Europe’s skiing ‘ghost resorts’: How hundreds of slopes lie abandoned due to lack of snow as videos show bare mountains

Hundreds of ski slopes in Europe lie abandoned in so-called ‘ghost resorts’, and in recent years more and more ski slopes have been forced to close due to lack of snow.

In France alone, 186 resorts that once enjoyed reliable snowfall have closed, while a growing number of low-lying ski areas are struggling to make ends meet amid declining rainfall.

The start of the 2025-26 ski season was no exception, with social media videos showing poor snow cover in parts of France, Austria and Switzerland.

Patches of grass, rocks and soil can be seen on typical snow-covered slopes in some of Europe’s winter sports centres, including the northern French Alps and Austria’s Tyrol region; Skiers are forced to head to higher altitude slopes to find the best conditions.

As heavy snow fell in the Pyrenees and some Italian resorts in recent days, videos from France and Austria showed skiers sliding on thin tongues of icy slush and skiing lifts close to bare pistes.

Resorts across the continent continue to struggle with above-seasonally high temperatures posing an existential threat to lower-altitude slopes, and have already forced many to close.

Videos show how Europe faces a new landscape of “ghost stations” as unreliable snowfall leaves once white-topped mountains barren

Last month, Urs Lehmann, CEO of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, warned that melting glaciers and shrinking snow could have a devastating impact on winter sports.

“The ripple effect of climate change on every aspect of society is truly terrifying,” he said at an event on Switzerland’s Great Aletsch Glacier.

“It turns out that the world of snow sports – not just at the competitive level, but also for entire communities revolving around ski resorts – was among the first areas to directly experience this devastating impact,” Mr. Lehmann added.

A 2023 report warned that more than half of Europe’s ski resorts would face severe snow shortages if temperatures rose 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but almost all would be affected by a 4-degree rise, creating challenges for the tourism industry and threatening a harsher reality for ski enthusiasts.

In a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change, experts warned that a common solution – artificial snow production – would only partially offset this decline and would involve processes such as snowblowers producing more of the same greenhouse gases that warmed the earth in the first place.

Repeated and increasing ice melts during winter have negatively affected many European ski resorts in recent years, leaving many slopes alarmingly snow-free.

Along with the melting of glaciers, the scarcity of snow has become a visible symbol of the effects of climate change.

The effects have been felt in everything from basic tourism to professional ski competitions.

Tourists ski on the weak snow-covered access slope to the low-altitude Leysin resort in snowless surrounding terrain on December 27, 2025

Grass, rocks and patches of soil can be seen on the typical snow-covered slopes of some European ski resorts

More than half of Europe’s ski resorts will face severe snow shortages if temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a 2023 report has warned

A snowboarder sits on a chairlift above a snowless landscape at the La Clusaz resort near Annecy in southeastern France on December 20, 2025.

As snowfall becomes increasingly unpredictable in Europe’s top ski destinations, there is also talk about the future and state of these landscapes. Image: A skier slides down an access slope covered in weak snow at the Leysin resort on December 27, 2025

In France alone, 186 ski resorts have been permanently closed in recent years and there are 113 abandoned ski lifts approximately 65 km long.

The closure of the Céüze 2000 ski resort at the end of the 2018 season came as a shock to local residents, and the structures of the popular destination once known for its impressive white Alpine views have now been left to decay.

As snowfall becomes increasingly unpredictable in Europe’s top ski destinations, there is also talk about the future and state of these landscapes.

The Mountain Wilderness association estimates there are more than 3,000 abandoned structures scattered around the French mountains, slowly degrading Europe’s breathtaking landscape.

In Italy, around 90 percent of the country’s tracks now rely on artificial snow to ensure even distribution, according to data from the Italian Greens lobby Legambiente.

However, turning water into snow requires temperatures close to zero degrees.

Meanwhile, around 70 percent of pistes in Austria use artificial snow to keep the pistes accessible; 50 percent in Switzerland and 39 percent in France.

This follows fights between skiers in the Dolomites earlier this month as a lack of snow due to hot weather caused huge queues at several slopes’ lift stations.

Image: A ski lift at the former French resort Céüze 2000 ski resort in January 2023. It had to close due to lack of snowfall.

The chaos unfolds just weeks before Italy hosts the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d-Ampezzo in the Alps.

Temperatures hovering just above freezing and weeks of dry weather have severely limited snow cover in the Dolomite Mountains in northeastern Italy.

Artificial snowmaking did not provide much relief as conditions were too hot for the machines to operate effectively and the tracks became muddy.

It’s one of many setbacks with Olympic organizers this week admitting they had a ‘technical problem’ in producing artificial snow due to problems with water supply.

The problem affected an area in Livigno in the Alps where freestyle skiing and snowboarding events were to be held.

Video footage from the Dolomites shows crowds gathered near the connecting lift between the Marmolada and Sellaronda piste, pushing and shoving skiers stuck together and appearing angry.

On social media, skiers shared photos and videos showing large crowds packed tightly in front of the lift stations.

Particularly dense queues formed on the connection slope to Arabba, which was closed due to insufficient snow.

Skiers trying to return were left dependent on a single chairlift, which normally carries six people uphill but has been reduced to just three seats for the descent.

The resulting traffic congestion led to wait times of up to 45 minutes, according to Il Dolomiti.