Feeling the chill in Provence

The south of France, Provence; synonymous with steaming hot summers, mild winters, endless sunshine. But some locals can recall the days when the Géant de Provence - the Mont Ventoux - was covered with deep snow throughout the winter season, and the ski resorts on its north- and south-facing slopes were constantly busy and profitable enterprises, despite their proximity to the Mediterranean, from late December through to early April. Such a perspective is only open to those of advancing years – to the younger generations, things often seem to be today as they must always have been…

The viability of the Mont Serein resort has increasingly been called into question during the 90s and early part of the new millennium. Dubya and his friends in the oil industry may have constantly denied the reality of climate change, but those on the ground were witnessing a combination of decreasing precipitation and gradually increasing mean temperatures over the years - with the inevitable effect on relatively low altitude ski resorts in the southernmost foothills of the Alps.

Privileged to have a rare sight early last summer; the Mont Ventoux is one of extremely few habitats in the world where Orsini's Viper can be found. Apparently so rare that they are going for 3,000 euros on the black market these days. Greed - the stupidity that justifies destroying the habitat of other species and, ultimately, our own...

So does this year of bumper snowfall levels mean Dubya was right all along? Unfortunately not. The expert consensus is that, sadly, this is just an idiosyncratic hiccup in the trend... a warmer climate is on its way, but sometimes accompanied by harsher winters, erratic extremes of weather.

From the slopes of the Ventoux yesterday, the snow-capped peaks of the southern French Alps in the distance. Click for full size photos...

Uncertain times ahead then, on all fronts – climatic, economic, political. Following the relative stability of the last couple of decades of the 20th century where we took much for granted, the world faces growing threats; ecological, feeding a rapidly expanding population, a global financial and economic system that demonstrably isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and the political pressures and conflicts that inevitably follow, often as a direct consequence.

I’ve lived in several countries, the UK, France and Thailand, and for short stints in Spain, Belgium and Italy, for 50 plus years now. A large chunk away from the country of my birth. All increasingly wealthy and prosperous, at least for a growing section of the population. But does that prosperity equate to a sense of comfort and long-term security? Maybe once, less so today, in my case. Sure, we can’t do without it (money). But in all the places I’ve lived in or visited, those countries where I’ve found people to be generally satisfied with their lot haven’t been the richest ones. Far from it, in fact.

How about you? Is it just an age thing, increasing scepticism, a nagging feeling of uncertainty? Or is there something in the notion that maybe we’ve got our priorities at least slightly wrong in the West? Anyone else notice the increasing lack of respect for others, not just for strangers but for family too, in Anglo-Saxon cultures? ‘Kids today’, eh? Short-term selfish priorities overruling the longer-term, winning at all costs rather than competing?…

Is all this something that chronic travellers pick up on more easily, because of regular contact with people of different cultures?

Would be interested in your thoughts!