- Reaction score
- 1,300
(CNN) — Christine Harrison has been visiting Le Praz De Lys-Sommand, a small ski resort in the French Alps, for the past 20 years. The view out of her chalet window has always been more or less the same -- wide expanse of mountains, hills and chalets, all capped in frothy, thick snow.
But this year, the landscape is barren. The skis have been put away. Many of Harrison's fellow would-be skiers have gone home.
"There literally is no snow this year," she tells CNN Travel.
Much of Europe is currently experiencing unseasonably warm weather conditions, with several countries in the continent recording their warmest January day ever on New Year's Day.
In France, the aggregated average temperature on the last day of 2022 was over 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the daily reference temperature for 1991-2020, according to Météo-France, the French national meteorological service.
Ski resorts across the Alps, particularly those in the lower regions, have temporarily shuttered their slopes as this warm weather, teamed with torrential rain, washes away December's snowfall.
Harrison and her partner, who are from the UK, were aware of the lack of snow at Le Praz De Lys before they arrived. They decided to go anyway, arriving in late December mostly to check up on their chalet -- they'd heard the washout had led to flooding in the basement.
Now, instead of spending her days on the slopes, Harrison's been watching the wildlife buzzing about her balcony. The birds, she suggests, seem equally confused by the spring-like conditions.
"I'm not normally feeding blue tits croissants on the 3rd of January in the French Alps," says Harrison.
www.cnn.com
But this year, the landscape is barren. The skis have been put away. Many of Harrison's fellow would-be skiers have gone home.
"There literally is no snow this year," she tells CNN Travel.
Much of Europe is currently experiencing unseasonably warm weather conditions, with several countries in the continent recording their warmest January day ever on New Year's Day.
In France, the aggregated average temperature on the last day of 2022 was over 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the daily reference temperature for 1991-2020, according to Météo-France, the French national meteorological service.
Ski resorts across the Alps, particularly those in the lower regions, have temporarily shuttered their slopes as this warm weather, teamed with torrential rain, washes away December's snowfall.
Harrison and her partner, who are from the UK, were aware of the lack of snow at Le Praz De Lys before they arrived. They decided to go anyway, arriving in late December mostly to check up on their chalet -- they'd heard the washout had led to flooding in the basement.
Now, instead of spending her days on the slopes, Harrison's been watching the wildlife buzzing about her balcony. The birds, she suggests, seem equally confused by the spring-like conditions.
"I'm not normally feeding blue tits croissants on the 3rd of January in the French Alps," says Harrison.
European ski resorts close because there's no snow
Higher temperatures and heavy rain have stripped many European ski resorts of snow, prompting half of France's 7,500 ski slopes to close and raising concerns over long-term prospects for the continent's winter sports season.
www.cnn.com
