As meteorological winter approaches, ski resort managers and residents of the highest tourist towns in the Catalan Pyrenees are scanning the skies and the forecasts, and despite the November precipitation, they are praying for snow. This year, their longing grows stronger, as climate change has transformed the coveted white blanket into the unpredictable outcome of a dice game. Is this the end of an era?
With the arrival of the ski resorts during the 1960s and 70s, the mountains underwent a significant transition. Life shifted from subsistence based on existing resources (livestock, agriculture, forestry, or crafts) to the comfort of profitability, modernity, and the stability of skiing. This turned winter tourism into an economic monoculture—much like sun and beach tourism did in other parts of the country—while divergent alternatives were left behind. Now, more than five decades later, with the decline of this model looming, we must evolve once again. On the table: what economic activities do we need to propose? How will we preserve employment and economic dynamism in our valleys? And also, how will we make this compatible with preserving this unique, majestic, and at the same time, fragile environment?
In the Alps, mountains in which we in the Pyrenees often see our reflections, snow has been scarce for years. The Belledonne, Vercors, and Chartreuse massifs are clear examples. And the case of Alpe du Grand-Serre, in Isère, would be the paradigm of what we will encounter going forward: little or no profitability—persistent losses, in fact—and an inability to undertake reinvestments, all fundamentally linked to the economy of a small population with few resources.
The proposal of build a gondola to access the slopes From the nearest town, it arrives as the solution to the problem in many parts of the Pyrenees, but this too is a story we've seen before. In the Alps, it's said, access to the high resorts is done this way and is considered a symbol of the region. But two key differences must be considered: road access wasn't possible when the resort opened, and, more importantly, the European and national regulations we've established to protect our landscapes and the environment in general weren't yet in place. Today, a gondola lift would trample and damage what we've worked so hard to protect: our iconic natural heritage. And there are already cases, in the Alps, for example, of abandoned infrastructure—iron corpses—after blood, sweat, and all kinds of hardship were invested.
Climate change will have several protagonists, almost all of them very extreme: nonexistent, scarce, or excessively abundant snow; more days of stronger winds, with blizzards; much higher or terrifyingly low temperatures; persistent droughts and concentrated downpours. The mountains will remain home to the people who live there, but they will hardly be the attractive playground that many want to continue selling at any cost. Therefore, we must get to work. It is necessary to accelerate the transition in terms of tourism, planning, infrastructure, and mobility, and at the same time, protect common resources—and havens of life—such as water, soil, and mountains. It is necessary to reinvent the concept of a "ski resort" to move towards a "mountain resort," a model to be defined that values it while respecting it. And this also means regulating access, because even today erosion and overcrowding dominate the landscape around the resorts.
Reaching high mountains should be exhilarating in itself. But we mustn't confuse the terms: stimulating It's not a mini-golf course with an infinity view, an electric motorcycle circuit for children, a rooftop pool, or a bike parkThis would only turn the mountain into a theme park, and we would lose the irreplaceable—truly unique—value of this magnificent natural space. The model must be built on dialogue, collective intelligence, valuing local initiatives, and the passion for the mountains that once seeded the opening of the Ulldeter refuge, the first on the entire Iberian Peninsula. We cannot deny that snow has played an essential role in the Catalan Pyrenees. But we cannot dwell on the nostalgia of golden ages when they are coming to an end. It is necessary to embark with courage and imagination on the path of transition to avoid stagnation, losses, and irreparable mistakes, and, if possible, to lead this new economic space that is opening up before our eyes.
