The news of the collapse this week of posh chalet company Descent International is just the latest in a series of announcements that show just what bad shape the industry is in.

In May, tour operator All America Holidays, which traded under the Ski All America brand, went out of business. Two months later, Rail Europe announced that it would end the popular Snowtrain service, with its infamous disco carriage.

The company said at the time: “We’re really sad to announce that the Snow Train won’t be running during the coming ski season. Unfortunately, the current economic climate and poor exchange rates along with an increase in our operating costs, has meant that the service would not be financially viable.”

Ski companies took a big hit last winter. The annual ski industry report from tour operator Crystal showed that the overall market was down by more than 13 per cent on the previous year, with around 200,000 fewer people going to the mountains. The problem is that they are facing a perfect snowstorm of problems.

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The biggest factor affecting the ski market was clearly the recession, whose full impact came at just the time that the bulk of ski bookings are taken in the late autumn.

Another problem is that the healthy growth in the number of skiers over the past decade coupled with a booming property Alpine property market has left operators facing high fixed costs.

Chalet operators have been forced into taking long leases on expensive chalets and when the market slumped, they were left in an unviable position.

The increasingly tendency of British skiers and snowboarders to wait for the snow and book late in the hope of good snow also has also had an enormous impact on cashflow for ski companies, which have always worked on thin profit margins.

These three will not be the last ski casualties of the current economic crisis. We understand several other companies, including one well-known name in the chalet market, are on the brink.

They are hoping for a flurry of bookings and a good start to the winter to get them through. With evidence that cash-strapped holidaymakers are holding back on making a booking, it may be a forlorn hope.