Second French Ski Area Unable To Open For Autumn Glacier Skiing

Les 2 Alpes has cancelled its autumn glacier skiing week due to a lack of snow cover on its glacier, joining Tignes, which has been unable to start operating its autumn glacier skiing, which had been scheduled to start in late September.

Les 2 Alpes (library picture above) doesn’t open for the season until December, but for several decades has opened for a special week of snowsports on its glacier, which it says is the largest in the Alps, at the end of October and the start of November.

A statement issued by the resort says,

“The Security Commission decided that it is impossible to open the glacier to the skiers because of high temperatures and lack of natural snow, as everywhere in Europe.”

It’s the second year in a row the event has had to be cancelled for the same reason.

Tignes used to be open 365 days a year for snowsports but more recently has closed for periods in spring and late summer/early autumn, however doing so in such a way that it can still claim to be open for at least one day during every month of the year.

However it was unable to open in September as planned due to the lack of snow cover, possibly the first month for many years that it has not been open for snowsports.

The lack of snow cover comes despite very heavy snowfall last winter and a small snowfall earlier this month as warm summer and autumn temperatures affect even high glacier areas in the Alps.  It’s 16C today in Les 2 Alpes, the picture above was taken there on 2nd October,

About 10 glacier ski areas are open in Italy, Austria and Switzerland but snow cover is very thin and less than 30cm thick at most of them.