Alps town can't take the heat, shuts ski area

Nevertheless, small ski areas are having increasing difficulty finding investors.

Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, at 2,952 feet, sought public funding to upgrade one of its lifts. The improved lift, ready for the 2006-2007 season, didn't budge all winter because there was not enough snow.

In Abondance, where snow fell only 20 days last year, town officials have been seeking private buyers for the ski area for several years. Transmontagne and Remy Loisirs expressed interest, but never followed through, the mayor said.

The regional council for the Haute Savoie region refused the mayor's request for aid, deeming the station no longer profitable.

The news of the closure has hit hard in this town that has revolved around the ski area since 1964. Sporting goods stores and restaurants specializing in local cheese dominate the town's main street.

"The mayor made a courageous, realistic and calm decision," said retired dairy farmer Andre Gagneux.

Restaurant owner Marie-Jane Teninge, 61, disagreed.

"I am skeptical about global warming. It's just a matter of cycles," she said, adding that she was ready to pay more taxes to keep the ski area open.

Towns across the Alps facing shrinking snowfall are trying to market their resorts for year-round tourism.

Alternative recreation touted
In Switzerland, stations at lower altitudes are trying to lure visitors for dry toboggan runs, "wellness" treks, or for taking lifts above the cloud line during the autumn to enjoy the sunshine.

The Valle d'Aosta region in northeast Italy has run an ad campaign showcasing its green pastures and wildlife. Turin provincial authorities have fitted bobsleds with wheels at the Olympic sliding course in Cesana so that tourists, driven by professionals, can take a ride even when there's no ice.

Jean-Charles Simiand, president of the French national union for ski lifts and cable cars, noted that the lifts are used today for hikers and mountain bikers in summer, but that the activity accounts for just 3 percent of overall lift revenues.

"The mid-altitude stations must adapt," he said. "Diversification of the economy is possible, but so far no one has found an activity that can substitute for skiing."

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