Ruines Alpines

Abstract

Ruines Alpines is an ongoing project, started in August 2024, consisting of a photographic survey of unused winter sports installations in the Swiss Alps. Today, some installations are turning into ruins because, due to global warming and climate change, there is not enough snow falling in mid-altitude (1’000m to 2’000m) ski resorts to keep running during the winter season. Scientific studies have shown that, since the 1980s, the frequency and quantity of snowfall have decreased by 8 % per decade on average. Of course, some places are more exposed to the lack of snow due to their altitude or exposure to the south. The scientists underline the fact that the Alps have lost almost 34 % of snowfall since the first measurements used for the research, dating from 1971. The lack of snowfall not only affects ski tourism but also every natural and economic process where water is used. By combining actual photographs with archival material such as old ski resort maps and pictures from the golden era of the exploitation of the alpine landscapes, the project Ruines Alpines aims to show what is left from this epoch and how the landscape has been transformed by these sometimes huge installations. These structures are becoming a problem nowadays for wildlife as they can be obstacles for animals who are living in the areas where they are located. Cables fallen to the ground and are hidden by the vegetation can be harmful to animals and human hikers. Some old rusty structures can also collapse and harm living beings. The cables that are still hanging in the air threaten birds of prey from hitting them. Most of the villages owning the land where these abandoned installations are located don’t know what to do with them. Keeping them as they are now, hoping that someday there will be enough snow again for people to enjoy the ski resorts or paying money so that some companies or individuals will dismantle them to return the landscape to other living beings. Ruines Alpines is made possible with the great work of the Swiss section of the Mountain Wilderness association, which created a map of most of the unused ski installations that represent a threat to the landscape and those among animals, minerals and plants who inhabit it. The photographs presented here were taken between August 2024 and mid-October 2024 in Chateau d’Oex (CH) and BourgSaint-Pierre (CH). The project is going on as long as ski resorts are closing due to the lack of snowfall.