The « Oxygène » ski club is a non-profit association and was created in 1999. Oxigène has around one hundred members.
Oxygène is affiliated to the Fédération Française de SKI which is part of the Comité Régional du Massif des Vosges.
The objective of the association: Promoting outdoor activities in general; boardsports in particular such as skiing, surfing, ski-mountaineering, telemark, etc. We also want to promote hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, rollerblading and travelling abroad
The association’s head office is in Saizerais, a village that has 1500 inhabitants and is situated in the north of Nancy inside the Parc Régional de Lorraine.
The association’s philosophy: You won’t be seeing anybody competing or using stopwatches, it’s all about nature in general and mountains in particular. There are no races but a competitive spirit at all levels and an emphasis on safety.
There’s a place for everybody whether it is a child who is a beginner, an adult who wants to get better, or an excellent skier that wants to leave his comfort zone.
Backcountry skiing, off piste skiing, challenging freeride, high mountains and exotic skiing are not taboos, however they are always tackled with maximum attention paid to safety and proper supervision.
Despite being a long way from great mountain ranges such as the Alps, our club is active in skiing and mountaineering activities as you can see on this list: list of outings organised.
But you can only do skiing a few months of a year, so the rest of the time we organize outings on foot, on rollerblades, on mountain bikes or in canoes. Once again, no feats are intended but just having fun while being safe and respecting the environment.
For some time now, OXYGENE has decided not to simply be consumer oriented in respect to outdoor activities but to also play a part in promoting these kinds of activities.
In this mindset, a project to install waymarked paths in the village of Saizerais was completed thanks to the financial support from the village.
More recently, OXYGENE has joined theL3V (Association Lorraine Véloroutes Voies Vertes) and is closely following the progress of the Voie Verte des Boucles de la Moselle project.
Lastly, in 2006, our association has become involved in a rather daring challenge: climbing the highest peak in every country of the European Union. It is a long term goal but it is part of the philosophy that the association has always had.
(Translation Christopher SLOAN )
