Closure Of Alpe Du Grand Serre Pushed Back By One Year

The closure of a l’Alpe du Grand Serre, in La Morte, Isère, will stay open for another year after a vote on October 22. This will push the possible closure back to September 2025 at the earliest.

Alpe du Grand Serre offered 55 miles (34 kilometers) of marked runs spread across 136 acres of skiable terrain. The resort has a vertical drop of 2,680 feet (817 meters), with a base at 4,485 feet (1,367 meters) and its summit at 7,165 feet (2,184 meters). It is serviced by 15 lifts, three chairlifts, 11 surface lifts, and one magic carpet. The resort had 34 runs, with a mix of difficulty levels: 65% of the terrain is suitable for beginners and intermediates (36 miles of easy and intermediate runs), while only about 4% (2 miles) is classified as difficult.

It comes after the same officials declined the idea of operating the resort as a public-private partnership with the Sata group October 4, which appeared to signal the final closure for the station. SATA already runs several ski resorts in the region, including L'Alpe d'Huez and Les 2 Alpes. 

French government financial support, and that of municipality of La Morte with a public crowdfunding campaign which raised almost €200,000 prompted management to reconsider their position

Avote by local councillors approved the decision to continue with one more winter and summer season. Around 150 residents and professionals from the resort were present at the vote.

’“We've received so many messages of support, testimonials, offers of help, and donations from all over France,” said Domitille Hocq to Le Monde. Hocq is a member of resort support association of La Morte vivante, which launched the crowdfund, .

“It would not have been credible to deny these efforts,” added Coraline Saurat, president of the communauté de communes de la Matheysine, which runs the resort.  “We shouldn’t get bogged down in a question of figures,” despite the resort posting a deficit of €350,000 last season.

“We've avoided disaster, but the deadline is very short,” said César Ghaouti, president of the La Morte vivante, to the AFP. “We absolutely need a [long-term] plan for medium-altitude mountains. We need to get away from our dependence on snow.”

Local MP Marie-Noëlle Battistel already called for a “movement tomorrow morning” (October 24) to begin considering how the resort may operate in future, particularly if snowfall continues to drop in the winter months.

Though the vote has been described as a “relief”, the Morte vivante association has said that the plan is still only a short-term solution.

There had already been plans for a €24 million project designed to turn the resort into a year-round destination, and reduce its reliance on snowfall. This would include summer hiking and biking options.

However Ms Battistel has said that “we may have to scale down this project to make it more feasible” and cost-effective.