Almost half of the ski slopes in the French, Austrian and Italian mountains are closed: where can you still ski? And can you get your money back? | Abroad

Several skiers see their holiday fall into the water. Many ski slopes in the French, Austrian and Italian mountains are closed due to the mild temperatures. In the whole of France you can ski on barely 4,602 kilometers of slopes, in total about 3,873 kilometers of slopes are closed in the lower areas. In Austria about a third of the slopes are closed, in Italy a quarter.

Canceling or rebooking a trip free of charge is almost only possible if you have taken out a ‘snow guarantee’. “That often depends on the number of slopes that are open. If less than 20 percent of the slopes are open a week before departure, people with us have the chance to rebook their trip or cancel it free of charge,” says Tim Van Den Bergh of Sunweb Group.

Rebooking a trip without a snow guarantee is not easy. In many cases, customers then have to pay a fine. It will increase as your holiday approaches. Most cancellation insurance policies do not cover such situations. You will also often only get your ski pass refunded if the entire ski area is closed.

LOOK. Can I get a refund if I have booked a ski holiday?

“The day after tomorrow and tomorrow there is still a little snow in the lower ski areas (lower than two thousand meters altitude, ed.). I’m worried about this weekend, including Monday. It will be very mild: 8 degrees at an altitude of about two thousand meters,” says VTM weatherman Frank Duboccage. “It will not freeze. When it freezes, you can still use snow cannons. But that is not the case. I fear that more ski slopes will be closed. It has been three days in a row that the temperature has remained positive.”

According to Duboccage, you can go to areas higher than two thousand meters to ski. “Above 2,000 meters there is enough snow”, it sounds. “Going higher guarantees better skiing. It will be busier there, because I fear that everyone will ski in these areas.”

The weatherman fears that skiing during the Christmas holidays is something we should gradually put out of our minds. “If you look at the longer term, you will see that we will experience the dramatic conditions of today more and more. In the coming years it will usually be much too soft for the lower-lying ski areas,” concludes Duboccage.