An end to summer skiing in Alpe d'Huez?

Alpe d'Huez has decided not to offer summer skiing this year and probably not for the next few years due to the melting of the resort's Sarenne glacier.

"There is now a real problem with the glacier that is disappearing so we need to be really careful," said a resort spokeswoman. "It is not a problem of lack of snow as we got a lot this winter, but a problem with the glacier itself. So the summer ski is stopped for this year and for years coming. We do not know yet for how many years."

The spokeswoman added that there were plans afoot to do something to "help" the glacier, probably later this year, but that it was too early to discuss the details.

In previous years Alpe d'Huez has offered glacier skiing and boarding from early July June to the end of August (exact dates determined by snow conditions). Accessed by the Pic Blanc, the lift-served summer snow area ranges in altitude from 2730 to 3330 metres. It is unusual for summer glacier skiing to offer so much expert terrain. Alpe d'Huez was also one of the few summer snow resorts to have offered cross country skiing on the glacier, with 3 and 5km circuits attracting top class teams including the French National squad.

There is a growing list of former summer ski destinations including Alagna and Bardonecchia in Italy and St Moritz and Verbier in Switzerland all of which no longer offer summer glacier skiing. Val d'Isere added snow making to its glacier in order to be sure to be able to offer summer skiing this year and plans to "see how it goes" according to a resort spokeswoman.