“No black slopes, a few reds are missing... but it doesn’t matter”: despite the lack of snow, tourists are all smiles in the ski resorts

2023-12-30 07:00:00

Smiles and more smiles. Snow or not (little), Isola 2000 is not depressing. Quite the contrary. On the slopes, restaurant terraces, in the shopping mall, customers and traders remain positive. Enthusiastic. “In my area, there’s no snow, so I don’t mind that there isn’t much, it’s better to ski anyway, says Benjamin, who came from Reims with his two daughters to see his family on the Côte d’Azur. There is no black, some reds are missing but it doesn’t matter, we are happy.”

A happiness shared by Jimmy, who came with his three children from La Roquette-sur-Siagne for a few days. “Lack of snow? There’s nothing we can do about it, he sighs. We make up our minds. Yes, it’s a bit sad, especially in Isola, we’re not used to it, but it still feels good to be there. We ski all day, we do a little sledding in the evening, we don’t have time to get bored.”

“Efforts made” to pamper customers

What “customers enjoy the benefits of the mountain”, that’s the whole objective of the general director of Nice Côte d’Azur resorts, Jean-Christophe Desens. This Wednesday, on the snow front of Isola 2000, he also has a smile: “I am delighted. With the conditions, we are able to offer a great opening with fifteen perfectly maintained slopes. The diversity of activities allows you to practice numerous leisure activities. We try to be as dynamic as possible and provide a customer experience, an unforgettable stay.”

If the main activity “remain skiing”he maintains, it has become essential for resorts to offer a varied and renewed offering outside of skiing. “What we really like is the snow front with its new carpet. So every evening, we decided to offer a 30 to 45 minute free sledding session on the entire track thanks to this new installation, underlines Jean-Christophe Desens. The diversification of activities is essential, we do a lot of activities in the heart of the resort.”

As in Auron, which depends on the same mixed union, where the outdoor climbing wall and the paddle court have been opened in addition to the other activities usually offered. The objective is to pamper customers in order to compensate for a reduced ski offering. “Although it will be cold in a week and all this will no longer be relevant, but the efforts will have been made and will be appreciated”estimates the general director.

This is confirmed by Isabelle and Patrick, regulars of the resort, crossed at the top of the Pelevos cable car. At 2320 meters above sea level, the landscape is a little more wintry. “We would have preferred there to be snow but they managed well to open a few slopes, recognizes Isabelle. We are very keen on skiing but there are plenty of activities for everyone, a lot of effort is made to make the resort attractive. Even if there are fewer tracks, we do everything the same as usual… but doing the same ones more often. And then there are friends who come, we make fondues, raclettes. It’s vacation!”

If the main activity “remains skiing”, he maintains, it has become essential for resorts to offer a varied and renewed offering outside of skiing.

“It’s a bit like the atmosphere of March”

A holiday which got off to a good start at Isola 2000 as in the other resorts in the Alpes-Maritimes, despite the lack of snow. As if, ultimately, ski holidays are enjoyed, whatever happens. The sun helping, obviously. “The customers are there, they give me good feedback on the ski area, enjoy the terrace, whispers, behind his cash register, the owner of the Schuss restaurant, Pierre-Pascal Bastanti. This is very good because we need satisfied customers who say, when they come back down, that the snow is good, that we are happy here. And the weather is magnificent, it’s a bit like the atmosphere of March.”

“People are rather satisfied with the offer: the partial opening is well worked on, other activities are developed, the weather is nice, we are taking the time. It’s a little early to make a first assessment but I don’t ‘Don’t worry more than that’supports the president of the merchants and boss of the Super U of the shopping mall, Eric Martin. “There are more and more companions who don’t ski, who come and enjoy. And then there is an effect of communicating vessels on the distribution of leisure activities.” With the development, in particular, of hiking with or without snowshoes, ski touring or even participation in the various activities and entertainment offered by the resort and its partners.

“We are pleasantly surprised by the attendance and customer satisfaction, confides Jean-Christophe Desens. We feel an excitement.”

The restaurant terraces and deckchairs are always full in the resorts, like here on the snow front of Isola 2000, at La Guérite. **Photo Frantz Bouton.**

How were Isola 2000 and Auron able to open their domain?

15 out of 45 slopes open at Isola 2000, 11 out of 43 at Auron. The two highest resorts in the department are not spared from this start of the season with little snow. So we had to compete in ingenuity – “we moved the arrival gate of the Roubines ski lift [à Isola 2000] to partially open the track and bring up some snow on Plateau to have an extra track” – and capitalize on the snow that fell at the beginning of the month and that produced.

“Almost all of the slopes with a artificial snow network are open at Isola 2000 and Auron”assures the general director of Nice Côte d’Azur resorts, Jean-Christophe Desens. “Our production plan has stages. We initially focus on the main axes and the commercial and emblematic slopes. As well as on the snow fronts. If I lose them, I close the stations.”