According to revelations from French digital magazine Mediapart heavy machinery has been used directly on the Mont-de-Lans glacier at les Deux Alpes. Employees of Sata Group, which manages the ski resort, admitted that parts of the glacier were "backfilled" to make the terrain suitable for skiing including carving a new Signal piste. The old run had been destabilized by the appearance of crevasses.
The works took place at around 3,200 meters altitude, near the arrival of the new Jandri 3S cable car, inaugurated in January 2025. Sata Group, which obtained the public service delegation for the resort in 2020, reportedly undertook several redevelopment operations on natural areas without authorization.
An employee cited the retreat of the glacier as justification: “There was a hole in front of the arrival of the 3S, so we filled it in.” Environmental group Mountain Wilderness France discovered that nearly 2,000 square meters of a glacial lake had been filled during the construction. Satellite images and photos confirm that excavators were at work from October 2022.
Local officials, including the mayor of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, said they were not informed of the works. Environmental experts denounce violations of environmental law and the destruction of fragile ecosystems.
Sata Group, which also operates L’Alpe d’Huez and La Grave, has faced similar criticism for major development projects in the Alps, including a planned new cable car crossing the Girose glacier. Environmental organizations have described the project as “a development out of time” and are calling for stronger protection of glacial areas within the Écrins National Park.
Despite the growing controversy, Sata continues to expand its infrastructure, often without waiting for the required authorizations, citing the need for “mountain resilience” and year-round tourism as climate change threatens lower-altitude resorts. For example construction of the new Loup blanc chair was started without waiting for the public inquiry to report. The inquiry gave a positive response with reservations however the land owner vetoed the constructions. Unfortunately for SATA they'd already bought the infrastructure they were so certain it would go ahead! Local officials are concerned about the overcrowding on the resort's ski runs and long lift queues. The plan, called Altitude 3300, is to move skiers to the high altitude domain. However this is also the area of the most technical slopes such as the tunnel and will call for significant piste remodeling to make it accessible to beginners. According to Mountain Wilderness there were four such projects in 2023, all without planning authorizations.
https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/021125/les-deux-alpes-et-l-alpe-d-huez-ces-montagnes-qu-il-fallait-defoncer
https://pistehors.com/N7AR8WwByuHDGsGAHHHX/public-inquiry-slams-half-baked-oisans-cable-car-link