“It’s always nice”: the snow is (finally) here in the Hautes-Alpes

Around fifteen trucks, in single file, completely blocked on the Col de Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), this Tuesday, November 12. “Maybe they will reopen, we don’t know, we’re waiting”explains one of the drivers to the TF1 news, in the report visible at the top of this article. The cause was a heavy goods vehicle paralyzed in the middle of the road by heavy snow in the early morning. Shovel in hand, a gendarme tries to free the tires. “We’ve been here since 5am”explains another driver. One of his colleagues continues: “We won’t be able to empty today, we won’t be able to reload, the week is ruined.”

We will have to wait until mid-morning and the snow plows pass for the road to become passable again.

Further snowfall is expected.

Nightmare for some, good news for others. Because this year, the snow was a long time coming. “Normally, it arrives at the end of October, beginning of November. It’s always nice”underlines a man.

On the merchant side, preparations are accelerating, as in Hervé Desmitt's bakery. “I have all my staff arriving next week, that’s why I’m preparing everything. It’s a lot of things to put in place before we can work”he specifies.

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Same thing across the street in a ski rental shop. Because who says snow, says tourists. “If we get a lot of snow by the end of November, we could be open as early as the last weekend of November”develops Sandrine Moenne-Loccoz.

Snow-covered peak, roof covered in a thick white coat… This landscape should be ephemeral. But attention to those who are impatient: more snowfall is expected.