Pietro Casartelli has always dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, but the alpine skier, 18, says climate change is making his goals more difficult and more expensive to achieve.
Last year, when his usual alpine summer slopes were melting in record high temperatures, he planned to attend a training camp in Chile. But the trip was canceled because too few potential participants could afford the fees.
Warming weather systems and a shorter season threaten winter sports and test the resolve of professionals and amateurs across Europe.
Hautacam, a ski resort in the French Pyrenees, has renamed itself “Hautacam Plage” (aka Hautacam Beach) on social media, and its 20 slopes have become more of a hiking and biking destination than a winter sports destination.
“If we keep having seasons like this, we’re going to have to stop,” said Josiane Sempe, owner of a ski rental in Hautacam. Tourists can ride a bike on a zip line instead of skiing.
“Will this become the only recipe for our resort in the winter?” said Marie-Florentine Hulin, the resort’s communications and marketing manager. “That’s a hard question to answer.
In the nearby Bareges resort, skiers have the option of an artificially snowy slope surrounded by snow-free mountains.
“We have to ask ourselves… when is it acceptable to start ski races, under what conditions are we willing to hold these ski races,” said Fabien Saguez, president of the French Ski Federation (FFS), with 100,000 members, half of whom are amateurs.
A survey by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) shows that about 60% of athletes in the sport that combines skiing and shooting have felt the impact of climate change, which affects training and competition conditions.
CANCELED EVENTS
Erratic weather is an even bigger challenge for winter sports than rising temperatures, said Susanna Sieff, director of sustainability at the International Ski Federation (FIS). “Century storms are now seen every four to five years,” she said.
The FIS had to cancel two ski events in Germany and France this month, while the Snowboarding World Cup faced a massive storm in Mammoth, California that brought record snowfall.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina approaching, there were growing concerns that climate change would threaten the competition.
“By mid-century, there will be practically only 10-12 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) left that could host these events on snow,” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) website quoted its president Thomas Bach as saying in October.
Opening a new tab this month, France’s public audit office said the economic model for the country’s ski resorts was collapsing in the face of climate change and that most resorts were likely to be affected by 2050, with areas south of the Alps most affected. .
The report highlights how authorities are slowly adapting, said David Ponson, director of ski areas at French ski resort operator Compagnie des Alpes ( CDAF.PA ), opening a new tab.
Stephane Remy, a visitor to Hautacam, said that those who want to enjoy the mountains in winter must turn to new sports.
“The snow situation is likely to get worse,” he said, “so we could adjust to that and find other outdoor activities like biking or hiking.”
