French ski resorts open ahead of schedule

Several French high-altitude ski resorts opened ahead of schedule on Saturday, UNN reports citing France24.

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Tignes and Val Thorens, which have many pistes at over 2000 meters, were the first ski resorts to open for downhill skiing. Cross-country skiing trails opened in Bessan on November 4, and Les Gets did the same on Saturday, but only for a short lap, using snow that had accumulated since last winter.

Other resorts will have to wait. Earlier this week, mild temperatures and heavy rains hit the Northern Alps, washing away much of the snow that had fallen in previous weeks.

"It was important to reassure our customers and tell them that it was snowing and that they could come," said Val Thorens director Jerome Grellé.

After the recent storms, "there is no more snow at altitudes below 1500 and 1700 meters, and at altitudes between 1500 and 2500 meters, the snow has started to fall," said Gilles Bruno, director of the office of Meteo France, the national meteorological service, in Chamonix.

"At 2,500 meters, there is still a lot of snow," he said, "although rain is becoming less and less common at this altitude, even in the high season.

Most resorts are planning to open in December or for the Christmas holidays, for which there appear to be many bookings.

According to the Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts (AMRM), the occupancy rate in the first half of the season is already 52%, compared to 51% in the same period last year.

Seasonal workers are still in short supply, although to a lesser extent than in previous years.

"We have raised salaries in response to inflation," said Vincenzo Coppola, director of the tourist office in Montgenevre .

"But it's true that high rents and a lack of housing are serious constraints," he pointed out.

Antoine Fatiga, head of the CGT lift workers' union, agrees that salaries have improved. He said that ski resorts are also increasingly attracting African and Asian workers.

Inflation is also a problem for customers. According to the price comparison site Ski Express, skiers should expect a ski vacation to cost 9.5 percent more this year than last.