Winter hasn’t arrived yet, but French ski resorts are already resorting to snowmaking. Milder temperatures as a result of climate change have effectively led to its use becoming entrenched in recent years, with 29% of French ski slopes area equipped with snowmaking machines, such as snow propeller canons or snow lances. Snow is manufactured by spraying micro-droplets of water in a cold atmosphere, which solidify before they hit the ground. The consistency is close to that of compacted snow.
There has been no shortage of criticism of this production method, which started to be aired in the mid-2000s. In September 2023, the mayor of La Clusaz, a commune to the west of Chamonix, decided to suspend the construction of a reservoir that would have largely supplied water for snow manufacture, following years of opposition from environmental organisations. As the climate crisis worsens, the suitability of this adaptive technology is likely to inspire more debate.
In a journal article, we uncovered the ways the winter sports industry is locked in a state of dependency around snowmaking.
