Skiers and snowboarders in a hurry may get impatient.
Because if the meteorologists are counting on a winter "in line with seasonal norms", and in fact colder than the previous ones, the snow has not yet completely invaded the ski areas of our territory.
Several stations, located in the Alps and in the Pyrenees have thus decided to postpone their opening scheduled for the end of November, for lack of sufficient snow to function well, indicated their operators.
This is particularly the case of Val-Thorens (Savoie), which planned to launch its winter season on Saturday and postponed the opening for a week, a consequence of “the particularly mild weather in the fall”.
“Currently the snow cover at altitude is satisfactory but does not allow a ski-to-door return to the resort,” she explained in a press release this week.
Same decision in Val-d'Isère and the neighboring resort of Tignes (Savoie), which also postponed their opening for a week, from November 26 to December 3, for the same reasons.
Tignes will content itself with opening a track on its glacier on Saturday.
[INFORMATION] All the information concerning the opening of Val Thorens initially scheduled for November 19 & 20, 2022: https://t.co/iRPJKzG5Bg pic.twitter.com/biy7rdTe6P
— ❄️ Val Thorens ❄️ (@Val_Tho) November 13, 2022
The too mild temperatures have so far prevented the operation of the snow cannons.
"There was very little snow (but) it's coming, that's it.
The cold too, so don't worry, ”said Olivier Simonin, general manager of Val-d’Isère Téléphériques, on Friday.
"It is a decision of common sense, of wisdom, to offer impeccable product quality to our customers", he underlined.
Eventually, the resort plans to "adjust" its start date of the season to adapt to the changing climate, he added, noting that "it's been talked about for 2-3 years" .
Indeed, up to approximately 2,000 m altitude, the duration of snow cover has decreased by one month since the 1970s. The decrease should continue in the coming decades, reducing the number of weeks of operation of these territories for winter sports activities.
Already criticized, the use of artificial snow does not seem to be the solution to the gradual rise in temperatures either.
Snow expected this weekend in the Pyrenees
In the French Pyrenees, the lack of snow will also delay the start of the ski season, indicates Michel Poudade, president of "Neiges catalanes", a group of ski resorts in the Pyrénées-Orientales.
“We will be roughly a week late in the stations which had announced an opening at the end of November.
And for those who plan to open in early December, we'll see," he said.
The weather does not worry the elected official, who is also mayor of the Angles resort: “They announce cold weather for next week and snow this weekend, so everything can change very quickly”.
And the stations have in reserve "enough water to make artificial snow", he estimates.
On the Andorran side, the Grandvalira, Ordino Arcalís and Pal Arinsal ski resorts should open from December 2 if the weather conditions allow it, although it is not excluded that the slopes could open earlier.