Alarm bells ringing across ski resorts in Europe as many forced to close for good
Global heating and declining snowfalls is causing many ski resorts to close their slopes.
Many ski resorts across Europe are being forced to close for good due to the ever shrinking snow season as fears for the future grow.
All over Europe alarm bells are ringing for many many mountain areas who are struggling with a truncated season due to global warming and resulting declining snowfalls.
In France, the ski resorts of Alpe du Grand Serre and Grand Puy have announced they will not open for this coming winter season, adding to a growing tally.
Local councillors voted not to reopen Alpe du Grand Serre, saying they could no longer pay for the mountain lifts or pay to complete a programme to diversify as an all-year tourist destination, according to The Guardian.
The move will wipe out 200 jobs and hit businesses in the nearby village of La Morte, whose economy and population of 150 people depend on winter sports.
Whilst due to an increasingly frequent absence of snow and a lack of visitors locals were given the chance to vote on whether or not to keep Grand Puy open. The chairlift here has been ferrying skiers up to an altitude of 1,800m for some 65 years.
In the end, a whopping 71 percent chose to bring it to a close and from November 1 the lifts will grind to a halt.
Grand Puy boasts more than 24 km of beautiful slopes, but has seen visitor numbers halve over the past 10 years.
During the 2013-14 season, officials recorded 17,000 skier days; in the same period from 2023-24, that figure was just 6,000.
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Many ski resorts now have no choice but to invest in all-season activities in a bid to entice visitors back.
One worried business owner, Thomas Ohlander, has been left wondering when the long awaited ski season will begin and he can finally open his outdoor adventure business, Do The North for the season.
To schedule a trip we have to be sure of snow,” he says, “And that start date is going backwards at a crazy speed.”
Each year, Ohlander’s local ice-skating club has recorded the first date on which its members managed to get out on the frozen lakes. In 1988, that date was November 4, this year the prediction is a month later at December 4.
