Perched on the mountaintop, at an altitude of 2,110 metres (6,923 feet), a towering V-shaped structure glistens in the summer sunshine, holding a giant swing that catapults visitors out over a gaping void with a breathtaking Alpine panorama stretching before them."I had a bit of a pit in my stomach" before getting strapped in, acknowledged Alexandra Henchoz, 37, who tested the new swing with her husband and 10-year-old daughter.
The swing aims to attract off-season visitors as Alpine snow becomes less reliable due to climate change © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
"But once it is happening, it is just incredible. You feel like a bird flying."The Grand Chamossaire swing, which opened earlier this month, is the latest effort by Alpine ski resorts to attract off-season visitors and make use of ski lift infrastructure as snow becomes less reliable due to climate change."We are really trying to diversify our offering," Martin Deburaux, head of the Villars-Gryons-Diableret ski area, told AFP.The new 12-metre-high swing "provides us with a source of attraction that can function independently of snow conditions", he said.Preparing for less snowDeburaux stressed that the resort had seen record numbers coming during the past two ski seasons, as visitors who usually skied lower-lying slopes sought higher ground and more snow."But we know we are facing climate change," he said."We are looking for substitutes to conserve jobs, the dynamism and the tourist economy built up around our ski lift facilities."
