A debate for the future of the French ski resorts

After several ski resorts in France permanently closed down this year,
hundreds of others ski resorts are threatened by the global warming and are
already working on how to repurpose their facilities. The golden age of
white winters has gone. Currently about 90% of the ski resorts in the Alps
are graced with sufficient amount of natural snow to function properly,
experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) expect that by the end of the century this percentage will drop to
about 61%. Out of all the 666 existing ski resorts may be only a third will
survive this heavy blow.

The increase of the temperatures in the mountains is currently happening
with twice the speeds it does in other regions of the world, a researcher
from the Observatory on Climate Change explains. Since 1960 the temperature
in the French Alps has risen with 3 degrees. “The rain-snow barrier will
rise with 450-600 meters in the coming decades”.

The consequences will be dramatic for all resorts situated above 1800m
above sea level. “In general they will get much less snow (up to a third
less by 2040) and will suffer more from the frequent changes of the
climate, for example the “sterile” 2003 and 2007 - years with very little
snow and short winters. We expect the winter seasons to be in general being
shortened by a month in 2040 and by two months and a half by 2080”. These
warnings were voiced by the alp education network Educ'ALP. These warnings
are not only limited to the Alps. According to the National Meteo Institute
in Sweden, the rise of the temperatures with as much as 7 degrees by 2010
is expected to reduce the length of the ski seasons to an extent that by
2050 it will be as little as two months long.

To slow down these events, the professionals count of major investments -
the artificial snow and the works to improve the ski slopes reduced
threefold the effects of the climate warming during the last 25 years.
Overall technology secures 29% of the ski slopes in France. “We take into
account the exposure to sun of the slopes; we build the new slopes on sides
of mountainous regions, protected by the dominating wind; we use artificial
snow; all just to be better prepared for the natural snowfall.” explained
Benjamin Blanc, director of the concession of Val Thorens. This resort, the
highest situated in Europe at 2300m above sea level, started using this
year a GPS software, to find the areas with less snow cover and to program
the involvement of snow machines there.

This though will not be enough to secure the tourist future of the ski
resorts. Only about 10% of the French population goes skiing and the
increase of the ski-resorts visitors slows down gradually - barely reached
2-3% in the past 15 years. This is entirely insufficient to secure the
smooth transition from a model in which snow is plentiful and free
resource, to an economy in which snow is an expensive commodity. The price
today is about 2,5 eurocents per cubic meter, and is foreseen to increase
twofold with the next generation of snow cannons, which will be capable of
working also in temperature above zero. “The solution would be to give up
on tourism as an end in itself.” said aid Philippe Bourdeau - a professor
from the Institute for Alpine Geography to the University of Grenoble. “The
mountains soon will be a permanent habitat and not just a place to visit
during vacation breaks”.

The resorts which as close to urban centres will deal with the problems
easiest as they can easilly develop into a sort fo residences. Such resort
is the Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte, the former area of the Olympic
trampoline from 1968, which developed into a wealthy suburb of Grenoble and
occasionally opens its slopes and ski lifts fro the kinds of the region.
Situated at 1700m above sea level, above the old capital of Dauphiné, the
resort Chamrousse is planing similar transition in the coming years. The
new major of the town recently announced his wish to equip the mountain
resort nearby (2448, above sea level) and transform it into a suburb with
integrated sports and tourist base, and to connect it to Grenoble via a
lift which will ease the development of the busies tourism and tourism in
general in the area.

The resource at higher altitudes (15 in total in France) will have to face
other problems. "Skis will only be one of the many products, they won't be
the main tool any more", Philippe Bourdeau says. Facing a global market
with a plethora of destinations, many of which combining ski with exotic
nature like Caucasus, Japan, South Korea, Canada and even the Middle East,
the ability to compete is measured in the available infrastructure, which
in turn allows for the great enjoyment of the tourists, and all this to an
incredible scenery. Avoriaz did that by opting for a tropical-type of water
resort costing 13mln Euro, with pools' temperatures reaching 31 degrees and
with a snow view. So far client approved the changes as the count of
visitors last year showed an increase by 13%.

Valmorel, which recently hosted a round table for the development of the
mountain resorts, has another card in its sleeve. "The resort of the future
will be easily accessible and with very fast internet connection" said the
new manager of the resort. The example is set with the development of the
applications for geo-localization. In the future, the city vision will be
present in every aspect of the landscape: screens will be informing the
visitors about the waiting time for the ski-lifts, the time it takes to
reach two sectors, the current entertainment facilities; escalators and
moving walkways will ease the navigation between the shopping centres,
gourmet-restaurants and the luxury services.

To make all these possible, the mountain will have to connect to a internet
connection with very high speeds and quality. In Haute-Savoie the
department has already started executing this part of the plan, investing
in the private business 130mln Euro to connect all resorts via optic cable
by 2025.

Innovations in the ski-lifts will follow. the aim is to reduce the time to
reach the ski slopes and maximize the comfort during that time. The company
Sigma Composites, demonstrated how this can be made possible. Together
with the Italian car designer Pininfarina, they developed a gondola lift
with a design similar to a Maserati, with a leather interior, AC, and
internet. The future: a mountain with standards of luxury measuring up to
the most luxurious city suburbs.