Global Forum for Sports and Environment
Snowless Ski Resort Bids Adieu
The city council of Abondance--its name a cruel reminder of the generous snowfall it once enjoyed--voted last month 9-6 to shut down the ski station that has been its economic raison d'etre for more than 40 years. The reason: not enough snow. Abondance is the French Alps' first ski station to fall apparent victim to global warming. It will almost certainly not be the last. At 930 meters (3,051 feet), this station between Mont Blanc and Lake Leman falls in the altitude range climate scientists say has seen the most dramatic drop in snowfall in recent generations. The Alps as a whole, which pull in about 70 million tourists every year primarily for winter sports, are "particularly sensitive" to climate change, according to a study last winter by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It calls climate change a serious threat to Alpine ski resorts and the regional economies that depend on them. The most recent World Cup ski circuit was badly hit by lack of snow, with several races in the Alps--even at high altitudes--called off. Last week, a commercial court in Lyon put the Transmontagne company, which operates mid-altitude resorts in France, Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia, under bankruptcy protection for the next six months. Warming weather is seen as a key reason for its financial woes. Abondance Mayor Serge Cettour-Meunier fears that the closure of his station is the start of a troubling trend. "Skiing is again becoming a sport for the rich," since only elite high-altitude resorts will have sufficient snowfall, he said. LINK : |
July 19, 2007--ABONDANCE, France--Muddy slopes, slushy peaks, unused lifts--this town in the French Alps is living out the nightmare of many a ski resort in a century scientists say is doomed to keep getting warmer.