A number of ski resorts in Europe open bike trails or offer “sledges on the rails,” ziplines or go-karts in the summer to keep their customers on due to the lack of snow.
Mild out-of-season temperatures have seen half of France’s ski slopes close, and worst of all, rain and snowfall have affected low-lying resorts where many pistes have turned a greener white.
The last time it snowed in the resorts around Salzburg in Austria was a month ago.
New Year’s temperatures in Switzerland reached 20C, the highest ever in January north of the Alps.
The Alpine Skiing World Cup, held this weekend in the Swiss resort of Adelboden, will finally resume, but only after the artificial snow from a snowball helped the famous Chuenisbaergli circuit get approval for use for grand slalom events.
Until recently, the immediate problem was assumed to lie in resorts below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), which experts say would make skiing impossible as global temperatures rose.
But now alarm bells are ringing for those at 1,500 m (4,921 feet), previously considered “snow safe.” Spluegen, a resort in Switzerland, has closed until further notice.
According to Lauren Reynard of Domaines Skiables de France, which operates many resorts, only 50 of the country’s 250 ski resorts in France are “high altitude”, that is, over 1,500 metres.
This prompted the newspaper Le Figaro on Tuesday to ask the question: “Do mid-rise resorts still have a future?”
Some are already expanding their offerings. Some resorts in Switzerland have even opened summer cycling trails instead of offering winter sports.
In the resort town of Lac Blanc in Alsace, in eastern France, all of the pistes are closed. But Christophe Berganini, chairman of the Kaysersberg valley tourism board, told BFMTV: “We’re lucky enough to be very close to a Christmas market so people can visit Alsatian villages.”
It also proudly presented the “rail sled”, which does not require snow for the operation of the facility.
“The middle of the mountain is more suitable for summer tourism, thanks to its vegetation and milder climate,” Reynaud said.
Christian Mantei, head of the national tourism development agency Atout France, added: “Ideal for hiking, outdoor recreation, village visits and exploring traditional occupations.”
“Everyone is aware of the effects of climate change. Christine Massoure, president of La Compagnie des Pyrenees, which operates eight plants with heights ranging from 1,450m-2,000m (4,757ft-6,561ft), said we need to move towards something else.
Despite this, some resort managers opted for skiing while the going was still good.
Jean-Yves Remy, president of LabelleMontagne, which operates seven plants at 900m-2,400m (2,952ft-7,874ft) altitude in the Vosges, Alps and Italy’s Piedmont said: warming.
“As it stands today, we run snowy resorts. The problem is not closing. On the contrary, last season was a record.”
But others have set a time limit for the transition to non-profit activities.
“We hope to hold out as long as possible,” said Olivier Erard, president of the SMMO union, which runs the Metabief resort in the Jura mountains just north of the Alps.
In order for a ski resort to survive, it must remain open for at least a few days a year.
Mr Erard told Le Figaro: “We are now at the 95-day limit. Once we reach 80, it won’t be valid for long. This will happen sometime between now and 2040.
“We know we need to transform our business model, but we don’t know where we’re going yet. We have at least 10 years to find solutions.”