As Of 2011, 186 Ski Resorts Had Been Abandoned In Italy; Warming Alps Adorned With Photogenic Ruins

[hatrack]

Deserted ski lifts and ruined hotels are some of the relics of a tourist industry that first seduced and then abandoned the Alps, along with cement, steel cables, paved car parks and deforested slopes. From Piedmont to Friuli, there are hundreds of abandoned ski resorts in Italy. Researchers counted 186 in 2011, a number that is likely to have grown since.

Warmer winters and shorter ski seasons combined with bad investments and high running costs have contributed to the slow death of small- and mid-sized ski resorts.

EDIT

The Alps’ spectacular panoramas have changed, with white tongues of artificial snow now stretching through yellow meadows. Skiers queue to descend slopes that are increasingly frozen or rotten. Few of them realise how expensive it is to produce artificial snow, which costs €3-5 per cubic metre. Italy has about 2,500 miles (4,000km) of ski slopes, and the bill for covering them with fake snow adds up to €500m (£420m) every season.

EDIT

Renzo Pinard owns the Belvedere hotel in Pian del Frais, a ski resort in Piedmont. In recent years there has not been enough snow for the resort to open, and tourists who used to visit have started holidaying elsewhere. Homes in the town are plastered with For Sale signs. Pinard is one of the town’s last inhabitants. “This is my land, it is the story of my family,” he said. “I will never leave. Places like Pian del Frais can survive but we need to change our mind and find alternatives to alpine skiing.”

EDIT/END

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/09/seduced-abandoned-tourism-and-climate-change-the-alps

[OhNo-Really]

1. Rebrand as Clean Air Resorts - millionaires of the world need air