Editing Isola 2000 (section)

==History==
===Origins===
The area used to be part of the [[County of Nice]] in the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia]]. In 1861, with Italy's unification, it became part of the [[Province of Cuneo]]. In 1947 following the [[Treaty of Paris (1947)|treaty of Paris]] the area was given to France.

The idea of a ski resort near the small town of [[Isola, Alpes-Maritimes|Isola]] first came from a British Army ex-officer, and Olympic skier, [[Peter Boumphrey]], in the late 1960s, after he discovered a basin in the southern [[French Alps]] on a map. The local village of Isola owned the land he wanted to build the resort on – a small town located at an altitude of 900m, with poor prospects for development as citizens were migrating to the cities. As a result of this, the local mayor was happy to allow Boumphrey, and the London-based contractors he persuaded to help him, to build a ski resort above Isola, as the land required was of little value as farmland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Southern-Alps/Isola-2000#History |title=Isola 2000 |publisher=Pistehors.com |accessdate=2009-07-24}}</ref>

The regional government was concerned not too much about the resort itself, but about the road that was required to access it. Before the resort existed there was a small dirt road up the resort's location, and [[avalanches]] were constantly blocking this in the winter, as well as [[rockslide]]s in the summer. Therefore, the government was interested in building a slightly longer, but safer road to the resort, that could serve Isola 2000, and also another proposed resort, called [[Azur 2000]], that was never built. However, the mayor of Isola was adamant that the road pass through his town, and the British contractors did not want the resort to be any further from [[Côte d'Azur Airport|Nice Côte d'Azur Airport]], a key aspect of the location, so the new route was scrapped, and the old road was upgraded.<ref>[http://www.cg06.fr/culture/pdf/rr164-sportsdhiver.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121104037/http://www.cg06.fr/culture/pdf/rr164-sportsdhiver.pdf|date=21 November 2006}}</ref>

In the summer of 1971 the resort officially finished, and had a capacity to sleep 6,000 people. It opened in December that year.

===Recent developments===
Over the resort's history, many new [[ski lift|lifts]] have been added and upgraded, such as new 6 seater and 4 seater [[Chairlift|chair lifts]], as well as a new [[Gondola lift|gondola]], added in 2006. More [[lodging|accommodation]] has been built around the original 70s structure, and many bars, restaurants and shops have been established.

The access road to the Mediterranean coast has also been constantly improved by removing corners and adding bridges and tunnels. It is now very possible to make the drive in less than an hour and a half from the nearest city of [[Nice]]. There is also a regular [[bus]] service from many surrounding areas, with ticket prices very low, at around €1.00, making day trips amongst locals attractive and commonplace.

The [[1993 Tour de France]] and [[2024 Tour de France]] used Isola 2000 as a stage finish,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isola 2000 dans le Tour de France |url=http://www.ledicodutour.com/villes-etapes/villes_etapes_i/isola_2000.html |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=www.ledicodutour.com}}</ref> and the [[2008 Tour de France]] also passed through the resort.

On 23 March 2008, Isola hosted various [[Slalom skiing|slalom]] stages for the ''Championnats de France de Ski 2008'' (the 2008 French ski championships).<ref>[http://www.cg06.fr/sports/sports-evenements-ski2008.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130111513/http://www.cg06.fr/sports/sports-evenements-ski2008.html|date=30 January 2009}}</ref>