The Mosses fight to avoid “death”

The Vaudois resort is the symbol of mid-mountain areas suffering from global warming. Its residents feel left behind and the authorities oppose a restrictive law for the development of the town. Reporting.

Arriving at Les Mosses, you smell the good mountain air, the enveloping cold that accompanies it. The resort perched at an altitude of 1,465 meters is known as a crossroads for Vaudois schools, for families, for cross-country skiing and for being a must for cyclists eager for elevation changes, motorcyclists and passing motorists.

Above all, it is an area which symbolizes these mid-mountain resorts which are being hit hard by global warming. When we start the debates, the residents shrug their shoulders and deplore the authorities who are abandoning the station.

Another subject of discussion: the investigation of a project of 177 snow cannons with a 22 kilometer pipeline which will have to be built from Lake Hongrin. The authorities hope to be able to put it in place for the 2025/2026 winter season.

To talk about it, you have to go to the soul of the station: Nicole Blatti. Cheerful and sunny at the age of 91, the owner of the Blatti Sports store has become the guardian of the resort’s past: “We opened the store in 1964, with my husband,” she says with a broad smile, “and more than five generations jostle within these walls.”

The Blatti Sports store.Image: watson

This golfer at heart and former ski instructor remembers the glorious years of the resort, where spring never found a place. “It snowed a meter of snow a night,” she continues. The discussion spills over into the closure of the Pic Chaussy gondola, once the flagship of the resort. “One of the most difficult slopes in all of Switzerland,” exclaims the owner of the sports store. Built in 1963, it was shut down in 1987 for financial reasons. A 29 million rehabilitation project to revitalize the area was presented, but abandoned in 2007 after an appeal by the WWF.

Image: watson

Nicole Blatti, looking towards the cows grazing in the next door meadow, then exposes a truth felt in the Vaudois village:

She believes that the authorities have never been interested in the area. “The people who wanted to fight for the Mosses were pushed aside,” she breathes, miming a gesture with her hand, in a slightly sad outburst.

The PAC of Discord

Except that on the authorities’ side, we refer to another reality, because these criticisms have the gift of annoying Jean-Marc Udriot, the president of the Télé Leysin-Les Mosses-La Lécherette (TLML) company, when we let’s relay. He brushes aside these palavers:

PAC 292A gave rise to numerous protests at the time. The Mosses are part of an area which has benefited from full protection since the acceptance in 1987 of the federal Rothenthurm initiative. An absurdity according to the president of TLML: “Those who signed this were lulled to sleep. There is no story of conflict between Leysin and Les Mosses, it’s just nonsense and these people who think so don’t know anything about it. This plan prevents any development of the Col des Mosses,” retorts Jean-Marc Udriot.

“It’s a strategic problem and the Ormont-Dessous authorities are worried,” he adds.

On site, a person interviewed, who preferred to remain anonymous, assured that “the development of the area interests no one”, before adding: “We must not think only of winter, but of four-season tourism.”

Criticisms reported to the Ormont-Dessous union member, Gretel Ginier, who responds:

The trustee discusses the various investments, such as this natural swimming project to promote attractive 4-season tourism. “We also hired a person for the hiking trails (red: 57 kilometers of trails) and for the promotion of our mountain bike paths, as well as sectors in preparation for e-bike”, adds Gretel Ginier, before speaking on the controversial issue of snow cannons: “If the project does not succeed, we will have a real problem for the Mosses station.”

Fabienne Tauxe launched the Facebook group “Sauvons Les Mosses”, in response to residents who feel abandoned. “It’s a way of organizing meetings between the Municipality and residents, to find solutions,” she describes. According to her, regarding snow cannons, she is certain that the competent people will make “the right decision”.

4 seasons tourism “is just a dream”

However, she appears a bit disappointed regarding the evolution of tourism: “We have been talking about 4-season tourism for 25 years, while knowing that it is only a dream.”

She takes the example of Gstaad, “with the same problems for a long time and which has been able to take advantage of the Glacier”, according to her. She recalls that the Bernese resort benefits from a tennis tournament and various offers. “Only sporting and cultural events can ensure 3-season tourism, but for this, the accommodation and gastronomy offer plays a preponderant role,” she specifies. Because according to Fabienne Tauxe, in the mountains, there are only three seasons:

Image: watson

Tourism in dire straits, according to locals, and a feeling of abandonment that is felt in a hotel establishment. The song is even gently melancholy. “Already at the beginning of February, the facilities were closing. Every year it gets worse and worse and last winter was sad,” admits an employee.

For the winter that is looming on the horizon, the schools that usually filled the hotel have already canceled their reservations. “Schools save us: In three months in winter, we make the turnover of six months in summer,” reports an employee.

The Parchets refreshment bar is waiting for the first snow to arrive before opening.Image: watson

“Les Mosses is an ideal resort for family skiing with children, with affordable prices. But the resort needs to develop its housing offer, as well as its local shops and sports infrastructure,” explains Fabienne Tauxe.

Jean-Marc Udriot reminds us that developments cannot be done both in winter and in summer. “This ski area, when there is snow, there are 100,000 skier days per winter. To tell you, on the slopes of the ski area, we do not even have the right to develop catering. This is the reality, we must admit.”

And to conclude: “If we cannot do mechanical snowmaking, it is really the death of the Mosses. And we, the authorities, have a social and economic responsibility. The groups which criticize the project will not take responsibility for the layoffs and the economic and social future of an entire region.

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