2024-10-23 07:46:00
” data-script=” >
The small ski resort near Grenoble, lacking snow and running a deficit, was nevertheless condemned by the Community of Municipalities at the beginning of October. The mobilization of local actors has borne fruit.
This winter the chairlifts and snow groomers will finally be operational. The Alpe du Grand Serre ski resort, located in La Morte (Isère), near Grenoble, will be able to open for another year. The local elected officials decided this with the vote on Tuesday 22 October, a few weeks after initially approving its closure, now postponed to September 2025.
On 4 October the same elected representatives had in fact decided to give up continuing the management of the resort according to the model of interested management with the Sata Group (Cableways and ski lifts), manager of several ski resorts in the region, including Alpe d’Huez and Les 2 Alpes. But a new study of the figures, the financial support announced by the State, the municipality of La Morte and several ski operators, as well as a city fund that has raised almost 200,000 euros, have changed the situation.
Deficit of 350,000 euros last season
“We have received many messages of support, testimonies, proposals for help, donations from all over France”explains Domitille Hocq, member of La Morte Vivante, an association that brings together residents, socio-professional workers and supporters of the station, and which launched the prize money after the vote on 4 October. “It would not have been serious to deny these efforts”underlined Coraline Saurat, president of the community of municipalities of Matheysine which manages the station. The elected official emphasized that he “We must not get trapped in this question of numbers”even though the station’s management recorded a deficit of 350,000 euros for the previous season.
After the vote of the local elected representatives, the decision to continue the winter and summer seasons was therefore adopted by a large majority, in front of an audience of approximately 150 residents and socio-professional operators of the locality. “It’s a relief, we avoided disaster but the deadline is very short”César Ghaouti, president of the La Morte Vivante association, reacted to the outcome of the vote. “We absolutely need a plan for the medium mountains. We need to get out of our dependence on snow.”he begs.
Find a new model
asked MP Marie-Noëlle Battistel (PS), very committed to the topic “mobilize tomorrow morning” to work on a model for the station’s future. A 24 million euro project was already being defined to orient the resort towards all four seasons. An expensive ski lift was supposed to allow the development of mountain biking in the summer. “We may have to scale this project down to make it more feasible”recognizes Marie-Noëlle Battistel.
Located at a low altitude, between just 1368 and 2183 metres, the resort suffers like the others from a growing lack of snow due to global warming. Its 14 ski lifts, including three chairlifts, are also aging. On the other side of the massif, the Saint-Honoré 1500 station, connected to the Alpe du Grand Serre in the late 1980s, was already closed in 2004.
Recently, several ski resorts have announced their permanent closure, due to lack of snow and a viable economic model, such as Grand-Puy (Alpes de Haute Provence) and Notre-Dame-du-Pré (Savoie). The Alpine ski resort of Métabief (Doubs), the largest in the Jura massif, has for its part announced the closure of 30% of its ski area.
#ski #resort #reprieve #winter #closes