Main ski stations in French Pyrenees now closed - but five remain open
Busy Christmas period saw stations receive more skiers than previous year
Visitor numbers were up in Ax 3 Domaines (pictures) after heavy snowfall led to an influx of Christmas skiers
Eole Capture France/Shutterstock
Several major ski stations in the south of France are now closed for the 2024/2025 year, as snowfall in the Pyrénées mountains dwindles and spring comes into force.
Five stations remain open on the French side of the mountain chain: Grand Tourmalet and Les Angles will remain open until Sunday April 6, with Cauterets, Piau-Engaly and Le Pic du Midi open until April 21.
Resorts that saw their final skiers for the season this weekend included Luz-Ardiden, Peyragudes, Ax-3-Domaines and Font-Romeu.
A bout of snow on Saturday followed by a sun-drenched Sunday provided ideal conditions for the final patrons of the closing stations, who were able to hit the pistes one final time.
Unlike other closures in the mountain chain, this is not an early end to the season but part of the annual framework for the resorts.
From the end of the February half-term holidays, the number of visitors to resorts drops considerably, however running costs remain the same.
If all the stations remained open, the few remaining skiers would be split among them, likely leading to losses across the board.
The warmer days also mean less chance of snow, reducing the number of available pistes.
Good season for southern stations
The 2024/2025 season was one of good cheer for several resorts, however, with high visitor numbers and a fair amount of snow.
Around 352,000 skiers visited the Ax 3 Domaines resort, up 12.5% from the previous year, in part due to a high number of visitors in the Christmas period.
The N'PY group that manages eight major resorts in the mountains recorded 2,025,000 visitors across its slopes, 100,000 more than the previous year.
The record – 2,160,000 set in 2021/2022 – was a result of a post-Covid lockdown boom.
A busy Christmas compensated for a quieter March – the group saw less than 30,000 skiers last weekend.
The stations that remain open are situated higher in the mountains, and less at risk of snow melting before the season ends.
That being said, a warm spell will cover France from the end of this week, with temperatures up to 20C in several areas.
Whilst it will not reach this level at the peaks, no snow is likely to fall between now and the weekend.
Read more: French ski stations set to become part of Swiss ‘Magic Pass’ subscription
