Final French Summer Ski Area Open Ending 2023 Season
Final French Summer Ski Area Open Ending 2023 Season
Published : 23-Jul-2023 08:31
Tignes, the only ski area currently open for snowsports in France, is expected to end its 2023 summer ski season today, as scheduled.
It joins Les 2 Alpes and Val d'Isere, the two other French ski areas still offering summer skiing (down from around 10 in the 1990s), which ended their 2023 seasons a fortnight ago.
Tignes reported the deepest snow in Europe for much of the winter, peaking at over 5 metres deep on its glacier in March when the resorts had about 300km of slopes open shared with neighbouring Val d'Isere. Those stats are now down to 4km of slopes open and 30cm of snow cover on the glacier.
However summer 2023 appears to have been more successful for snowsports in France than 2022 when hardly anything was able to open after poor snowfall in winter 21-22 was followed by a very hot spring to high elevations, melting most snow cover before the summer ski season was due to begin.
Winter 22-23 hit headlines for poor snow in January too, but that was actually at low elevations with higher slopes and glaciers receiving as much or more than average snowfall. That was then followed by a cold and snowy spring 2023.
In addition French glacier resorts adjusted their planned summer ski opening dates to a little earlier in the summer, or in the case of les 2 Alpes, a big change to open through May and June, after just a week's closure at the end of the 22-23 winter season, from previously opening from June to August. It ended up actually staying open for an extra week longer than planned, the first week of July, citing "great conditions."
Four Alpine glacier ski areas will aim to remain open after Tignes closes, although bases are dropping fast in the current summer heat. They are Hintertux in Austria, Passo Stelvio in Italy and the Saas Fee and Zermatt glaciers in Switzerland, the latter also accessible from Cervinia.
It's not yet clear when French glaciers will re-open for Autumn skiing. Last year Tignes targeted early October having moved back from its previous commitment to be open at least one day of every month of the year which meant it tried to offer summer skiing until the start of August and open for autumn skiing before the end of September. In 2022 it was eventually November before there was enough snow for any French resort to open, but for 2023 much depends on late summer and early autumn temperatures and snowfall.
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