French ski area closes due to lack of snow

French ski area closes due to lack of snow

A large French alpine ski area that suffers from the decline in snowfall will close after it has not been possible to find financial resources to transform the slopes all year round.

closure of the Alpe du Grand Serre

The Alpe du Grand Serre ski station in the ISère region in southwestern France will not be reopened this year. This was announced by a decision by the local council, which has discontinued the financing of plans in order not to rely exclusively on winter sports. This was shared by the President of the Council, Coraline Saurat, the radio station France Bleu.

consequences of climate change

The resort, which is located near the higher alp d’Huez, is a skid establishment in Europe, which has been confronted with an existential crisis in recent years. This crisis is done by the climate crisis Fuels lead to warmer and shorter winters.

plans for a sustainable future

Due to the steadily decreasing snowfall, the community had launched a plan entitled "Alpe de Grande Serre 2050". This should replace the ski lifts and improve the station for both summer and winter sports. "The closure of the station would be really catastrophic for the region," said Marie-Noëlle Battistel, MP of the ISère region, recently in an interview with the local television station Télégrenoble and described the importance of the facility.

economic effects

There are almost 200 jobs that depend on this station. "The closure of such an important station sends a catastrophic signal at the national level," Battistel continued. On Saturday, 47 members of the Matheysine Council, to which the resort belongs, voted to end a contract with the ski lift operator SATA Group. Only 12 members voted for the continuation of the company, as can be seen from the numbers of the council.

financial challenges

Coraline Saurat said that around 2.8 million euros ($ 3.07 million) have been invested since 2017 to transform the region into a year -round resort. With regard to the increasingly unreliable snow conditions, however, it is too risky to complete the last years of the project. "The influence of an obligation for two more years would have been considerable, without any perspective for the future," said Saurat.

a worrying trend

The closure of Alpe du Grand Serre will be the dark preliminary bay for numerous other medium -sized alpine ski stations, which also fight with declining snowfalls. This fits into a growing list of ski area closings. On Sunday the Grand Puy station was also permanently closed in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region according to a public referendum .