The organizers of the 12th Outdoormix Festival in Embrun did everything well by summoning summer weather conditions. Gone are the fears experienced during the long, gray, and cool days of the previous fortnight for Alexandre Besseau and Germain Gasdon, both heads of the We Are Hautes-Alpes association, a name that expresses the roots of the Hautes-Alpes and the international dimension of this major event. (La Provence, May 22, 2026, Ndlr)
Alexandre Besseau recalls the first steps taken in 2012 on the space of the Embrun water plan. “Outdoor culture was not very popular, and yet, for us, it symbolizes the high-alpine way of life. Many of us in the department, start as skiers and then go sailing on the lake!” Are the Hautes-Alpes a vast and enviable playground? The answer is being provided these days by the Outdoormix. Who remembers the promotion engaged by the departmental tourism committee 20 years ago, declaring the department a “wonderful playground.”
A campaign that was ultimately short-lived as it was deemed too restrictive. Leisure activities, not too many! But it is difficult to go against nature. Tourism has definitively established itself as the main economic driver, thanks to an exceptional natural environment and human intervention. The Hautes-Alpes are therefore – largely at least – freestyle, freeride… From the shores of the Embrun water plan and the Serre-Ponçon lake, the view extends to the still snowy slopes of Les Orres. The high-alpine signature in two juxtaposed images.
Moreover, in the 1990s, a day was dedicated to skiing in the morning on the Orrian slopes and windsurfing on the Embrun water plan. Ending with a party. In short, an Outdoormix ahead of its time. Each evening features a concert and many artists on the beach shaped like a green center stage (program on outdoormixfestival.com).
The Department is now a partner of the Embrun event. Yvan Chaix, director of the Tourist Development Agency, was present on Friday, May 22, for the launch of the 2026 edition and highlighted the dense program of sports events for the summer. The highlight will be the Tour de France.
“In 10 years, including this year, the Tour will have visited the Hautes-Alpes 24 times, whether for arrivals or departures. It is a unique situation,” he concluded.
The expertise of the We are Hautes-Alpes association is recognized by all. Therefore, the organization of the Grand Trail de Serre-Ponçon will be entrusted to them next September.
Then, in April 2027, Serre Chevalier will call on the people of Embrun for the first Outdoormix Festival Winter. It will be another opportunity to showcase the mountain, particularly that of the Hautes-Alpes, so beautiful and sought-after.
