French Ski Resorts Are Building a Survival Network for the Climate Era

France’s ski industry is building an increasingly sophisticated network of cooperation between resorts, with some of the country’s biggest ski areas now sharing staff, spare parts, technical expertise and business strategies with smaller mountain resorts. The initiative, led by Domaines Skiables de France (DSF), the French ski areas association, brings together around 40 partnerships as resorts face rising operating costs, increasing regulation and increasingly variable snow conditions.

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Rather than leaving smaller ski areas to solve those challenges alone, the program pairs them with more experienced operators that can provide practical support, from ski lift operations and snowmaking to human resources, equipment maintenance and climate adaptation. The first partnerships were formally launched at the Mountain Planet trade show in April, including Chamrousse with Saint-Hugues-les-Égaux and Font-Romeu with Les Estables.

The program builds on a longer tradition of cooperation within the French ski industry. DSF has operated Nivalliance, a mutual insurance fund protecting ski areas against poor snow conditions, for more than 20 years. The fund has redistributed more than €23 million to ski areas since 2005.

Now, the industry is expanding that idea beyond financial support.

The new mentoring program is designed to provide practical help where smaller operators may lack the personnel or resources to tackle increasingly complex challenges. Mentor resorts can share their experience with business models, human resources, public service concessions, four-season tourism and climate adaptation. Technical cooperation can include ski lift operations, slope safety, grooming, snowmaking, equipment maintenance and preventive maintenance.

The program also connects resorts with suppliers and allows operators to share experience with projects such as refurbished equipment and circular-economy initiatives. For smaller ski areas, that can mean assistance with structuring projects, planning investments and improving day-to-day operations.

The support is not limited to the ski season. DSF also highlights cooperation over carbon footprints, biodiversity, water management and the dismantling of obsolete infrastructure. “We are building on what is already the strength of our industry: very real solidarity between large ski areas and small resorts,” said Anne Marty, president of Domaines Skiables de France. “The goal is simple: to make sure no mountain area is left behind in the face of the climate, economic and social challenges affecting the mountains.”

One of the clearest examples connects two very different parts of the French ski industry. In July, Christian Morin, president of Stations de la Drôme, signed a partnership with Didier Bobillier, CEO of SEVABEL, the Compagnie des Alpes subsidiary operating Les Menuires, and Raphaël Luzy, deputy CEO of the Régie des pistes des Belleville, which operates in the Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Les Menuires and Val Thorens area.

Teams from the Tarentaise traveled to Font d’Urle and Col de Rousset in the Vercors and Diois to meet their counterparts and identify areas where the larger operators could help. The agreement includes technical staff training, occasional supplies of spare parts and equipment, staff support during important operating periods, exchanges of expertise and joint communications initiatives.

It is a striking example of two very different ski economies working together. The Tarentaise is home to some of France’s largest and most internationally recognized ski destinations, while Font d’Urle and Col de Rousset are smaller, mid-mountain resorts.

For DSF, those smaller areas remain important to the social and economic fabric of mountain communities and often provide an entry point to skiing for local residents.

Another partnership stretches even farther across France. On September 8 and 9, the team from La Rosière visited the Ballon d’Alsace in the Vosges. The Ballon d’Alsace operates seven drag lifts and has snowmaking infrastructure. The two sides discussed how the ski area is organized, potential areas for support and operational experience.

They have already agreed on a practical exchange. Skiers from Savoie will be able to ski for three days at Ballon d’Alsace, while skiers from the Vosges will receive access to the Espace San Bernardo, the cross-border ski area connecting La Rosière with La Thuile in Italy.

It is a simple arrangement, but it illustrates the broader philosophy behind the program: cooperation does not always have to involve major capital projects. Sometimes it means sharing access, people, equipment or experience.

Other partnerships include Morzine and Mont Serein, while around 40 pairings are now underway across France.

DSF says the objective is to encourage cooperation not only between ski-area operators but also among municipalities, ski schools, suppliers, farmers and other local stakeholders. That extends to issues such as water sharing, mountain pasture management and landscape conservation. The association is also continuing programs aimed at its smallest operators, including measures designed to simplify administrative processes for the 100 smallest ski-area operators and a second-hand equipment platform.

DSF has also supported efforts to dismantle obsolete installations and redistribute usable equipment, another form of practical cooperation between larger and smaller areas. The result is becoming something larger than a traditional industry mentoring program. France’s ski areas are building a system in which financial risk, technical expertise, equipment and even staff can be shared across regions.

As snow conditions become less predictable and the economics of operating a ski area become increasingly complicated, that collective approach could become just as important to some mountain communities as the lifts and snow guns themselves.