One had to close, the other hopes to open: from Aigoual to Laguiole, the contrasting winter of small ski resorts in the region

Sur l’Aigoual, les luges ont remplacé les skis, faute d’avoir pu payer les assurances. Camille Salvador

Faute de pouvoir payer les assurances, Alti Aigoual ne peut faire tourner ses remontées mécaniques. Sur l’Aubrac en revanche, après négociation, une association va les relancer. Mais il manque la neige.

The end of a story that is almost 60 years old ? On January 1st, the Mont Aigoual ski resort, perched on the highest point in the Gard, had to resolve to close its ski lifts. Snow or not, they will no longer operate in the coming weeks. The fault lies in a failure to pay the insurance, which is mandatory to allow the public to use them. €25,000 is missing, both to pay for the 2024 insurance and the new one, which was fiercely negotiated last September. “We managed to halve our various contracts, but that was not enough to allow us to open,” regrets Denis Boissière, manager of Alti Aigoual, a company that has been providing public service delegation since 2018.

It is all the more bitter since the snow that fell at the end of December had allowed the resort to operate for three days during the holidays. Since then, the snow cover is certainly no longer sufficient for skiing, but the crowds remain significant, at least to enjoy the joys of sledding. “There are people, smiles. We are a breath of fresh air for many people in the surrounding area”, Denis Boissière still believes.

The call to Nîmes, Alès, Millau or Montpellier

However, if he still wants to believe in a future, “for this, it is imperative to open this winter, because since we cannot develop projects in the summer due to the blockages of all our diversification projects by the Cévennes National Park, only the ski activity can allow us to earn money”. And thus to absorb a significant debt, dug by the closure linked to Covid and then the successive years without snow.

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A new call for donations and the early sale of solidarity passes (€14,000), the D system or the dismissal of five employees have certainly allowed to free up a little room for maneuver, but all this was not enough. So, as a last resort, since the Causses Aigoual Cévennes community of communes on which Alti Aigoual depends has spoken out against a new exceptional large-scale subsidy, Denis Boissière is now appealing to the local authorities whose residents come, he says, regularly to ski at Aigoual. The neighboring intercommunalities, but also those of Nîmes, Alès, Millau or Montpellier. “It's almost a public service that we offer. Many Montpellier residents learned to ski here”. Unstoppable argument ? Not for the moment. The future of the only Gard resort is darkening.

A last-minute agreement on Aubrac

On the Aubrac, however, the wind has turned in the right direction in Laguiole. Although it has not yet brought enough snow, a solution has been found to open the small resort, which was nevertheless threatened with disappearance due to the lack of a company that responded to the town hall's call for tenders in the autumn. Here too, the accumulated deficit of recent years was proving to be a deterrent.

It was finally the association for the promotion of the Laguiole ski resort, which had been a volunteer for several months, which managed to reach an agreement, at the end of December, with the mayor to establish “a service provision contract”, indicates its president Mathurin Chauffour. The deal: “in case of deficit, the municipality will not provide more than €60,000, the association will take care of the rest”. Which could be established, in the worst case scenario, “at €30,000”. “It's a risk that we accept to take to save this station that we care so much about; it was in any case the only solution to make it last. But the idea, obviously, is not to spend too much money to start again on a good basis next year with a delegation of public services”, he continues.

To do this, the association is counting on an army of volunteers to lend a hand to the few employees, who are essential in positions of responsibility. “In a few days, 55 people have completed the mandatory training to manage the ski lifts. This suggests a strong turnout, which will allow us to organize shifts, especially if we have a lot of snow”, rejoices Mathurin Chauffour. Who adds: “This will also help create momentum and imagine other activities, all seasons, including winter if there is a lack of snow. However, we now hope to have enough to open very quickly, after missing the start of the season”.

Not (enough) snow on Mont Lozère

These two contrasting situations show that snow remains the crux of the matter for these mid-mountain resorts. Another example, on Mont Lozère where the Department and its mixed economy company are behind the management company, everything was ready at Christmas to open the seven slopes spread between 1,400 and 1,575 metres. In vain. It seems that below 2,000 metres, with this increasing global warming, the end of the story is constantly being pushed back despite all the good intentions.

The very good Pyrenean Christmas

Record attendance. The snow that fell in mid-December on the Pyrenees peaks brought smiles back to the faces of Catalan ski resorts. During the holidays, Font Romeu and Les Angles recorded days with more than 10,000 skiers. The Trio Pyrenees resorts (Formiguères, Porté-Puymorens, Cambre d'Aze) had as many over a weekend, “the best Christmas holidays we've ever had”. And this snow has whetted the appetite. “We are already at 90% occupancy for February”, says the coordinator of the Catalan Snows. Hope is reborn in these resorts that have suffered several difficult seasons.

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