Have you ever wondered where the money from your increasingly expensive lift pass goes?

French ski resort Alpe d’Huez have answered that question by publishing a full breakdown of how they spend the income from lift pass sales.

The price of a day pass in Alpe d’Huez is €62. That scales down to just over €50 per day if you buy a six-day pass, as most skiers do.

Electricity takes up 15% of costs

The last couple of years have been a challenging environment for lift companies, with spiralling electricity prices.

The breakdown below shows that maintenance, management, provisions and overheads take up 40% of spend, of which 15% of that is on electricity.

The workforce of 550 staff are the next highest component, representing 31% of spend.

Shockingly, the data released by SATA – the group that operates the Alpe d’Huez lifts – reveals that their margin, after taxes, leasing and depreciation costs is a wafer-thin 1%, indicating how fragile the business of ski operations can be.