The winter ski season is upon us with a vengeance and many Brits will be jetting off to the Alps for some fun on the pistes over the New Year. The European Alps offer some of the best skiing in the world, attracting visitors from around the globe.
Recent data suggest that a whopping 55million skiers hit the slopes last year alone in Europe. Yet global warming is beginning to pose a serious existential threat to the industry, as snow lines creep ever higher up the mountain. Already many low-lying reports have been forced to close, unable to ensure they have enough snow to keep their runs and lifts open throughout the season.
As a result, that there are now literally hundreds of so-called ghost ski reports dotted around the Alps.
France has some of the most number of abandoned ski resorts, with an eye-watering 186 at the last count.
Only Japan has more, with over 200 ski resorts now closed following the economic collapse in the 1990s.
Many of these closed resorts still have their infrastructure standing – such as ski lifts, buildings and huts.
One of them is the Céüze 2000 ski resort in the southern French Alps, which had been open for 85 years before it was forced to close in 2018.
The resort started to run into difficulties in the 1990s, when snowfall became unreliable. To break even, the ski lifts had to be running for at least three months over the course of the winter.
However, in its last season, the resort was only open for half that time, while it had failed to even open in the previous two.
Opening the resort each season cost the local authority as much as €450,000 (£390,000).
As the season got shorter, the numbers no longer added up. To avoid a spiral of debt, the decision was made to close.
The resort is finally being dismantled, with a demolition team beginning its work on November 4.
There are still some reminders standing of its glory years – a hut for ski lift operators, with maps of the pistes left stacked beside a stapler and a staff rota pinned to the wall.
