Les 2 Alpes has been forced to cancel its 'Enjoy The Glacier' mid-autumn ski and snowboard festival for the second year in a row due to lack of snow cover on the glacier.
The event, which involves ski testing, fun events and offers a snowsports festival atmosphere had run for many years under various names over a week long period, including the two successive weekends either end, usually running from late October to the start of November and coinciding with the English schools' half term week. It then normally closes its slopes again until December.
"Given the very high temperatures this fall, the glacier will not be open to skiers and snowboarders. We are very sorry to have to cancel this event to which we are all very attached to," a statement from the resort states.
The resort will run an 'Enjoy Les 2 Alpes' festival instead with other activities and entertainments including mountain biking, ebiking, skating, hiking and pedestrian tours of the glacier.
The other French glacier area that should currently be open, Tignes, is closed for the same reason and concerns are growing for planned autumn ski courses there.
There has been some snowfall in the Alps (Les 2 Alpes received a covering earlier this month as pictured above).
About a dozen glaciers are open in Austria, Italy and Switzerland but most are struggling to open much terrain and about half have base depths of less than 30cm of snow on the glacial ice.