Climate change turns french alps ski resorts into frozen-in-time ghost towns as rising snow lines force permanent closures

The French Alps are witnessing an unprecedented transformation as climate change forces ski resorts to permanently shut their doors, leaving behind eerie “ghost resorts” frozen in time. A staggering 186 French ski resorts have already closed due to rising snow lines caused by global warming, with dozens more facing an uncertain future.

The haunting reality of this climate crisis is perhaps best captured at Céüze 2000 ski resort, which closed after the 2018 season with workers expecting to return the following winter. Six years later, the abandoned facility remains exactly as staff left it – piste maps still stacked beside office supplies, work schedules pinned to walls, and a yellowing newspaper from March 8, 2018, sitting folded on a table next to a half-empty water bottle.

These abandoned resorts represent more than just economic casualties; they’re physical monuments to our rapidly changing climate. As global temperatures continue to rise, the reliable snowfall that once sustained these mountain communities is becoming increasingly elusive. The Alps, long considered Europe’s premier skiing destination, are experiencing shorter winter seasons and unpredictable snow conditions that make resort operations financially unsustainable.

The question now facing the region is whether nature will reclaim these human-made developments. As vegetation slowly creeps back over abandoned slopes and wildlife returns to once-busy mountainsides, these former ski resorts may serve as unexpected laboratories for studying how ecosystems recover from human development – a silver lining to an otherwise sobering climate story.