Warning as affordable family ski resorts close at alarming pace
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Ski resorts across Europe, including many affordable ones appealing to families, are closing at an alarming rate. In 2024, five resorts were forced to shut down, bringing the total that have gone out of business since the 1950s to 185, according to The Times. Many of the resorts that have permanently closed are smaller ones with fewer runs.
This year France was close to losing its popular Alpe du Grand Serre ski resort, due to a lack of funds to convert it into a year-round destination, it was reported. The resort, which is located in the village of La Morte, 20 miles from Grenoble, found that many of its slopes like other resorts in Europe, relied upon artificial snow made by forcing water and pressurised air through a snow gun.
While it has been reported that the resort would open for the 2024/2025 season, currently only 50 per cent of the resort's red slopes are operating, none of the black slopes are open and five of the blue slopes are also closed. Alpe du Grand Serre is not the only resort to have suffered. The Skilift Schratten Flühli small skiing area with two lifts in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland, has permanently closed due to several operational factors.
In a message shared on its website in September, Skilift Schratten Flühli explained that for the past 12 years, it has only been able to operate for about half the duration of any given winter, presumably due to a lack of snowfall. Its website states: "It was great - many thanks to everyone who contributed to the Schratten flühli ski lift.
