Winter is coming in the Northern Hemisphere. And for a ski resort in France, that means facing the fact that there isn’t enough snow to maintain activities.
La Sambuy, a town that runs a family ski destination near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, has decided to dismantle its ski lifts because global warming has shortened the ski season to just a few weeks, meaning it is no longer profitable to maintain them. open.
“Before, it used to snow practically from the first of December until the 30th of March,” La Sambuy mayor Jacques Dalex told CNN .
Last winter, however, there were only “four weeks of snow and even then, little snow,” he added. This meant that “very quickly stones and rocks appeared on the track”.
Able to open for less than five weeks during January and February, Dalex said the resort expects an annual operating loss of around €500,000. Maintaining the elevators alone costs 80 thousand euros (about R$415 thousand) per year.
La Sambuy is not a large resort, with just three lifts and a handful of runs that reach a maximum height of 1,850 meters.
However, with a variety of slopes ranging from “black” for experts to “green” for beginners and relatively cheap skiing fees, it was popular with families seeking a more low-key alpine experience than that offered by larger destinations. and higher altitude.
“On The Snow” – a British search site for places to ski – calls it “an idyllic place to visit, with exceptional panoramic views and everything you need in a friendly resort”.
This summer, when the critical moment for planning the winter season arrived, the La Sambuy City Council decided to close the resort it has managed since 2016.
Although its ski infrastructure must be dismantled as soon as possible, it is hoped that the town can still attract visitors.
Dalex stated that the resort, which also markets itself as a destination for hiking and outdoor activities in the summer, will become a place to “discover and protect nature, go hiking, play sports if possible.”
The La Sambuy website now has a message saying that the ski resort “closed definitively” on September 10th, following a decision by the City Council.
“Thank you everyone for this last summer of 2023 and for all the wonderful years we spent by your side,” it said.
Risk in “snow supply”
La Sambuy is not the only French ski resort facing collapse.
Last year, Saint-Firmin, another small alpine ski destination, opted to remove its ski lift after seeing the winter season shrink from months to weeks, a situation also attributed to climate change.
Mountain Wilderness, a French environmental group, says it has dismantled 22 cable cars in France since 2001 and estimates that there are still 106 abandoned cable cars in 59 locations across the country.
According to a report published in August by the scientific journal Nature Climate Change, 53% of the 2,234 ski resorts surveyed in Europe are likely to face “a very high snow supply risk” at 2°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. , without the use of artificial snow.
A report published in January in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found a “substantial possibility” of global temperature increases exceeding this 2°C threshold later this century.
Dalex, from La Sambuy, said that “all winter sports resorts in France are affected by global warming”, especially those situated at medium mountainous altitudes, between 1,000 and 1,500 metres.
Not everyone in town is willing to give up without a fight.
A petition was launched this year by an association called All Together For La Sambuy, asking the city to keep the resort, and others, open by adopting a new, more “durable” model – primarily, operating the cable car in the summer to take visitors up the mountain.
The petition gathered more than 1,900 signatures and, according to Christian Bailly, president of the association, the group is taking legal action to reverse the City Council’s decision.
He said the closure is “harmful” to the town and surrounding area, adding that the ski resort is “a social element of our small town of 7,500 inhabitants”.
Dalex says the cause of the closure is clear.
He stated that “global warming is evidently underway” and happening “even faster than scientists predicted.”
Finally, Dalex points out that it is increasingly difficult for ski resorts to operate, with many being “forced to adapt” to a new climate.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
