Opening Date Announced for Alpe du Grand Serre
24th October 2024
Last modified on November 5th, 2024
The resort had been set for closure but the decision has been reversed and now an opening date has been been announced. UPDATED
Alpe du Grand Serre is a collection of six villages in the southern French Alps near Grenoble.
It decided to close citing several difficult winters and a lack of summer investment.
Poor snow, falling numbers and bleak prospects were to blame.
Local officials have now reversed their previous decision, and the area will open for this winter and next summer.
The opening date has been announced – 21st December.
Here at PlanetSKI we reported on the closure when it was announced:
There was also some rather wild and inaccurate reporting by sections of the mainstream media (CNN, The Guardian, The Independent, Reuters + many others) as they used it as an example of how skiing is set to end due to climate change.
They used the closure of a small French ski area, known mainly only to locals, as an example of how all ski resorts are under threat.
None has reported on the latest development.
The resort will be run by the SATA AEON group that is a key stakeholder in the operation of the nearby resorts of Les2Alpes, Alps d’Huez and La Grave.
SATA Group AEON plans to turn Alpe du Grand Serre into a laboratory for innovation in sustainable tourism.
“The Alpe du Grand Serre will be, within our group, a real laboratory where we can test new activities, attract a diversified clientele, and create a lively mountain destination all year round,” said the Managing Director of SATA Group AEON, Fabrice Boutet.
“We are honored by the trust placed in us by the Communauté de Communes de la Matheysine and its elected representatives to manage this resort.
“Our expertise, combined with our vision of responsible mountain tourism, will enable us to develop the full potential of this destination, while preserving its authenticity and exceptional environment.”
The French government has announced financial support, plus the municipality of La Morte, and a number of organisations in the French ski industry.
A crowdfunding campaign raised almost €200,000.
“We’ve received so many messages of support, testimonials, offers of help, and donations from all over France,” said Domitille Hocq, a member of resort support association that launched the crowdfunding initiative to the newspaper, Le Monde.
The resort opened 85 years ago and has 55kms of slopes.
The economy of nearby village La Morte is heavily dependent on the ski resort with any local businesses relying on it.
“We’ve avoided disaster, but the deadline is very short,” said the president of the La Morte vivante, César Ghaouti, to the AFP newsagency.
“We absolutely need a long-term plan for medium-altitude mountains. We need to get away from our dependence on snow.”
Now a closure of L’Alpe du Grand Serre will be September 2025 at the earliest.
Read more in Le Connexion
