The disarmed mountain, trajectories of abandoned ski resorts
15The thesis La montagne désarmée, une analyse des trajectoires territoriales des stations de ski abandonnées (Disarmed mountains: an analysis of the territorial trajectories of abandoned ski resorts), offers a rereading of the geo-history of skiing through a new prism, that of redevelopment. This little-known phenomenon of closure is a hidden facet of mountain tourism, but it is above all a fatal revelation of the fragility of a century-old development model.
© Pierre-Alexandre Metral
There are 186 alpine ski areas in the French mountains that have definitively ceased operations, the first in 1951.
While competition between sites and changes in demand precipitated the closure of many small, isolated ski lifts, climate change is now forcing larger areas to cease operations. Taking a look at past closures allows us to measure the evolution of malfunctions over time, the areas affected and the most fragile forms of development.
Another part of the thesis is based on specific sites to measure the territorial impacts induced after the closure, such as economic, political or heritage crises when the withdrawal of ski lifts is debated locally.
Closed sites are often described as “ghost resorts”. A gloomy expression, conjuring up images of tourist wastelands and other derelicts. In reality, this overlooks the initiatives to reconvert these areas, whose creativity is reinventing mountain territories on the bangs.
The general question posed by the study is: is the metamorphosis of former ski resorts a driving force behind the transition of mountain regions?
Thesis Corse Jura Massif central Pyrénées Toutes les Alpes Vosges Planning, public policy and governance Tourism and recreational practices
Coordination
Pierre-Alexandre Metral
Pacte (UGA)