How Do Ski Resorts Cope When Mother Nature Fails to Provide?

fifth March 2024 | James Cove, Morzine, France.

Final month was the warmest February on document within the Alps. It has had a major affect on the decrease resorts with many adapting to outlive. PlanetSKI studies from Morzine. NEW

Is the glass half-full or half empty?

Does one bemoan the truth that solely two closing runs to the resort stay open in Morzine or marvel on the work of the resort to maintain the decrease slopes open in any respect?

By the way, the 2 resort runs open are Piste B and the Lièvre slope – 18 runs are open within the resort.

There is no such thing as a query that the decrease slopes in Morzine, altitude 1,000m, have taken a pasting in current weeks.

It’s a very sorry sight.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

But increased up it’s at present a barely totally different story.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

Morzine stays open and busy on this first week of March.

Each on the slopes and off.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

I spoke to some skiers randomly and so they have been surprisingly constructive given the present lack of snow.

“Look, the snow shouldn’t be so good however I used to be right here final February and we had wonderful situations,” stated one British man I chatted to in a gondola.

“I’ve been coming right here for a few years and it does appear to be getting worse, however I really like Morzine and there’s a lot extra to the resort than simply the snowboarding.”

At lunch I requested a British girl on the subsequent desk what she product of issues.

“To be sincere, right now I’m extra involved concerning the poor visibility than the state of the snow and I all the time take the raise down anyway,” she informed me.

“I’m staying in a beautiful resort and the eating places and outlets on the town are fantastic. Morzine is a lot nicer than these purpose-built French resorts.”

However the wonderful thing about Morzine is that it’s linked by raise and bus to a type of purpose-built ski resorts – Avoriaz that sits at 2,000m and has high-altitude snowboarding.

You may see it from Morzine within the distance.

Trying in direction of Avoriaz from Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

And right here it’s shut up.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

Personally, I’m way more within the snowboarding than eating places, bars and purchasing.

Once I headed over to the Avoriaz ski space there was no recent snow, however there was full protection on the piste and it felt like every other winter.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

I ticked off the Swiss Wall.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

(BTW, The Swiss Wall is among the most overrated black runs within the Alps IMO, together with the Sarenne in Alpe d’Huez.)

And I hammered across the pistes.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

I’m concentrating on what’s on the fitting of this photograph, not the left.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

It appears just about like winter to me.

It was actually heat in Avoriaz, however there was loads of snowboarding, as I reported in a PlanetSKI snow report:

Morzine has gone to large efforts to maintain the slopes open this winter.

It invested early in snow cannons on the finish of the Nineteen Eighties and was one of many first French resorts to take action.

It now has 400, they use solely pure water and are powered from the nationwide grid that makes use of inexperienced power, nuclear and hydro, the place doable.

Avoriaz, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

“For positive it has been a tough winter with not quite a lot of pure snowfall,” stated one of many managers of the ski space, Jean Damien Baud, as we chatted in his workplace.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

“It has been tough beneath 1,400m, however over that altitude it has been OK as we have now glorious snowmaking and a fleet of snow groomers, a few of that are outfitted with the most recent know-how.”

The resort has 9 piste bashers, 5 of which use the snowsat system that spreads solely the optimum quantity of snow, thus saving power.

“They’re very environment friendly and shortly the entire fleet can have the know-how.”

At present they’re parked on the mid-area of the resort and used every single day.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

There is no such thing as a query that the shortage of snow and the reporting of it has had a major affect on the resort, the place the British make up 40% of the guests.

“It’s so unhappy that we have now so many cancellations from British skiers,” stated the proprietor of the family-run resort, Le Soly, Axelle Passaquin.

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

“The difficulty is folks see photos on social media of inexperienced fields and assume the resort has no snow, which is just not true.

“Positive it’s completely not a great 12 months, however we’re open for enterprise.”

She has needed to let two members of employees go as bookings, primarily from the British, have fallen away.

“In January 2023 we have been 78% full, however this 12 months in January we had an occupancy of 68%,” stated Axelle to me.

“In March 2023 we have been 79% full, however bookings for this month at present stand at simply 33%.

“It is vitally tough to work beneath these situations and we are able to’t plan for the longer term.

“Clearly folks will ebook final minute if the snow comes, so we stay hopeful.”

Morzine, France. Picture © PlanetSKI

There was an absence of snow final winter within the first half of January, then it fell closely in mid-January as PlanetSKI arrived for a go to.

Snowing in Morzine. Picture © PlanetSKI

What occurs in Morzine – and the way the resort is coping with the results of local weather change – issues.

Different resorts are taking notice.

Morzine is at present grappling with what many different resorts might quickly face if winter temperatures proceed their seemingly inexorable rise.

Wishful pondering shouldn’t be a lot use in Morzine – they’re coping with the fact of local weather change already.

“The shopper expertise is all the things and we merely have to ensure each holidaymaker has the most effective time they probably can,” stated the Vacationer Workplace.

“We can’t management the pure snowfall however we are able to take care of what we have now, add to it with know-how and guarantee folks have a vacation to recollect in our village and the encircling mountains.”

The resort is on the forefront of providing various actions as we have now reported:

Additionally it is on the forefront of introducing environmental initiatives:

One such initiative is obtainable by Montagne Verte.

It’s a non-profit affiliation funded by the Morzine group, with a easy mission to develop options for the area of Morzine to scale back environmental affect.

It envisages a valley during which mountains, folks and biodiversity thrive.It desires a united group, constructing a carbon impartial, sustainable future for all.It goals to tell, encourage, encourage and combine with the group to coach and assist companies to grow to be extra sustainable.It says that the mountain is our playground, our residence and our purpose for residing, we should act to respect and protect it.

For 3 years it has had a secondhand ski garments and equipment store on the town.

Individuals donate their undesirable equipment, and Montagne Verte sells it on.

The gear is re-used relatively than going into landfill and individuals are not unnecessarily shopping for new garments and equipment.

Plus the enterprise raises much-needed funds for Montagne Verte’s work.

Sara Burdon used to work for the Morzine Vacationer Workplace and championed environmental motion as she helped promote the resort.

She now works for Montagne Verte.

Sara Burdon, Morzine Tourist Office. Image © PlanetSKI

“It’s so necessary that we do what we are able to to chop down our environmental affect as people and shopping for secondhand gear is one such measure,” stated Sara.

“Right here in Morzine we’re coping with the fact of rising temperatures within the Alps and it’s as much as all of us to do our bit for future technology of skiers and snowboarders.”

Regardless of some folks turning their backs on Morzine this winter, the resort has been buzzing this week with the city’s streets, outlets, eating places and bars full.

One picture appeared to sum it up for me.

A brand new constructing arising, symbolising hope and perception sooner or later – regardless of an absence of present snow on among the slopes.