The Montjoie chairlift at Lac Blanc in the Vosges Mountains was built in 2005 for skiers. Two years later, a bike park was added, which is now one of the largest in France. Half of the lift’s revenue is now generated outside the winter season, says operator Patrice Perrin. Nevertheless, on July 1, 2026, a unanimous decision was made against continuing the lift’s operation. Snowfall has been scarce, and the ski resort is no longer as profitable as it used to be. If the lift stops running, the bike park will also be a thing of the past. This reflects a familiar pattern at Lac Blanc: the lift was built for skiers, and mountain bikers joined later. As long as winter brought in enough revenue, the bike park could simply operate alongside it. Not anymore.

Who Really Needs the Lift

Skiers and snowboarders need a lift to get them up the mountain. Without a lift, the sport on the slopes would hardly exist. It’s different for mountain bikers. Trail riders have never been dependent on a lift, and cross-country riders certainly aren’t—for them, the climb is part of the challenge. Enduro riders are happy to take the chairlift if one is available, but they can also make it up without one—and e-bikers certainly can. Nevertheless, many mountain bikers enjoy using the lift, not as a necessity, but to make the climb easier, ride longer loops, or start their route higher up, often combining it with pedaling part of the way. There is one exception: the classic downhill rider. With 200 mm of travel, their bike is heavy; its geometry and components are optimized for blasting downhill. They are the bike park’s primary customers. Without a lift or shuttle, they won’t get very far.

Skiers and mountain bikers have long shared the same lift, but not the same dependence on it. For skiers, it’s a necessity. For many mountain bikers, it’s a tool, a convenience, a training device, and a meeting place. That’s precisely why its possible demise affects the scene so differently. Some lose a convenience; others, an entire discipline.

When Winter Kept the Lift Running

There was a simple reason why skiers and mountain bikers were able to share the same lift for so long: winter kept it running. The lift was there, winter tourism brought in enough money, and the bike park could be added. Mountain lifts were built with municipal funds, cantonal funds, and shares purchased by locals. Nevertheless, they were primarily supported by winter tourism, simply because winter tourism was the bigger business for decades: more guests, more revenue, even if the season is shorter. With the lack of snow, this bigger business is drying up.

What’s happening at Lac Blanc is therefore not an isolated case. Geographer Pierre-Alexandre Metral has tallied them: 168 abandoned ski resorts in France alone. In the Vosges, things have been moving quickly lately: Ventron closed in 2020, Le Gaschney in 2025, and at Rouge-Gazon, the lift operator ceased operations in October 2025. Now it’s Lac Blanc’s turn.

It would be natural to assume that a thriving bike park could simply fill this gap. But when the intermunicipal association put the concession up for bid again, no one submitted a bid. Summer alone cannot sustain the resort. And winter can’t do it anymore either. So even a successful bike park isn’t enough to save the resort.

Summer isn’t simply the new winter

Lac Blanc is an example of what is likely to be repeated in many destinations. Winter and summer were rarely treated as equals; they operated under the same roof but with a clear hierarchy: Winter was the main event, summer the bonus. This hierarchy was justified for a long time and worked as long as winter remained the bigger business. In many places, it still applies, even though it fits the current situation less and less. Even as snowfall patterns and demand shift, this hierarchy is still embedded in procedures, areas of responsibility, and the very notion of why a mountain railway was built.

According to a study by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, the number of overnight stays during the Alpine summer is now growing faster than in winter. If this trend continues, summer will no longer merely complement winter. But that does not automatically mean it will simply replace it. Perhaps the next mistake lies precisely in trying to apply the winter model to the summer. Then it’s not just a different season that takes center stage, but possibly also a different way of using the mountain. Winter justified its lifts based on its own logic: as many runs on the slopes as possible in a short time. In summer, it’s rarely just about riding the same route as often as possible. So the fact that summer is growing doesn’t necessarily mean that the same lift will remain profitable.

More Than Just Transportation

E-bikes are becoming lighter and more durable with each generation, and as a result, the majority of mountain bikers are becoming less dependent on lifts, not more dependent. It is primarily downhill riders and other forms of riding that are entirely geared toward bike parks who remain tied to a lift. For the mountain biking community in particular, this is no minor issue. The lift doesn’t just take people to the top; it also shapes part of the character of the sport. If it falls away as a habit, it’s not just about transportation. It raises the question of what kind of mountain biking will continue to grow in the Alpine region. The example at Lac Blanc illustrates that a part of mountain biking has grown up on trails that were built for winter and sustained by it.