I think the Basques and the Catalans have some differentiating traits, and one of them is love for our mountains. With the arrival of winter, the Pyrenees will be covered by a snowflake that reactivates ski tourism. Twenty-one alpine ski resorts are currently open in the Catalan countries: In Catalonia there are ten, three in Andorra and eight in Northern Catalonia. In recent years, seven stations have been forced to close due to lack of snow or economic bankruptcy. These closures are the premise of an announced tragedy.

The facilities draw a scar throughout the year in the valleys they occupy, with a great landscape impact, with a total of 326 elevators: Located in a geographical area of 164 km wide and 226 km long. 5,290 artificial snow guns.
In recent months, the Generalitat has announced that Barcelona-Pyrenees intends to apply for the organisation of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. It has ordered the creation of jobs and the strengthening of economic activity for the Basque Country. With these arguments, the Generalitat justifies the fact that it is the current first shareholder or owner of the six stations that make up the Catalan Pyrenees.

The previous owners did not take over debts for millions of euros. They left without accepting payment and legal charges. However, the Generalitat rescued several businessmen with the approval of political parties such as Convergència i Unio (CIU), who have refused to be executives. In the last decade, these stations have generated a deficit of EUR 68 million, not to mention the millionaire losses among taxpayers: EUR 10 million in 2017, and EUR 10 million more in the last financial year.

Once again, we are faced with a developer model, in this case condemned to death. This is confirmed by various institutions, as well as by all the scientific reports commissioned by the Generalitat itself. In the last 50 years, the temperature of the Pyrenees has increased by 30%, and the snowfall has risen to 1,900 meters, above the average of most stations. The Third Catalan Climate Change Report estimates that this trend will accentuate and that the mountain range will lose half of its snow volume over the next thirty years. Furthermore, the increase in temperature does not guarantee the minimum conditions for the production of artificial snow, i.e. the time needed for the ski resort facilities to be profitable.

Despite the experts’ recommendations – the disaster is obvious – the commitment of large companies to the economic growth and exploitation of the territory is not reduced, but there are parties such as the PdeCAT and ERC that drive and defend the Olympic adventure and are carrying out projects that make the candidature even more competitive. However, the response to this has been immediate: several territorial defence platforms have joined the SOS Pirineus coordinating group. Those who oppose this development model agree, as do those who denounce the lack of transparency and social debate in the implementation of projects with a great impact on the territory. An old fool succeeds again: the one he loves does not destroy.