As well as being a major ski resort, Alpe d'Huez is famous as a stage in the Tour de France, the fastest ascent taking 37 minutes and 35 seconds. This year's Alpe d'HuZes saw 4,661 of the volunteer amateur, professional and celebrity cyclists reach the 1,860m(6,102ft) summit in considerably slower times, but raising over 20m for KWF's work in the process.
The event's grand finale took place in the Palais de Sport on top of the mountain, where, in collaboration with Breda-based rental company RSL, Yamaha loaned a networked digital audio system, comprising an M7CL48-ES mixing console andSB168-ES stage boxes, at no cost.
As well as announcing the final total which had been raised (20,106,345.75), the event featured a live concert, headlined by singer-songwriters Margriet Eshuijs and Maarten Peters, whose Alpe d'HuZes Song was heavily promoted on Dutch television and radio. Thi helped to raise the profile of the event, while all profits from its sale on CD and download went to KWF.
The show was mixed by engineer Arjen van Egmond, who did the front of house and monitor mixes, as well as a multitrack recording using a Macbook Pro and the M7CL third port's ASIO driver. With house microphones deployed to capture the audience response, the performances were mixed for the album Alpe d'HuZes, which will be released around the time of the 2012 event, raising further money for KWF.
"Alpe d'HuZes is an extremely worthy cause, which we at the Benelux branch of Yamaha Music Europe are very happy to support in partnership with RSL," says Yamaha's Jan Prins.
"Raising over 20m for KWF is an extraordinary feat, which thousands of people have worked very hard to accomplish. We are pleased that Yamaha was able to help play apart in that achievement."
(Jim Evans)
