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French Ghost Resorts

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
https://stationsfantomes-wordpress-com.translate.goog/liste/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=ajax,nv,elem

I thought this was quite interesting. During the heyday of French skiing in the 1960s and 1970s pomas were springing up everywhere there was a hotel, a slope and some snow…..and a number of places where there isn’t any snow!

Unfortunately unreliable snow cover, changing attitudes, increased regulation, lack of younger volunteers etc have greatly reduced the options once available. A pity perhaps.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Interesting! Looks like they skied on pine needles at Arcachon Laughing
https://stationsfantomes-wordpress-com.translate.goog/2017/06/03/arcachon/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=ajax,nv,elem
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I’m sure Davidof put up a thread of either him exploring some of these, or someone blogging about them.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I had seen pictures of the Lyon dryslope but didn't know there had been a couple of others.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I love this sort of stuff - thank you for posting it.

We have quite a few little ‘one man band’ type ski fields (cant call them a resort) near us that I love to see open in the winter.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@Arno, that BFMTV news clip is fab, thanks for posting - did some of my early courting on the Dune du Pilat!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
hammerite wrote:
I’m sure Davidof put up a thread of either him exploring some of these, or someone blogging about them.


there is a lot on my website about various resorts. For many, it is not climate change a range of factors including regulation making maintenance and H&S too expensive.

Take Plainpalais in the Savoie (mentioned in the site above). It has recently closed but despite being relatively low (1170m) it has snow from December to April in an average year. This is the piste on the 28th April



but there is a bigger ski area at la Feclaz so it doesn't attract enough skiers to cover costs and splits the customer base.

Other ski areas were really to serve a local community and are sometimes too remote to get many visitors. Case in point the Col de l'Arzeilier... with declining local populations they don't have enough visitors and don't have enough local tax revenue to subsidize operations. Some locals, fed up with high taxes, vandalized the ski lift infrastructure at l'Arzeilier forcing it to close.

Some ski areas tried to expand beyond what was reasonable: putting in expensive chair lifts and gondolas which are extremely expensive to maintain. So a ski area could borrow to build a chair because they got good interest rates but the local tax base couldn't maintain it. St Pierre de Chartreuse, Abondance and Drouzin le Mont are examples.

Stations/resorts that stayed small: keeping costs down, especially using cheap drag lifts and serving a local community have done better: St Hilaire du Touvet, the Vosges ski resorts. Les Signaraux, Barioz/Grand Plan.

Tastes have also changed, far fewer locals ski now, it is out of fashion and many people in the big towns don't even know there are small ski areas right on their doorsteps.

To Summarize the problems: TLDR;
1. increased regulation of infrastructure, especially chairs and gondolas
2. increased employment costs and problems like the 35 hour week
3. declining rural/mountain populations: shrinking the tax and customer base
4. remote locations
5. change in tastes/fashion
6. changing climate: many lifts were thrown up in the big snow winters of the 60s and early 70s, some were built in unsuitable locations
7. unwillingness of local/central govt to subsidise a minority sport
8. end of school skiing classes - local schools are now oriented to cross country rather than alpine if they do any on snow activity, this is also linked to a change in population. With a third of the school population coming from North Africa in the towns and cities the kids want to do football not skiing
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Thanks
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I would be interested to see your website David, how do I find it?
davidof wrote:

there is a lot on my website about various resorts. For many, it is not climate change a range of factors including regulation making maintenance and H&S too expensive.

Take Plainpalais in the Savoie (mentioned in the site above). It has recently closed but despite being relatively low (1170m) it has snow from December to April in an average year. This is the piste on the 28th April



but there is a bigger ski area at la Feclaz so it doesn't attract enough skiers to cover costs and splits the customer base.

Other ski areas were really to serve a local community and are sometimes too remote to get many visitors. Case in point the Col de l'Arzeilier... with declining local populations they don't have enough visitors and don't have enough local tax revenue to subsidize operations. Some locals, fed up with high taxes, vandalized the ski lift infrastructure at l'Arzeilier forcing it to close.

Some ski areas tried to expand beyond what was reasonable: putting in expensive chair lifts and gondolas which are extremely expensive to maintain. So a ski area could borrow to build a chair because they got good interest rates but the local tax base couldn't maintain it. St Pierre de Chartreuse, Abondance and Drouzin le Mont are examples.

Stations/resorts that stayed small: keeping costs down, especially using cheap drag lifts and serving a local community have done better: St Hilaire du Touvet, the Vosges ski resorts. Les Signaraux, Barioz/Grand Plan.

Tastes have also changed, far fewer locals ski now, it is out of fashion and many people in the big towns don't even know there are small ski areas right on their doorsteps.

To Summarize the problems: TLDR;
1. increased regulation of infrastructure, especially chairs and gondolas
2. increased employment costs and problems like the 35 hour week
3. declining rural/mountain populations: shrinking the tax and customer base
4. remote locations
5. change in tastes/fashion
6. changing climate: many lifts were thrown up in the big snow winters of the 60s and early 70s, some were built in unsuitable locations
7. unwillingness of local/central govt to subsidise a minority sport
8. end of school skiing classes - local schools are now oriented to cross country rather than alpine if they do any on snow activity, this is also linked to a change in population. With a third of the school population coming from North Africa in the towns and cities the kids want to do football not skiing
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Nadenoodlee wrote:
I love this sort of stuff - thank you for posting it.


Ditto

First place I ever skied at was a little Austria resort, Embach, just down the road from Rauris. Two drag lifts and a few hotels and bars, Tried to google map it recently and it doesn't look like it exists any more
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@stevew, This Embach only has one tow.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
devilabit wrote:
I would be interested to see your website David, how do I find it?

Start here.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@HutToHut, that's certainly the place, I thought that there was a higher one we didn't use, but it is more than 30 years ago, memories fade and it was all a bit fuzzy with too many beers involved Very Happy
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@davidof, great reply. Fascinating stuff!
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