French ski resort gets snow from mountain top

The world had another jolt of reality when a ski resort had to transport snow for its revellers. A French ski resort used a helicopter to move snow from higher up the mountains after exceptionally mild weather left its slopes bare. This also raised concerns about the ecological and natural changes on earth. The helicopter spent two hours transporting 50 tonnes of snow to drop on the lower slopes used by beginners and ski schools at Luchon-Superbagnères. Though the cost of removing the snow is somewhere around €6,000 (around Rs4.5 lacs), the resort officials were confident to recover the cost. Though the resort received flak for bringing snow down from the high mountains, keeping the station open safeguarded 50 to 80 jobs, including lift operators, ski school teachers, childminders, ski equipment rental shop staff and restaurant owners. The February-March half term holidays in France – known as the “winter sport holidays” – are staggered over four weeks across different regions and are the busiest time of the year for the country’s mountain resorts. Luchon-Superbagnères depends on this period for 60% of its income, but exceptionally mild weather has forced the resort to close all but six of its 28 slopes. It is the first time helicopters have been used to transport snow from higher altitudes to lower resorts in the French Pyrenees, though similar operations have been carried out in the Alps.