French ski resort closes because they don’t have snow

A French ski resort, for the second year in a row, is in the midst of a meltdown.

The Le Mourtis resort in the Pyrenees mountains has once again been forced to close its slopes mid-season because warm temperatures there – which rose above 50 degrees Fahrenheit this week — have brought “no snow,” Sky News reports. The last time France experienced a start to the year this mild, the country’s national weather service says, was in 1900.

“We made the decision to close because we couldn’t guarantee maximum safety for our clients to ski,” Christophe Esparseil, the director of the property, told Sky News.

Francois Gillaizeau, who manages a hotel and restaurant next to the resort, added that he has slashed the hours of some staff as he expects revenues to fall this year as much as 15 percent.

“Skiing? No one today can guarantee it,” he said.

Those who are still visiting Le Mourtis have been hiking or riding downhill scooters as an alternative.

The Le Mourtis resort is around 4,500 feet above sea level. If the warm weather continues, resorts like it and others up to 5,200 feet above sea level will be too warm to even use artificial snow, Sky News reports.