Giant tents at 2,800 metres and in the middle of a blizzard

There are pictures in one’s mind of blazing mountains with white snow on top and an amazing azure-blue heaven with an unbelievably brilliant sun. The thought of going downhill skiing just makes your legs dancing and jumping. On the other hand in valleys and over tree-free heights there can also be very windy now and then. Nordic tipi rental Eventipi had a first-hand experience of the fickle weather of the high altitudes when taking on a spectacular build on 2,800 metres in the French Alps back in 2018.

Image Eventipi, France

Giants in the Alps

There were outstanding days when Eventipi prepared for an event at La Plange in February 2018. At an altitude of 2,800 meters, they connected three giant Nordic tipis with their witch hat look (Stratus 72) and erected one smaller event tent at the end of the row (Cirrus 40). The view of the Alps got a further dimension as the giant tipis raised their silhouettes to the sky with the mountains in the background. A Nimbus 16, the smaller side-kick tent or gazebo, stood between the Cirrus and the bigger tents, creating a roof at the entrance. The sun was shining on them all the time while building the configuration.

Image Eventipi, France

The skiing system, La Plagne, consists of ten villages and the lower part has lots of easier downhill skiing, but there are also high and steep places where the snow is deep and off-piste is the thing. La Plagne means a flat area, and at the bottom of the mountains it is flat, but at higher levels the mountain peaks rise. There are large areas for the wind to blow over.

Image Eventipi, France

Withstanding the blizzard

When the customer evening came there was a totally different scene. The weather had turned into snowing and became really bad during the night. Eventipi did everything they could to give the customer and visitors something to remember and the gathering that was the focus of the evening went out well.

Image Eventipi, France

- Quality is a principle, commitment is a value and technical expertise is a requirement. The great nature events are the speciality to the company and the Alps in wintertime means snow, that’s for sure. We couldn’t imagine the winds, but we always prepare the Nordic tipis to withstand the weather, Alain Heit, the owner of Eventipi, says.

And they got to prove it in the hardest way ever then the blizzard of the blizzards occurred. Something like it had not been seen for the past twenty years. Wind speeds up to the maximum limit for strength calculations of the Nordic tips were measured and the tents were still standing.

Image Eventipi, France

The day after the event, La Plagne ski station was closed. There was no skiing, but also any opportunities to get there or leave the station. A lot of snow had to be shovelled from the canvas walls – a heavy work – but the giant Nordic tipis remained standing, pointing their peaks to the grey sky.

Image Eventipi, France

- Of course I was worried, but from my experience these tents can stand through really bad weather, Alain ends the story.