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Winter is in full swing, and so is Europe’s ski season. Alpine resorts have opened, and skiers across the continent are hitting the slopes over the holiday break – if they can afford it. Lift pass prices continue to rise, making ski holidays unaffordable for many. But not everywhere.
There is one ski resort in the French Alps that – out of necessity rather than choice – is offering skiing entirely free of charge this winter. Yes, you read it correctly: free skiing for everyone. We’re talking about Saint-Colomban-des-Villards, a small village in Savoie, located at 1,100 metres above sea level.
Unfortunately, the reasons behind this decision are far from cheerful. The resort’s deficit has worsened sharply over the past two years, and to avoid further financial damage, the municipality has decided, after months of uncertainty, not to sell lift passes at all this winter. The paradoxical move is intended to save money.
A resort in deficit for more than 20 years
According to Mayor Pierre-Yves Bonnivard, the Saint-Colomban-des-Villards ski area has been running a deficit for nearly 25 years. Initially estimated at between €400,000 and €600,000 per year, the shortfall has grown significantly in recent seasons, largely due to increasingly unreliable snowfall. In 2025, the operational deficit alone reached €1 million.
For a municipality with an overall annual budget of €2.7 million, the situation had become untenable. “Almost 40 per cent of the town’s budget was being used to cover a loss-making activity,” Bonnivard tells Euronews Travel, something French local government law does not allow indefinitely.
The financial pressure prompted intervention from the prefecture, which ordered the municipality to drastically reduce operating costs, even if that meant partially or fully closing ski lifts. The situation was further compounded by the closure of the link with Les Sybelles, France’s fourth-largest ski area, of which Saint-Colomban-des-Villards had been part since 2003.
Charging for lift passes would actually cost more
Despite attempts to find a solution with lift operators and external companies, no viable economic model could be found. Rather than shutting down skiing altogether, the municipality opted for a compromise: drastically reducing the ski area, while keeping a limited section alive for residents and visitors. “Going from a connected ski area to nothing at all would have been too brutal,” the mayor tells Euronews Travel, particularly for local businesses.
This is how the idea of making part of the ski area free of charge was born, and the numbers explain why. Selling lift passes would require staffing ticket offices and running a ticketing system, costing between €36,000 and €41,000 for the season. Yet projected revenue from beginner passes would reach only €18,000.
“It actually costs us less not to charge,” Bonnivard admits. “It may sound like an economic absurdity, but financially, it makes sense.”
Overall, the municipality estimates the cost of offering free skiing this season to be €150,000 to €200,000, around five times less than last winter. The deficit is still present, but manageable.
A smaller ski area focused on families and beginners
In practical terms, the resort will operate a mini ski area: two drag lifts and a children’s belt, mainly aimed at beginners and families. Whether the experiment will attract more visitors remains uncertain, particularly as snow conditions at this altitude are increasingly unpredictable.
For the mayor, this winter marks a transition rather than a long-term solution.
“At 1,100 metres, alpine skiing is ultimately doomed to disappear,” he says, noting that “climate change is progressing faster than anticipated, especially in the Alps.
“The challenge now is to reinvent the future of medium-altitude mountain villages by diversifying their tourism offer, a painful but necessary shift for communities long dependent on skiing.”
Diversifying beyond skiing: Winter and summer alternatives
Alongside free beginner skiing, the municipality is working to diversify its tourism offer, both in winter and beyond. Snowshoeing and winter walking routes are already available, particularly on the sunnier slopes where snow tends to melt quickly.
According to the mayor, the village’s geography – with large south-facing areas and limited snow retention – makes it increasingly difficult to rely only on alpine skiing.
Instead, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards is looking to build on its strengths as an authentic, unspoilt alpine valley. Hiking, walking trails and nature-based activities are expected to play a growing role, while summer tourism already attracts a steady number of visitors.
“Until now, we have invested almost all our energy, time and money into a ski activity that was losing money,” Bonnivard explains. “This decision frees up resources to imagine something else.”
The shift, however, will take time. Structuring a genuine four-season tourism model requires both public investment and the support of local businesses, something the mayor acknowledges will not happen overnight.
A transitional winter and a test for the future
For now, the free-ski experiment remains just that: an experiment. The municipality plans to assess the results at the end of the season, with a full financial and visitor review scheduled for April. Then local authorities will decide whether the model can be repeated or adapted in future winters.
In the meantime, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards offers something increasingly rare in the Alps: a chance to discover skiing without the financial pressure that comes with most resorts.
For beginners, families and curious first-timers, it’s an opportunity to step on the snow without committing to an expensive ski pass, while for the village itself, it may mark the first step toward a more sustainable future beyond alpine skiing.
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