Heavy snow in the Alps: danger on the roads, “Christmas present” in the resorts

Des conditions de circulation rendues difficiles dans de nombreux départements. MAXPPP

Une neige abondante s’est invitée ce dimanche sur les Alpes. Une aubaine pour les stations de ski en ce début de vacances.

Heavy snow began to cover the Northern Alps on Sunday, a snowfall “remarkable” according to Météo-France, greeted with caution on the roads and slopes, but as a “gift from heaven” before Christmas by the ski resorts.

In Valloire in Savoie, last year at the start of the season “the resort was firing up the snow cannons“, recalls Valentin Magnin, co-manager of a family ski rental business, reached by telephone by AFP. This year the white blanket will be more “natural“, he rejoices. For the 32-year-old Savoyard, originally from this mountain village of 1,000 inhabitants, whose ski area extends between 1,430 m and 2,750 m above sea level, the snow is “always a positive point”. It will allow to spend the last days of 2024 in “a beautiful Christmas atmosphere”.

A meter of snow expected above 1800 meters

In this resort, the snow arrived in the afternoon, but elsewhere in the Northern Alps, it had already been falling since the morning under a gray and opaque sky. In Les Ménuires (Savoie), images showed skiers slaloming between the flakes, and a thick layer of fresh snow covering roofs and vehicles.

Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère and Ain were placed on orange alert for snow and ice on Sunday by Météo-France. In the mountains, nearly a metre of snow is expected until Monday evening above 1,800/2,000 m, according to the latest bulletin from the organisation at 4pm, and up to 60 cm at 1,000 m. Strong gusts of wind reaching 100 km/h are also expected to sweep across the terrain.

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The call for “great vigilance”

Motorists are being urged to be “greatly vigilant” on the roads by government services, and to drive with winter tires or chains. Caution is also required in the many departments of the East, Center-East and South-West, which are on yellow alert for snow and ice. French access to the Mont Blanc tunnel will be closed between 6:30 and 8 a.m. on Monday to allow for the “preventive triggering of avalanches” nearby, its French concessionaire Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont-Blanc (ATMB) informs on X.

The snow accumulations are likely to disrupt access to high-altitude resorts, specifies Météo-France, but, with the start of the holidays, “many of our customers arrived on Saturday and are already here,” Anne Marty, president of Domaines skiables de France, told AFP. The snow is coming “just in time,” she said. The powder was welcomed on the slopes like a “gift from the companyl”, a “Christmas present”. “The last two seasons were difficult, we were full of hope for this one“, she said.

“Very good omen”

At Alpe du Grand Serre (Isère), a resort threatened with closure In the absence of white gold and where only a small part of the 50 km of slopes is planted with snow cannons, these flakes are a “very good omen”, says Cédric Fraux, 35, a ski instructor and local sheep farmer. “We should have a complete ski area for the holidays”, and “A snowfall like this boosts bookings!”, he rejoices.

The association he chairs, Alpe du Grand Serre Demain, fights for the economic and tourist survival of the resort which, in deficit and doomed to closure, obtained a one-year reprieve at the end of October and was able to reopen on Saturday for a new season. “We are aware that the climate is changing, but at the moment, only skiing can finance a transition to another resort model”, he comments.

“Large avalanches”

In the high and mid-mountain areas, there will be “super conditions for everyone”during the holidays, assures Anne Marty. The two Savoie and Isère are also on orange avalanche alert since 6 p.m. this Sunday and for the whole day Monday. In their various massifs, off-piste skiing is strongly discouraged because of the instability of the snow.

“Large avalanches” will be triggered as the snow episode progresses, predicts Météo-France. They “could reach exposed mountain roads as well as high-altitude infrastructure”.

In the Hautes-Alpes, yellow warning for snow and ice, the prefecture has banned traffic on the Lautaret pass tonight “given the wind gusts that will exceed 100 to 120 km/h with a high risk of snowdrifts forming”.

In the Massif Central, in the Cévennes and in the Pyrenees

This Sunday evening, snowfall also reached the Massif Central and the Cévennes. Thus, in Lozère and Aveyron, then in Cantal going up the A75, traffic is made difficult at the highest points, above 1000 meters, even forcing motorists to use special equipment to drive.

Snow is also expected in the Pyrenees where it could fall heavily all day Monday. Caution is therefore advised on the roads.