
Related articles
Do we have to convert our French health pass to the new vaccine pass?
France to bring in vaccine passes: What will change and when?
French vaccine pass ruled to be constitutional, it will begin Monday
