{"id":3303,"date":"2016-08-22T14:31:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/?p=3303"},"modified":"2016-08-22T14:31:57","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:31:57","slug":"climbing-in-dorenaz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/climbing-in-dorenaz\/","title":{"rendered":"Climbing in Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz is a small village on the way to Sion and about 18 minutes from Saillon. It is also a few minutes from Aigle. I walked around the area before climbing two of the routes and I noticed that the rocks around here appeared to be magnetite. I saw rust where old climbing equipment had been removed. The magnetite idea came from the rust colour on some of the larger blocks that had broken free decades ago.<\/p>\n

\"Climbing<\/a>
One of the climbing walls in Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I continued the exploration of the village I noticed that on one roundabout they have a mining wagon so I looked up the village but there was no mention of mining so I extended the research to include mining in the region. It is at this point that I found mentions of anthracite mining in this village. As this pdf<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0illustrates coal mining was one of the local activities. The coal was hard to extract for two reasons. The first is that the deposits are only thin and they have been folded by geological activity. In 1881 they extracted 900 tons of coal from one of the deposits.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
I did not expect that Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz was going to be a former coal mining town.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ce tour d\u00e2\u20ac\u2122horizon des mines et carri\u00c3\u00a8res de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz met en \u00c3\u00a9vidence la vocation particuli\u00c3\u00a8re de cette commune. Elle sort du sch\u00c3\u00a9ma habituel du Valais, ayant abandonn\u00c3\u00a9 le \u00c2\u00ablabourage \u00c2\u00bb et le \u00c2\u00ab pastourage \u00c2\u00bb traditionnels. Les Diablerains \u00e2\u20ac\u201c puisque c\u00e2\u20ac\u2122est ainsi que l\u00e2\u20ac\u2122on appelle les habitants de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz \u00e2\u20ac\u201c se sont presque tous adonn\u00c3\u00a9s \u00c3\u00a0 l\u00e2\u20ac\u2122industrie de la pierre. Elle leur a insuffl\u00c3\u00a9 une extraordinaire dynamique \u00c3\u00a9conomique : les Diablerains parcoururent la Romandie en livrant et posant leurs ardoises54. Il y a aussi eu un revers de m\u00c3\u00a9daille. Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz a eu des allures de ville du Nord de la France avec ses fa\u00c3\u00a7ades noircies par la poussi\u00c3\u00a8re du charbon. Et la silicose a frapp\u00c3\u00a9 nombre de carriers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is what I noticed in the village. I saw two or three old chalets built on stilts like you expect to find. The church looks darker than in other villages. In the quote above they wrote “Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz as the appearance of cities from the North of France with its coal darkened walls.”<\/p>\n

Le charbon: un bassin houiller s\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c3\u00a9tend des bords du L\u00c3\u00a9man, entre Lausanne et Montreux, jusqu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c3\u00a0 Oron et Sensales\/FR. Un tr\u00c3\u00a8s grand nombre de mines ont \u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 exploit\u00c3\u00a9es de 1709 \u00c3\u00a0 la deuxi\u00c3\u00a8me guerre mondiale, sur la base de 120 concessions attribu\u00c3\u00a9es. L\u00e2\u20ac\u2122utilisation de ce charbon sera la cause de la premi\u00c3\u00a8re pollution de l\u00e2\u20ac\u2122air sur les bords du Leman. D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122autres mines importantes ont \u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 exploit\u00c3\u00a9es par exemple entre Colonge et Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz.<\/p>\n

… MINES DE LA M\u00c3\u2030REUNE (DOR\u00c3\u2030NAZ)<\/h5>\n

D\u00c3\u00a9v :\u00c2\u00a05\u00e2\u20ac\u2122000 m \u00c2\u00a0D\u00c3\u00a9niv. :\u00c2\u00a0200 m
\nRemarque : anthracite<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Source: Mines et carri\u00c3\u00a8res souterraines de Suisse romande<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I find it really interesting to read about how Polish coal miners helped in the mining of resources from Valais.<\/p>\n

Dans la lettre envoy\u00c3\u00a9e \u00c3\u00a0 Joseph Dionisotti, de Muralt exigeait encore que ces intern\u00c3\u00a9s re\u00c3\u00a7oivent un salaire relativement \u00c3\u00a9lev\u00c3\u00a9, soient bien nourris, bien log\u00c3\u00a9s et surveill\u00c3\u00a9s par la gendarmerie valaisanne. Le 27 septembre 1940 d\u00c3\u00a9j\u00c3\u00a0, les premiers intern\u00c3\u00a9s militaires polonais arriv\u00c3\u00a8rent aux mines de Chandoline. Le lieutenant polonais Raspondek \u00c3\u00a9tait responsable des quarante-cinq intern\u00c3\u00a9s. Il fut d\u00e2\u20ac\u2122une aide pr\u00c3\u00a9cieuse pour l\u00e2\u20ac\u2122entrepreneur montheysan, gr\u00c3\u00a2ce \u00c3\u00a0 sa grande exp\u00c3\u00a9rience acquise aux mines de Kattowitz.<\/p>\n

source: Camps et Homes d’accueil du Valais<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If and when I go back to Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz I want to walk up the path I walked up. I was looking for a route to get above the climbing wall but instead I found a steep path. On either side of this steep path I saw stone walls had been built on either side. These walls looked old so I went back down to get my hiking boots, my bag and the camera. When I saw that the hike was about 1hr30 I turned around and came back down.<\/p>\n

Les mines d’anthracite (charbon) de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz ont \u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 exploit\u00c3\u00a9es durant une centaine d’ann\u00c3\u00a9es. Le gisement principal d’anthracite se trouve au Plan de La M\u00c3\u00a9reune, au-dessus de La Gi\u00c3\u00a8te (commune de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz), o\u00c3\u00b9 trois b\u00c3\u00a2timents sont encore visibles de nos jours. Les premi\u00c3\u00a8res extractions ont lieu dans les ann\u00c3\u00a9es 1855-1859, mais la v\u00c3\u00a9ritable exploitation commence d\u00c3\u00a8s 1874 gr\u00c3\u00a2ce au pr\u00c3\u00a9sident de la commune de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz, Pierre-Maurice Paccolat. La concession du charbon de La M\u00c3\u00a9reune passe en novembre 1913 aux mains du chimiste saint-gallois J. Billwiller, de Goldau, mais celui-ci n’exploite finalement pas le filon.
\nC’est la soci\u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 “Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz SA, Charbonnages du Valais \u00c3\u00a0 Vernayaz” qui reprend le flambeau en 1917 par la remise en \u00c3\u00a9tat des deux anciennes galeries \u00c3\u00a0 La M\u00c3\u00a9reune. Un v\u00c3\u00a9ritable village industriel se construit alors au Plan de La M\u00c3\u00a9reune; il accueillera jusqu’\u00c3\u00a0 750 ouvriers, avec trois grands b\u00c3\u00a2timents et vingt petites baraques. Le charbon est conduit \u00c3\u00a0 la briqueterie de Vernayaz gr\u00c3\u00a2ce \u00c3\u00a0 un t\u00c3\u00a9l\u00c3\u00a9ph\u00c3\u00a9rique qui relie La M\u00c3\u00a9reune \u00c3\u00a0 la gare de Vernayaz, avec une station interm\u00c3\u00a9diaire \u00c3\u00a0 Alesse.
\nPass\u00c3\u00a9e la production de charbon li\u00c3\u00a9e \u00c3\u00a0 l’\u00c3\u00a9conomie de guerre (1917 jusqu’en 1921), la soci\u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz SA est liquid\u00c3\u00a9e par voie de faillite entre 1922 et 1924. La faillite englobe les mines et la briqueterie, avec un d\u00c3\u00a9couvert de plusieurs millions de francs. C’est alors la Soci\u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 de Banque suisse qui reprend les mines et b\u00c3\u00a2timents de la M\u00c3\u00a9reune.
\nAu cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la soci\u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 anonyme “Mines d’anthracite de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz”, sous la direction de l’industriel s\u00c3\u00a9dunois Oscar Machoud, relance l’exploitation de l’anthracite. O. Machoud rach\u00c3\u00a8te les immeubles en 1941 (logements, cuisine, bains, bureaux, magasin, infirmerie, salle des machines), puis, la m\u00c3\u00aame ann\u00c3\u00a9e, la soci\u00c3\u00a9t\u00c3\u00a9 entre dans le giron de l’industriel montheysan Joseph Dionisotti, d\u00c3\u00a9tenteur des concessions de Chandoline, Nendaz, Salins, Aproz, Collonges, Veysonnaz, Maragn\u00c3\u00a9naz et Sion. L’administration est concentr\u00c3\u00a9e \u00c3\u00a0 Monthey o\u00c3\u00b9 J. Dionisotti dirige aussi une fabrique de chaux vive et sa carri\u00c3\u00a8re de “gr\u00c3\u00a8s dur” de Cho\u00c3\u00abx. Il exploite la mine de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz jusqu’en 1953, ann\u00c3\u00a9e o\u00c3\u00b9 celle-ci est d\u00c3\u00a9laiss\u00c3\u00a9e et \u00c3\u00a0 partir de laquelle les installations sont laiss\u00c3\u00a9es \u00c3\u00a0 l’abandon. Malgr\u00c3\u00a9 plusieurs projets de relance de l’exploitation, aucune activit\u00c3\u00a9 ne reprendra dans les mines de Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz. Source<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Travelling experience, going to places like Kiruna in Sweden and towards old railway lines in the Jura have taught me to do some research to see how places in the middle of nowhere, that you would not normally visit can be historically interesting.<\/p>\n

This is a village with a current population of about 800 people and they commute to work according to the English wikipedia entry. If you are still curious here is a final document<\/a> about mining and Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz, in French.<\/p>\n

Although the village was interesting I was disappointed by the climbing. If I drive for one hour I want to go to the real mountains, to enjoy a nice landscape and to feel closer to nature. This climbing wall is right on the road side and this detracts from the usual pleasure of climbing. If you do want to climb here then this site<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0will provide you with the required information.<\/p>\n

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Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>Dor\u00c3\u00a9naz is a small village on the way to Sion and about 18 minutes from Saillon. It is also a few minutes from Aigle. I walked around the area before climbing two of the routes and I noticed that the rocks around here appeared to be magnetite. I saw rust where old climbing equipment had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.main-vision.com\/richard\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}