Snowfall that has fell recently has already enabled many ski resorts to open part of their ski area …
The falling snow that recently fell in massive quantities have already enabled several stations to open part of their ski area, just days before the official start of a season that professionals expect fruitful.
November 11, Porte-Puymorens (Pyrénées-Orientales) was the first to offer sports enthusiasts of skis by temporarily opening a track with abundant flakes.
In the Alps, Courchevel (Savoie) did the same on Wednesday with two free tracks prepared for the occasion.
This weekend, Val Thorens and Tignes (Savoie) – the only two French resorts open continuously – L’Alpe d’Huez (Isère), Arêches-Beaufort (Savoy) and La Clusaz (Haute-Savoie) welcomed their first skiers during pre-openings.
Others, such as Chamrousse and Autrans in Isère, opened their Nordic ski area.
“Expect to other pre-openings in the weekends to come because the weather conditions are good, with cold weather that allows a good maintenance of the snow,” Judge Laurent Reynaud, director of ski areas France (DSF).
The official launch of the season is scheduled on 9th December.
This scenario, however, reminiscent of last winter, with first snow appeared early in November, before an abrupt warming temperatures that deprived the massive snow until January.
Because of this softening, artificial snow – in which stations invest each year – had been difficult to implement. This setback had also forced the directions of lifts to offset seasonal hiring.
Snow “relatively good”
However, professionals want to remain optimistic. “After several difficult winters, the early arrival of the snow is always good news. This is a situation favorable to the reservation and preparation areas, “says Laurent Reynaud.
In mid-October, the number of reservations on the season had a balance of + 0.7% over the previous year.
the weather, the snow is “relatively good” for November in Haute-Savoie, where “20 to 30 cm of snow” were recorded at 1,500 meters above sea level on the northern slopes of the mountains, less exposed to the sun .
The situation is a little less comfortable in Savoie, Isère and the Hautes-Alpes, except near the Italian border, where snowfall allowed the resort Montgenèvre to partially open its field this weekend.
According to Meteo France, no snowfall is expected during the coming week and the quarter looks “warmer than normal”. But this does not prevent the appearance of “disturbances opening the door to snowfall.”
“A season is a long marathon five months where anything can happen”
With 51.1 million skier-days during the past season (-1.5%), France now advanced to third in the world rankings behind Austria (52.1 million, + 4%) and the United STATES (54.7 million, + 1.5%).
