Faced with the shortage of white gold, the small ski resort of
“Gréolières-les-neiges”
(Alpes-Maritimes) has chosen to face reality by changing its name to
“Gréolières 1,400”
, its mayor announced on Wednesday. Marc Malfatto.
“If we keep the name and we don't have any more snow, we'll look fine.
We must demonstrate the desire to transform the ski resort into a resort open all year round, which does not rely solely on the snow product
,” he explained to AFP.
The website of this town of around 600 inhabitants still displays images of ski slopes, snowshoe hikes or dog sledding.
But white landscapes are now a thing of the past.
The flakes that still sometimes fall often melt within a few days.
This winter, only four of the 26 slopes are open.
Located in a cold basin, they are fed by artificial snow.
Adopted by the municipal council in August, the name change was to be announced with a communications campaign in the spring.
But France 3 spilled the beans at the end of January and as the sign at the entrance to the town, which had become a collector's item, disappeared last week, the new sign could be installed next week.
Faced with a lack of snow, the resort is reinventing itself
The name
“les neiges”
will remain small, below the new name, for those nostalgic and because
“even with a four-season product, for the moment snow remains a real appeal product
,” explained Mr. Malfatto.
However, all investments are now aimed at freeing the resort from the powder snow that it lacks: a chairlift open in summer and equipped to transport mountain bikes, a treetop adventure park, a rail toboggan project... With a view impregnable on the Mediterranean Sea, located around twenty kilometers as the crow flies, an hour's drive from Nice, Cannes or Antibes, the resort has many assets.
In a report published Tuesday, the Court of Auditors warned of a
“running out of steam”
model for French ski resorts, called to diversify their activities rather than relying too much on snow cannons.