User:Enalorac/sandbox

The « Loge des Gardes » is a winter sport resort and an outdoor activities centre in summer, located near the Auvergne region, far south in the Allier departement, bordering on the Loire (department) and Puy-de-Dôme departements. The ski runs can be found at the heart of the Assise forest (which covers 600 hectares), on the mountainside of the Pierres du Jour (1 164 m, 3819 ft) which is the peak of the monts de la Madeleine.

The resort is open in winter, depending on weather conditions (Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing), but also every day in summer including public holidays (tubby jump, MTB, 3G ejection, tyrolean traverse, ATVtrack, go-kart, X-Raycer, jumping tower, mountainboard…)

Geography
The Loge des Gardes is located in the Allier departement, on the municipal area of Laprugne, at an altitude of 1077 meters (3 533 ft), at the heart of the state-owned forest of l’Assise. The resort is about 5 kilometres (3 miles) as the crow flies from the village and 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) by car via departemental roads D 477, D 182 and D 177.

It is the only station where you can practice alpine skiing in the monts de la Madeleine, which is a mountain chain of the Massif Central, bordered, in the East, by the plain of Roanne, in the West by the Montagne bourbonnaise, in the North by the traditional region of Charolais and in the South by the monts du Forez. This mountain range marks the boundary between the Allier and Loire departements.

The skiing area is located on the slopes of the Pierre du Jour, which is the peak of the monts de la Madeleine with an altitude of 1 164 metres (3819 ft).

The resort is close to the area of Roanne (28 kilometres; 17.4 miles), Thiers (41 kilometres; 25.5 miles) and Vichy (47 kilometres; 29.2 miles). It is conveniently located next to the Route nationale 7.

Winter sports.
The Loge des Gardes has an alpine skiing area situated on the north slopes of the Pierre du Jour ; it has an altitude between 1 050 m (3 445 ft) and 1 160 m (3 806 ft). The ski runs are traced in the middle of European beech and spruce forests. It offers 2,2 kilometres of slopes (1.4 miles). You can find there: four ski runs including red, blue and green runs that you can access to thanks to three ski lifts (750, 500 and 350 meters long) and one moving walkway for beginners. Ski lifts are also open for snowboarders.

Cross-country skiing can be practiced in the state-owned forest of l’Assise. This site offers a green run of 2,5 kilometres (1.5 miles), a blue run of 8 kilometres (5 miles) and a red run of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).

This place is also ideal for snowshoeing via the circuit of Pierres.



Summer activities
In Summer, drag lifts are still operating and are used for various activities such as mountain boarding, off road skating, mountain biking and kick scooter on grass.

The resort also has an alpine slide run of 350 metres long with strong bends, which meander between the trees. Two bob-tubby runs can also be found; it allows you to slide on artificial turf thanks to a buoy.