Vosges: Lac Blanc Ski Resort to Shut Down Its Ski Lifts, Citing Climate Change

The historic Lac Blanc resort has announced it will stop operating its ski lifts starting with the 2026–2027 season, dealing a heavy blow to ski enthusiasts in the Vosges mountains and to the region's tourism industry.

A third resort to fall

The decision, revealed in a brief statement published Wednesday, July 1st, makes Lac Blanc the third Vosges resort to abandon alpine skiing in recent times, following Tanet and Gaschney.

Established in 1970 and sitting between 900 and 1,200 meters of altitude, Lac Blanc had long been one of the most recognizable ski destinations in the Vosges. The joint association responsible for developing the site said its decision to halt ski lift operations was unanimous.

In its statement, the syndicate explained that after reviewing the conditions for running the resort from the 2026/2027 season onward, it concluded the requirements for direct operation could no longer be met. It pointed squarely to the changing climate: shrinking natural snowfall, fewer days with usable snow cover, and increasingly unpredictable winters, all of which it said were undermining the resort's traditional alpine-skiing-based model.

A subsidy that came too late

The announcement lands awkwardly just a year after the European Collectivity of Alsace approved a €788,000 grant to modernize the resort's artificial snowmaking equipment — a vote that drew criticism at the time, given the broader climate context. That investment now appears to have done little to change the resort's trajectory.

Betting on diversification

Lac Blanc is framing the shift as an opportunity rather than a retreat. The resort has been diversifying its activities since 2007, when it opened a Bike Park, and the syndicate describes the current move as a "new impetus" meant to secure the site's long-term future and attractiveness beyond a snow-dependent model.

That strategy already sets Lac Blanc apart nationally: roughly half of the resort's lift revenue is now generated outside the winter season, compared with a national average of just 5%.

Going forward, the joint syndicate says it will commit the resources needed to build a renewed development strategy — mapping out future prospects for the site, identifying available funding, and reinforcing support for projects aimed at keeping Lac Blanc viable over the long term.

The operator pushes back

Not everyone agrees with the syndicate's assessment. Patrice Perrin, CEO of Lac Blanc Tonique, the company operating the ski resort, does not dispute that climate change is having an effect, but argues the resort can still function through winter in the medium term — out to 2050 and beyond — pointing to the Climsnow study on Lac Blanc as evidence.

Perrin called the decision "a new, catastrophic vision," noting that just a year earlier, the joint syndicate (SMALB) had launched a call for tenders for a new concession contract, with projections anticipating a 50% increase in ski lift revenue compared with the average of the past decade. He is urging the parties to seek an alternative solution rather than shutting the lifts down.

Visitors react

Reactions on the ground were mixed. A hiker from the Metz area said he was "astonished" by the timing. "I didn't think it would close so soon. I'm a skier, and I rarely come to the Vosges because the ski area is small. You quickly run out of things to do. There's not much snow, and when there is, it's so crowded, it's not fun."

Another visitor took a more resigned view: "I'm going to miss it! We have to adapt now."

Thirty years, half the snow

For Carmen De Jong, a hydrology professor at the University of Strasbourg, the announcement comes as no surprise. She has spent years warning about the limitations of snowmaking as an economic model in a warming climate.

"It requires too many factors," she said. "For example, it depends on fairly low temperatures, but with climate change, winters are getting warmer and we no longer have those cold spells. Also, water is becoming less and less available because there is less snow and precipitation." She noted that snowfall in the Vosges has dropped by roughly 50% over the last thirty years.

De Jong argues the resort's move reflects a necessary reckoning. "We absolutely must find another, more sustainable model, economically as well," she said. "The mountains are magnificent in every season. We need to move beyond the image of skiing and winter, while being mindful of water resources."