Green-brown landscape and no trace of snow: there are drastic consequences for ski areas

Created: 05/01/2023 05:15

By: Isabelle Jentzsch

In the Alps, many slopes are just white stripes in a green landscape.

(Iconic image) © Imago Images/Manuel Geisser

The high temperatures are increasingly affecting the ski lift operators.

Many companies have to close.

The introduction of short-time work is therefore being discussed in Switzerland.

Munich - The new year starts mild - too mild.

The snow that covered mountains, valleys and even the lowlands just a few weeks ago has melted away.

The mild climate mainly affects the areas dependent on ski tourism.

Instead of winter wonderland, toboggan runs and white pistes, there are brown meadows and valley runs with artificial snow.

It doesn't matter whether it's Austria, Germany or Switzerland, the snow sports conditions look equally bad everywhere.

Currently, you can only ski or snowboard in the really high ski areas of the Alps.

In Grindelwald, Switzerland, the international "World Snow Festival" had to be canceled for the first time due to a lack of snow.

The President of the Swiss Tourism Association, Nicolo Paganini, even calls for an “uncomplicated short-time work regulation” for the closed mountain railways, as reported by

.

Ski areas without snow: railways in Austria have to close

The situation is similar in Austria.

Smaller ski areas in particular had to shut down operations entirely.

In Upper Austria, several ski areas have announced on their websites that due to the lack of snow, no lifts can run for the time being.

The President of the Austrian Hotel Association, Walter Veit, remains optimistic.

"The people who have already booked will probably come," he explains to the APA.

"The guests don't cancel their vacation if only five of ten lifts are running."

Video: Skiers are waiting for fresh snow in the Alps

Even the high-altitude ski areas have to hope that the temperatures will drop again.

Although it has gotten cooler again in the last few days, the thermometers are not yet in the permanently negative range.

This also means that it is currently not possible to make snow below 2000 meters.

This in turn has a significant impact on the condition of the slopes and the quality of the snow.

Some valley runs are still possible, even if in many places they look like white strips of artificial snow in the middle of a green-brown landscape.

Lack of snow: Lift operators suffer from green slopes

In the Allgäu, too, the piste operators are hoping for fresh snow.

In Bad Hindelang and on the Riedberger Horn, lift operations are very limited.

In the Fichtelgebirge on the Ochsenkopf and in the entire Bavarian Forest, skiing is currently not possible at all.

In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the route for the traditional horn sled race is still free of snow, but the organizers are optimistic that they will be able to drive on the descent by the day of the race.

(ij)