Global Warming’s Turning Euro Ski Resorts Into Ghost Towns

The Alps once hummed all winter long. Chairlifts creaked to life as the sun peered over the slopes, cafés steamed with espresso. And the scent of wet wool filled lobbies and cocktail bars. Entire villages used to exist for one reason only:  snow.

No more. In France, Italy, and elsewhere, hundreds of ski slopes lie dormant. Locals refer to them as ghost resorts. The buildings remain, but winter refuses to cooperate.

Recent reporting indicates that 186 French ski resorts have permanently closed; many of the closures occurred because the snow line has crept too high for reliable ski seasons. Others fight the good fight with artificial snow, reduced openings, and thinner profit margins. The Alps are changing fast. Rusted lift towers and shuttered chalets bear out this sad fact.

Photo by Peter Steiner for Unsplash

How Ski Resorts Become Ghost Resorts

Most abandoned ski resorts didn’t close overnight. A recurring pattern does the dirty work. Winters grow shorter. Snow arrives late or not at all. Resorts invest heavily in snowmaking (which requires water, energy, and cold temperatures that no longer reliably exist). Visitor numbers drop. Insurance and maintenance costs rise. And then resort owners throw in the towel. And who can blame them?

Climate scientists point to rising average temperatures as the canker in the heart of the rose. Even small increases have an outsized impact on snowfall at lower elevations, which is exactly where many family-friendly ski areas were built decades ago. As the snow line climbs, resorts below it are left stranded…and, eventually, deserted.

Céüze and the Frozen Moment Effect

Céüze – once a lively ski resort near Gap, France – closed in 2018 after years of struggling financially. It’s now the very embodiment of the ghost resort phenomenon. Its chairlifts still stretch up the mountain. Its signage is intact. It’s by no means a ruin, and that’s what makes the defunct resort so striking and disturbing a place. It feels paused rather than destroyed. Ironically, this eldritch quality attracts photographers, hikers, and curious travelers, turning bleak abandoned locales into a form of quiet tourism.

Can Ski Tourism Adapt?

Not every Alpine resort is giving up. Higher-altitude destinations are shifting toward year-round tourism with hiking, mountain biking, wellness retreats, and cultural festivals replacing ski-only seasons. But adaptation has its limits. Artificial snow can’t stop global warming. Many experts warn that only the highest resorts will remain viable by mid-century. Revamp, rethink, or abandon:  those are the choices anxious resort owners are facing.

Visiting Ghost Resorts Responsibly

Ghost resorts offer travelers a novel way to experience the Alps. If you visit, stick to marked paths, respect private property, and support nearby towns that are reinventing themselves in what’s shaping up to be the post-skiing tourist world. They reveal how closely tourism, climate, and local economies intertwine.

The Alps have long shaped European travel culture, and their transformation will reshape how future generations experience mountains, winter, and our notions of leisure time and escape. Ghost resorts are sad, abandoned ski towns and warning signs of a global crisis. Ski holidays are no longer guaranteed. The Alps will always inspire awe and adventure even as the snow line creeps ever higher…