So, what can we expect for the coming winter season?
A quick search of the web shows many articles pointing out the decline in snow cover since the 1970’s with the lower elevation ski resorts, below 1400 metres, suffering the most.
Since my first ski trip in the late 1980’s to Val d’Isere and Kitzbhuel, I’ve noticed a pattern.
Through the 1990’s and 2000’s we had around two poor seasons in ten. In the 2010’s, about four poor seasons in 10 and since 2020, we’ve already had three poor seasons, here in the Portes du Soleil, 1200 metres! This, of course, is my personal opinion without any scientific basis!
But, in amongst the dodgy seasons, we’ve had some epic ski seasons with plenty of snow and, on a few occasions, too much!
Like predicting the weather, forecasting snow levels for the coming winter is like picking the winning lottery numbers.
All we can do, is hope that the next season will be EPIC with loads of snow, sun and cold temperatures. We’ll just have to watch the ski forecast and book last minute, to where ever the snow is.
Here’s to an amazing ski season.
See you on the slopes.
Colin G.
The, possible, state of things to come!
“Any resort below 1,500m probably doesn’t have a future in the winter,” says Christine Ferrière, deputy manager of the Savoie Mont Blanc group of French resorts; the majority of Alpine resorts are below that level. Métabief in France’s sub-Alpine Jura is anticipating that its last ski season will be in the early 2030s.
No summer skiing took place in Val d’Isère, France in 2022 for the first time since 1958. According to a study by the Grenoble Alpes University, about 80 European ski resorts have closed in recent decades due to a lack of snow.
Back in 2007, the OECD found that nearly 10% of 666 Alpine ski areas in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland no longer had reliable snow. And since then, the situation has got worse.
