Le Gaschney
A Vosges station on the flank of the Petit Hohneck that gave up alpine skiing in July 2025 after 70 years, having managed an average of 13 open days a season on 25,000 euros of annual revenue.
- Region
- Haut-Rhin
- Country
- France
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1954
- Year closed
- 2025
- Reason for closure
- Repeated winters without enough snow on a southeast-facing slope between 980 and 1,300 m, with no snowmaking and heavy wind exposure. In the final decade the pistes opened only about one year in two, averaging 13 days a season against annual revenue of roughly 25,000 euros. In early July 2025 the public service delegation was not renewed by the syndicate managing the mountain stations, ending alpine skiing.
History
Le Gaschney sits at around 1,000 m in the Munster valley of the Haut-Rhin, on the flank of the Petit Hohneck, straddling the communes of Muhlbach-sur-Munster and Stosswihr. Skiing began there with a short rope tow around 1950 and the station dates itself to 1954, when Poma installed the 858 m Petit Hohneck drag lift. A 813 m Poma double chairlift followed in 1970 but was taken out in 1995, after which the station ran on drag lifts alone - the 1961 diesel-powered Hinterschallern, the 1954 Petit Hohneck and the 109 m École nursery lift of 1985. The terrain was modest but not trivial: two red runs from the 1950s, a blue and three reds added on the northern slope in the 1960s, and a slalom course homologated by the French ski federation in the 1980s. What killed it was the combination the Vosges have become notorious for - a southeast-facing slope between 980 and 1,300 m, strong wind exposure, and no snowmaking. Across the final decade the pistes opened roughly one year in two, averaging 13 days a season, and annual revenue settled at about 25,000 euros despite something like a million euros of collective investment over ten years. In early July 2025 the operating syndicate declined to renew the public service delegation, ending 70 years of alpine skiing. Officials are steering the site towards year-round use - ski touring, snowshoeing, mountain biking and hiking - the motel has been renovated, and the École lift has been kept for possible recreational use, so the site is not fully derelict. Whether the two main drag lifts have been physically removed is not confirmed in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Télécorde du Gaschney | Rope Tow | About 65 m. Installed around 1950 and gone again by the early 1950s - the station's first lift | |
| Petit Hohneck | Platter | Poma | 858 m with 287 m of vertical. Built 1954 and ran until alpine skiing ended in 2025 |
| Petit Hohneck | Chairlift - Double | Poma | 813 m with 268 m of vertical. Built 1970 and taken out in 1995; the station ran on drag lifts alone thereafter |
| Hinterschallern | Platter | Poma | 973 m with 320 m of vertical, diesel powered. Built 1961 and ran until 2025 |
| Pré | Platter | About 240 m. Dates from the 1980s, out of use in 2003 and dismantled in 2011 | |
| École | Platter | Poma | 109 m with 10 m of vertical, the nursery lift. Built 1985; retained after the 2025 closure for possible recreational use under new management |
Sources and further reading
- https://stationsfantomes.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/le-gaschney/
- https://www.altitude.news/business/2025/08/09/station-vosges-gaschney-abandonne-ski-alpin/
- https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/grand-est/haut-rhin/fin-du-ski-alpin-dans-une-station-emblematique-des-vosges-toutes-les-petites-stations-ferment-les-unes-apres-les-autres-3185799.html
- https://www.franceinfo.fr/economie/carte-visualisez-les-204-domaines-de-ski-fermes-depuis-1950-dans-les-massifs-francais_7611482.html
More in France
Location
48.0342, 7.0466