The reopening of ski lifts has been postponed
Credit: Getty
The slopes are deathly silent bar the sporadic swoosh of fresh snow sliding off pine trees in the warm sun. I am out skinning in Les Gets and there’s no doubt about it: the soul-soothing serenity of go-slow snow sports – ski touring, snowshoeing, cross-country skating – has ensured a certain festive magic for adopted locals like myself and domestic tourists lucky enough to wind up in the French ski resort over the Christmas period.
But with the holidays over and the scant few French tourists back home, ski resorts in France are frighteningly empty. This week’s return to lockdown in England killed off any bookings from British skiers, including for February half-term, in one fell swoop. Now French prime minister Jean Castex’s announcement last night that ski lifts won’t open this weekend as suggested back in December, is prompting struggling businesses in the Alps to question if they’ll get any season at all.