HARD TIMES: The ski season in figures

Le Dauphiné's Ski Chrono reports on this week's get together of French mountain bosses in Val d'Isere, where a series of depressing figures have been released.  The disappointing results raise the question as to whether France will lose its cherished No 1 title in terms of skier days to Austria.

The season in numbers:

-5%: the decline in revenues for the Domaines Skiable de France (DSF), with Savoie (-3%) and Haute Savoie (-2%) doing only slightly better

13: the percentage of French who go skiing each year

44: the percentage of French skiers who've been going for more than 20 years; raising questions about whether they are being sufficiently replenished/refreshed by skiers aged under 25

1/3: the number of pistes with artificial snow.  In Italy it's 2/3 and in Austria it's 8/10

47%: the number of visits that are "short stay", a number which continues to rise

4%: the ESF is apparently growing in Haute Savoie (and by a similar proportion in Savoie)

-1%: the decline in revenues in the ski shops

Up to 4% rise: in nights stayed in resorts above 1800 metres.  Below 1800 metres, it's -1 to -3%

Good times in Peisey Vallandr, where
the resort's marketing bosses have been busy with
a rebranding exercise this season

GOOD-BYE TO SPEED SKIING

One of the USPs of Les Arcs for many years has been the Kilometre Lancé speed skiing piste, on show every March and April below the Aiguille Rouge.

Speed skiing was briefly an Olympic sport

Les Arcs and Vars have traditionally been the two main French venues for this niche sport.  But it's been a number of years since the piste at Arc 2000 has been used, leaving the way clear for Vars, venue for this year's Coupe de Monde.  In the words of one ESF instructor I spoke to last month: "the resort has chosen to invest in other things - the ski de vitesse piste is just too expensive".

It still remains an important part of the resort's history - not least in the various posters you will see in local cafés and restaurants.

Les Arcs has not given up on being the host for competitions, however.  The coming years are likely to see more serious slalom races following the investments at the Arc 1600 Cachette piste: more on that here.

SPRINGTIME IN THE SNOW

It's the end of the season in the Vosges - follow @SkiNeigeVosges to keep in touch with one of France's smaller ski areas.

From the Ski Vosges Facebook page, 20 March 2016

Meanwhile, there's a month of the season still to go in Les Arcs - and the Easter Weekend concludes with a limited-spaces-only party in the Vanoise Express:

Next Wednesday 30th March sees the chance to go uphill under your own steam at La Plagne, with the Rando by Night event:

April sees the arrival of the Course du Coeur race, which sees teams travelling from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice over a 5 day period.  The event is aimed at increasing awareness of organ donation:

And throughout April, Les Arcs has various events taking place as part of its Spring Final campaign to make the most of the final weeks of the season.  Given the controversy around the increasingly late French Easter school holidays, the emphasis is on attracting a younger, more "international" audience: