Parrot
A two-lift alpine area in the volcanic Cezallier, awkward enough to reach that skiers had to walk 60 metres uphill from the car park to the lift; downhill skiing ended in the late 1980s and the site now works year-round without lifts.
- Region
- Auvergne
- Country
- France
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- late 1960s
- Year closed
- late 1980s
- Reason for closure
- Poor access as much as anything else - the bottom stations stood some 60 m above the car park, leaving skiers a walk of around 700 m carrying their skis before they could ride. Alpine skiing ceased in the late 1980s and the lifts were dismantled.
History
Parrot lies in the Cezallier, the high volcanic plateau between the Monts Dore and the Monts du Cantal, in the commune of Anzat-le-Luguet in the Puy-de-Dome. Set up in the late 1960s on local initiative, it ran two Montaz-Mautino T-bars - a beginners' lift of about 200 m and a larger one of nearly 700 m serving three runs. Its weakness was the approach: the lift departures sat around 60 m above the car park, so skiers faced a walk of some 700 m with their skis on their shoulders before they could start, and that awkwardness is cited as a likely reason the alpine operation was given up in the late 1980s and the lifts taken down. The site itself never emptied. It runs today as Parrot Nature, with six marked Nordic walking trails, sledging, mountain biking, summer walking and paragliding, and the Maison du Signal for rentals and refreshments. Its cross-country skiing, once eight groomed trails on entirely natural snow, became precarious after 2021 when the commune stopped grooming below about 1,350 to 1,400 m. Piste names and lift build years are not recorded.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | T-Bar | Montaz-Mautino | The larger of the two lifts at nearly 700 m, serving three descents |
| Unnamed lift | T-Bar | Montaz-Mautino | A beginners' lift of roughly 200 m |
Sources and further reading
More in France
Location
45.3319, 3.0414