After the Collet d’Allevard and the Col du Barioz, it is the turn of the Alpe du Grand Serre and Villard-de-Lans ski areas to close at the end of December. Since the start of the season, the resorts of Isère have suffered from a lack of snow cover and too mild temperatures.
The snow is making rare this winter in France, especially in mid-mountain resorts. In Isère, more and more domains skiers are constrained to close their ski lifts for lack of sufficient snow.
The resorts of Collet d’Allevard and Col du barioz have already been forced to close over the Christmas weekend. In the Vercors, the alpine areas ofAutrans-Meaudre and Gresse-en-Vercors also had to give up, while others, such as the Coulmesnever saw the snow coming.
This Saturday December 31, the resorts of Alpe du Great Greenhouse and Villard-de-Lans have also resigned themselves to stopping their ski lifts. “It’s heartbreaking, but the area was no longer skiable, we had reached the end, laments Arnaud Lemercier, head of the slopes at Alpe du Great Greenhouse. It has already happened that the station does not open for the season, for lack of snow. But this is the first time that we have opened the slopes only to close them in the middle of the season. Among the teams, there is a lot of disappointment”.
In the Vercors, people are used to it and are very philosophical. There is a saying that here, in winter, it is either all white or all green.
Fabrice Mielzakek, director of the Villard-de-Lans tourist office
The resort of Villard-de-Lans/Corrençon had to take the same radical decision by closing its Alpine and Nordic areas. “It’s catastrophic for people who live off the snow, because they don’t make a turnover, recognizes Fabrice Honeyzakekdirector of the tourist office. But in the Vercors, people are used to it and are very philosophical. There’s a saying that here in winter it’s either all white or all green“.
This weekend of December 31 is marked by “extremely mild temperatures“of the order of 15 to 16 degrees in the plain and at low altitude.
This Saturday, for example, the thermometer shows 16 degrees in Villard-de-Lans. This was already the case on December 25. “We broke no recordsnotes Denis Roy, head of the center Meteo France of the Northern Alps. The temperatures are one or even two degrees below the records. However, the temperatures are six to eight degrees above normal, which is considerable.“
“You have to know how to bounce back”
In the department, other stations operate in degraded mode. To Chamrousse, alone 45% of the alpine domain is accessible. While at 7 Lauxskiers can only enjoy 18 out of 63 runs.
Faced with this lack of snow, professionals are getting organized to offer alternative activities. To the Alps of Great Greenhouse for example, the bicycle Park will reopen on January 7. “As in summer, we will again offer downhill biking while waiting for the new snowfall, explains Sandro Contitravel advisor at the tourist office. We try to update the programs and plan something else besides skiing. You have to know how to bounce back“.
While the rain and the thaw have led to the closure of half of the ski slopes in France, only the altitude resorts manage to hold their own in Isère. Lhe Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes were full of skiers during all the school holidays.