Lack of Snow Closes French Ski Resort

Men look down to the valley from the mountains of Abondance, in the Savoie region, French Alps, Wednesday, July 11, 2007. 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. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) (Laurent Cipriani - AP)

Gerald Giraud of the Snow Study Center of Meteo-France at Grenoble said altitudes of 900-1,500 meters (2,950-4,900 feet) are where "global warming will pose the greatest problems."

Even taking into account irregular weather cycles, snowfall levels fell 64 centimeters (25.2 inches) on average between 1960 and 2007 across the French Alps, he said.

His center noted a rise in average temperature of 2.7 to 3.3 degrees Farenheit over the Alpine ranges since the early 1980s.

The OECD report said warming in the Alps in recent years has been roughly three times the global average.

For geographic and geological reasons, Germany is likely to suffer the most from climate change, while Switzerland is the least at risk, the report said. Austria and Italy are slightly more sensitive than average, while France has average risk, based on climate studies and projections.

The report studied only the Alps but noted that its implications extend "to other mountain systems which may face similar ... challenges, for example in North America, Australia and New Zealand."

Skiers who once frequented Abondance are likely to head to larger, higher stations elsewhere in the French Alps. But even some large, high stations in Switzerland have already resorted to artificial snow in recent years. For smaller stations like Abondance, snow-sprayers are not a viable option since they require a minimal snow cover, and the high temperatures melt any snow fast.

Longer term, the warming in the Alps could provide a boost to less-charted places like the mountains above Sochi, the Russian city on the Black Sea that is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Investors are not ready to write off Alpine ski resorts yet, noting how unpredictable weather-dependent investments are.

"We remain calm, one shouldn't overstate the phenomenon," said Georges Gay-Lancernin, of Credit Agricole de Haute Savoie, one of the chief banks financing France's mountain economy.

Nevertheless, small stations are having increasing difficulty finding investors.

Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, at 2,952 feet, sought public funding to upgrade one of its lifts. The improved lift, ready for the 2006-2007 season, didn't budge all winter because there was not enough snow.