Prémanon (France) (AFP)

Almost doomed by global warming, Nordic skiing is organizing itself to lengthen its lifespan a little and ensure a transition before the end of the snow, especially in the Jura where the activity is rooted in folklore and the economy of the massif.

"In 20 years there will be nothing left". On the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games, schoolchildren are learning cross-country skiing on a small icy slope surrounded by conifers from the Tuffes area. The organizer, Hervé Lamy, knows like everyone else in the low-lying massif of the Jura (summit at 1,720 m) that white gold is doomed in a few decades.

"We will try to make it last but we are lucid, tells AFP this training manager at the National Center for Nordic and Medium Mountain Skiing (CNSNMM). Young ski teachers will no longer be able to live for 20 or 30 years this only activity in winter. They must diversify and pass their diploma in mountain biking, lifeguard etc. "

- "cross-country skiing is renowned" -

Diversification has become the watchword of resorts in the region, which organize winter activities in winter (mountain biking, Nordic walking, etc.). But the Nordic remains an asset apart.

"Alpine skiing (seven million euros in annual revenue) is our livelihood, but cross-country skiing (just over 500,000 euros in revenue) is renowned!" Schematizes Bernard Mamet, UDI mayor of the Rousses station.

"Nordic makes the reputation and the image of our station. It corresponds to a philosophy of life, to the landscape, to the topography of the Jura", which offers the largest Nordic area in France with 2,000 km of slopes.

In the small villages scattered in the heart of the cold combs of the massif, the Nordic is a true "religion" threatened by the end of the snow.

"The locals have learned to ski near their homes, around the school, in meadows. When you lose a site, you lose skiers. The end of the snow will make this culture disappear", regrets Nicolas Gotorbe, development agent at the Nordic Jurassic Space Association.

"But we are thinking about the transition years so as not to drop the Nordic", he explains while many solutions exist to optimize the snow available and ensure the opening of part of the slopes, some of which keep snow therefore thanks to their position (in the forest, very little sun, etc.)

- Nordic in summer? -

"Sometimes nothing is missing three times to reach the snow, like changing the start of the slopes by one kilometer, or setting up a parking lot a little higher," says Gotorbe.

Among the solutions, small jobs can be undertaken in the summer to smooth a slope which will then require less snow to groom a track.

Other, more expensive possibilities cannot be multiplied. This is the case with snow cannons or artificial snow, kept during the summer under wood chips to be reusable at the end of autumn (between a quarter and a third of the stock is lost).

The brand new Nordic stadium Jason Lamy-Chappuis des Tuffes, a high level temple which depends on the CNSNMM, nicknamed "the Snow Insep", has invested in this bet.

"Our policy has been to bring together the different disciplines on a single site (the stadium has a springboard, a cross-country ski trail, two shooting ranges for biathlon). We are armed to last a few years", assures the manager Nicolas Michaud.

But the future of very high-level competition raises questions.

"The Nordic disciplines are also practiced in summer (ski-wheel on asphalt and jumping on springboards covered with a plastic track). We are not discussing this with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) at the Summer Games but we may wonder in 15 or 20 years. "

After the snow, the salvation of the Nordic will be in the sun?

© 2020 AFP