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Simply Savoie

Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

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Climate Change

Skiings Benefits to the French Economy and Savoie

An interesting article from Le Dauphine newspaper (a regional paper for South-East France) on how much skiing introduces to the economy.

http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2012/10/26/skier-en-france-combien-ca-coute-combien-ca-rapporte

Ski lifts, through the selling of lift passes, generated 1.2 billion (French: milliard) Euros last year.? It is estimated that each euro spent on a lift pass generates 6 Euros spent on other items.? So one arrives at a figure of 8.4 billion euros spent for all the French ski resorts.? These resorts generate 120,000 jobs.

Savoie benefits from 65% of the income generated.

It’s clear that skiiing generates a huge income for the Savoie department.? How much of this income remains in the economy is a different question with large companies owning the ski lifts, such as the Compagnie des Alpes.? Does most of the money end up in the hands of shareholders rather than in the local economy?

With global warming, if you don’t believe it look at the dramatically shrinking glaciers, having so many eggs in the “skiing” basket may be a recipe for future economic disaster.

I find it surprising that people wish to take a summer holiday in a purpose built ski resort as many resemble a building site in summer.? What appears to “fit in” during the winter i.e. the ski lifts and ski runs suddenly take on a rather incongrous appearance in summer.? Ski runs are often eroded and tracks criss cross the hillside.

if you’re looking for a summer holiday in the Alps look to the more authentic villages where the landscape hasn’t been subject to the demands of the voracious and unsustainable ski industry.

Shrinking Glaciers & Falling Rocks – Climate Change in the Alps

This summer’s almost unprecedented high temperatures has brought to the fore the effects of climate change. Glaciers have shrunk at alarming rates. The Glacier Blanc in the Ecrins has lost a quarter of its surface area in the past 30 years. Those monitoring the glacier fear that this year will be one of the worst. To maintain itself the glacier needs to be ?fed? by snowfall higher in the mountains and this has not been sufficient.

Everywhere in the Alps the ?permafrost? that acts as the glue holding shattered mountain rocks in place has melted. This has given rise to much more substantial and regular rock falls. The ?normal? route up Mont Blanc by the Gouter refuge was particularly in the news and the decision by the Maire of St Gervais, in whose commune the refuge resides took the decision to close the refuge for almost a month.

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