The climate crisis is increasingly leaving its mark on the Alpine region – in addition to the rapidly disappearing glaciers, less and less snow is also to be expected. This also has an impact on the once thriving tourism. A French ski resort has now had to dismantle its ski lift – it has not been possible to use it for years.
About a hundred people had gathered in the small French mountain village of Saint-Firmin to say goodbye to their ski lift, CNN reports. “Global warming has changed the way we look at this place,” Didier Beauzon, a lifelong resident of Saint-Firmin and the village’s elected official, told the broadcaster. “Now we had to give the mountain back to nature.”
In the past, snow fell regularly
The ski resort in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region was originally built in 1964 to enable the village children to ski close to home before venturing onto more challenging slopes in the Alps. While snow fell regularly in the past, the situation has worsened in recent decades. A situation that is currently also being observed in other French and European ski resorts, as the climate crisis is responsible for the shortening of the ski season and the reduction of snow and glacier cover in the mountains.
“The lack of snow meant the last time it was about 15 years ago was just a weekend. It hasn’t been used since.”
Sad memories of cherished traditions
However, with the snow, memories and traditions also disappear. But while the lift was quietly rusting away, more than a sad reminder of days gone by, the village decided to get rid of it – a challenge that proved more difficult than any downhill run.
“Inside the pylon, we found it to be much stronger than we expected,” said Olivier Bustillo, leader of the Mountain Wilderness environmental group, which was tasked with dismantling the ski lift. It took a team of about 20 workers two days to dismantle the entire ski lift system. According to Bustillo, the group has already dismantled about 10 similar ski lifts in France.
The expensive dismantling is borne by the community
The cost of dismantling the entire ski lift in Saint-Firmin is around 20,000 euros, mainly financed by the local government with the help of charities. The recovered metal has been collected by a company that specializes in scrap metal and will be recycled, Bustillo said.
The climate crisis is probably just beginning
Bustillo will probably have to do more such assignments in the future. This year alone created a devastating climate change outlook: like the rest of Europe, the country was hit by a record-breaking heat and drought. And according to the French Ministry of the Environment, 62 percent of the French population is currently exposed to “significant” or “highly significant” climate risks.
Experts from the national French weather service Météo France expect an average temperature rise of 3.8 degrees Celsius for the region by the year 2100 – even 6.7 degrees Celsius in the worst case.
Ski lift reminds residents of the climate crisis
The consequences have already arrived in the highest ski resort in Europe – in Val Thorens, also in France. There, the opening of the ski season had to be postponed by a week to November 26 due to the “warm autumn weather”. In Saint-Firmin, however, it has now been decided to build a kind of monument on the spot where the ski lifts used to be, to remind the local children of the history of the ski area.
“I think people are becoming more aware of climate change. In fact, it’s about all of that. When we talk about the ski lift, people talk about the climate,” Beauzon told CNN.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
