The French ski resort of Risoul which saw its base and access road severely damaged by flash flood which brought mud and boulders down the mountainside with them at the start of this month, just a week before it was due to open for its 23-24 ski season, says it will still open in time for Christmas week.
The resort, linked to Vars in the southern French Alps in a ski area known as the White Forest, suffered the sudden damage after torrential rain hit the area at the start of December, falling to high elevations after heavy snowfall preceded it.
The ensuring 'torrent' brought boulder up to a metre across in to some buildings and opened a two metre wide gap in the access road, cutting the resort off and leaving it without power for more than 48 hours. However the ski season had not started and only about 100 people were in the resorts at the time and were eventually evacuated.
Although some buildings were damaged, many were not and its unclear kif there was any damage to lifts. A major concern has been creating an access road and restoring power, but a secondary former access road that had been closed has been reopened and power restored. Leading to a resort statement declaring,
"It is with great joy that we can announce that Risoul 1850 will open as of December 20th"
Last season the White Forest pass did not operate due to a disagreement between new owners of Risoul and those of Vars, meaning two tickets were needed to ski the linked area, however it had been previously announced that the single pass will be operational again this winter.