Le Figaro Nice
Cars buried in snow, roads sprinkled with white gold, roofs completely whitewashed... The heavy snowfall in recent weeks has made the resort of Isola 2000 (Alpes-Maritimes) the snowiest in France at the bottom of the slopes , according to the classification carried out by the specialized site Hauteurdeneige.com.
With 245 centimeters, or almost 2.50 meters, the station of the Southern Alps is notably ahead of that of the Northern Alps, which is rather rare to be underlined.
Bonneval-sur-Arc, Avoriaz, Val Thorens and Val d'Isère are behind Isola 2000, although these ski areas also have no shortage of snow this season.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve had this much snow, we’re delighted for the end of the season
,” recognizes Mayor Mylène Agnelli.
For the elected official, this sends
“a good signal to all the grumpy people who tell us that winter no longer exists”
.
Due to its altitude, and according to various studies, Isola would be preserved until 2050, recalls the mayor.
However, last year at the same time, the Mercantour resorts were lacking white gold and were wondering about their future.
This year, at the bottom of the slopes, the scenes are very different.
This weekend, visitors were looking for their cars hidden under impressive amounts of snow.
“
It’s magical, we think we’re in the depths of Canada
,” the councilor still enthuses.
Read alsoFour-star hotels, new residence... Near Nice, Isola 2000 is changing in preparation for the 2030 Winter Olympics
Opening guaranteed until April 14
She also had to deal with some technical problems due to repeated closures of the road leading to the station.
The risk of avalanches remains
“high”
, namely four on a scale of five.
Regarding the snow depth at the top of the slopes, Isola 2000 ranks twelfth with 300 cm according to the same site.
The resorts of Morzine and Avoriaz are in the lead with almost 463 cm.
For Isola 2000, a station in the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolis, this quantity of snow should allow it to remain open until April 14, the official date,
"but we could go beyond"
, hopes Mylène Agnelli.
She also wants to see
“one more argument for the 2030 Winter Olympics”
, the resort being a candidate to host the skicross events even if it is threatened with being excluded from the final file.