Grenoble (AFP)
The kick-off of the ski season will be given on Saturday in a dozen French resorts, most of which will open part of their domain for the weekend only in favor of good snow conditions.
After the Grande Motte glacier in Tignes, open since October 19th, the Savoyard Val Thorens ski resort, located at an altitude of 2,300 meters, goes every year as the first to open its ski slopes permanently.
Comforted by the recent snowfall, a dozen other ski areas located in the Alps, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees will also allow skiing enthusiasts to put their ski early, but only for the weekend.
The Alpine resorts of Gets (Haute-Savoie), Grands Montets (Haute-Savoie), Chamrousse (Isère) and Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes) are concerned by these partial openings.
In the Massif Central, 14 of the 44 slopes of the Lioran resort (Cantal), where up to 60 cm of snow at an altitude of 1,160 meters, will be accessible according to France Montagnes.
In the Pyrenees, the most impatient will have the opportunity to hit some of the ski areas of Porté Puymorens (1,557 meters altitude) and Cauterets (1,730 meters altitude).
The final opening of all other French ski areas will then spread between November 30 and December 21, according to France Montagnes.
Cross-country skiing, fifteen resorts in the Alps, Vosges, Jura, Massif Central and Pyrenees will open their field for the weekend, some thanks to the technique of "snowfarming".
"The snow heights are satisfactory for the period of the year on all the mountains," said AFP Laurent Reynaud, general manager of Domaines skiables de France.
"Last year, we must not forget that in the Pyrenees, the snow was delayed until mid-January," he notes.
© 2019 AFP