As the Grand Bornand resort prepares to host a stage of the Biathlon World Cup, some denounce a scandal.
The Biathlon World Cup has resumed its rights. For ten days, the biathletes met in Kontolhiati in Finland to compete in the first events of the new season. They barely had time to return home since they are expected on Thursday in Hochfilzen in Austria for the second stage. And in the process, it is in Grand-Bornand that the World Cup circus will take place.
From December 19 to 22, the Haute-Savoie resort will host the third stage of the World Cup. A meeting that the organizers are preparing hard for. With a first imperative: to transport this snow which is conspicuous by its absence. On Monday, trucks full of snow paraded to supply the sites of Grand-Bornand. A ride captured by Valérie Paumier, founder of the Résilience Montagne association, as evidenced by the photos published in recent days on social networks.
“15 days before the biathlon world championships without snow… Le Grand-Bornand went straight to plan C without going through plan B… Plan C like Trucks… they did it ???? Le Grand Bo… like a truck”is written to accompany these photos.
Questioned by France 3, the mayor of the resort justified the use of this artificial snow, highlighting the efforts undertaken to reduce its volumes. “We have made a second storage on the site but it is not yet completely operational. This year, we needed 5,000 to 6,000 cubic meters of snow and two and a half days of transport. Last year it was 12,000 cubic meters”he explained, specifying that in 2025, these practices should be abolished.
“Adapting the mountains to global warming cannot wait any longer”
The Grand-Bornand stage is no less in danger. Consequence of the decision of Annecy town hall to stop its support. After deciding to no longer host the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival in his city, the mayor of Annecy, François Astorg, revealed that his municipality would no longer support the village of Aravis from 2026, depriving it of annual funding of 100,000 euros for the promotion of the event and logistical and human collaboration.
“On the issue of climate in mid-mountain resorts, everyone agrees that we can no longer do things as before,” he explained in Libération. “If Grand-Bornand has understood this for a long time and is developing other events that are not only linked to snow, for the Biathlon World Cup, a new sustainable model has not yet been found”he continued, adding: “adapting the mountains to global warming cannot wait any longer. »
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