Snowpark evolution in France from 1990 to 2010: A plurality of compromises and gradual rationalization behind a major territorial innovation

Abstract

The article describes the snowpark innovation in French ski resorts through a processual approach focusing on what constitutes the link between heterogeneous stakeholders. The process studied is first that of a reversal of the norm, leading to new conventions. Relocation from the edge to the center has not, however, obliterated the subcultural identity of freestyle. Moreover, despite the fact that snowparks have become mainstream, a number of their features remain laden with cultural specificities, showing the compromises made by resort managers. At the same time, increasing snowpark attendance is the result of other compromises making it possible to go beyond an elitist trend and its latent competitive technical escalation. These various compromises joined with a process of rationalization which, for its part, contributed to the gradual solidification of the network constituted around these facilities.