Ah, skiing—once the ultimate winter getaway where you could show off your questionable balance, expensive ski gear, and hope for a sprained ankle to justify all that après-ski time. But in a twist straight out of a black comedy, Europe’s ski resorts are facing a bitter reality: climate change is doing what bad knees and broken poles never could—it’s forcing them to shut down for good.
In the small alpine town of Seyne-les-Alpes, the ski resort of Grand Puy, famous for its 65-year-old télésiège (chairlift for the non-French speakers), is now more of a museum piece than a functional lift. The locals have voted—yes, voted—to shut down the ski lift because, let’s face it, what’s the point of a ski lift when there’s no snow? You know things are bad when a town known for winter sports decides it’s more financially sustainable to sell off the chairlifts and snow machines than to keep them running. Welcome to the future of skiing: no snow, no skiers, no fun.
Grand Puy: Death by Climate Change
Grand Puy’s story isn’t unique; it’s just the latest in a long line of ski resorts learning that white Christmases and fluffy slopes are going the way of the dodo. In Seyne-les-Alpes, a village of just over 1,300 residents, maintaining the ski lifts and runs had become an economic black hole. With fewer tourists every year—because skiing on mud and grass doesn’t have quite the same appeal—the resort went from attracting 17,000 ski days in the 2013-14 season to a sad 6,000 in 2023-24. That’s a 65% drop, for those of you keeping score.
The town was hemorrhaging money, losing around €350,000 annually just to keep the dream alive. Not even the local government’s €2 million loan request could stop the downward spiral. Eventually, a consulting firm weighed in with seven scenarios for Grand Puy’s future, and surprise, surprise—the most sensible option was to pull the plug entirely. As of November 1, the lifts will stop, and the mountains will remain snowless, skierless, and just a little less fun.
Seyne-les-Alpes: What Now? Electric Bikes?
So, what’s next for Seyne-les-Alpes? The plan is to “diversify.” Translation: we need to figure out how to attract tourists without the whole skiing thing. The mayor and local council have their sights set on activities like mountain biking with electric assistance (because pedaling up a snowless mountain sounds exactly like a vacation), nature walks, and maybe a bit of fishing in a repurposed reservoir. It’s as though they’re saying, “Who needs skiing when you can ride an e-bike and catch a trout?”
The hope is to raise about €600,000 by selling off all the ski equipment, and reinvest that into new, eco-friendly tourist activities. Some locals fought tooth and nail against the closure, proposing that the chairlifts could be used year-round for activities like zip-lining or hiking access. But alas, even the most creative of minds couldn’t keep the ski resort alive in a world where snow is becoming a rare commodity.
Ski Resorts Dropping Like Flies
It’s not just Grand Puy; ski resorts all over Europe are folding faster than you can say “global warming.” In 2023, the French ski resort La Sambuy also gave up the ghost after a pitiful winter season. In January, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards in France was hit with 13°C temperatures, which is about as useful for skiing as a toaster in a bathtub. As Pierre-Alexandre Metral, a geographer, noted, over 180 ski resorts in France alone have shut down since the 1970s.
Most of the resorts being killed off by climate change are in lower or mid-altitude areas, where snowfall has become more of a hopeful suggestion than a reliable feature. But even the high-altitude spots aren’t safe. Resorts in the Alps, Austria, and Bosnia are being forced to rely on artificial snow, which, let’s be honest, is like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Creating snow from machines requires a massive amount of water and energy, meaning resorts are now solving one environmental problem by creating another. Genius, right?
Is There a Future for Skiing?
Let’s be clear: the future of skiing doesn’t look bright. With climate change accelerating, we can expect fewer snowy seasons and more brown, barren slopes. The ski industry is trying to adapt, but it’s not easy to shift a multi-billion-euro industry into something that works when winter is no longer a guarantee.
For now, Europe’s remaining ski resorts are playing a dangerous game of “Will it snow?” with Mother Nature, who seems more interested in giving them heatwaves than powder days. As more and more resorts close their doors, skiing could go from a beloved winter sport to a nostalgic activity we tell our grandkids about. “Back in my day, we used to ski down the mountains. Now you just ride your e-bike and take a selfie at the top.”
So, is climate change killing Europe’s ski resorts? Absolutely. But hey, at least we’ll all be able to mountain-bike our way to the apocalypse, right?