As of: March 28, 2024, 5:24 a.m
By: Natascha Berger
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Little snow and high temperatures already mean the end for many ski regions. An operator now reveals how he is saving his area despite the bad winter season.
Miesenbach – Climate change is taking its toll on many ski regions. The winter of 2023/24 was also characterized by mild temperatures and little snow - February went down in history as one of the warmest since weather records began. March isn't much different. A large ski resort in Germany recently filed for bankruptcy despite millions in funding.
The trend is likely to worsen in the coming years. A ski resort operator from Austria knows: just relying on winter operations will no longer be enough in the future.
Ski area operator reveals: This is how he attracts people to his slope even in summer
This year's winter sports season was mixed for some ski areas. Including Patrick Wiesenhofer, who runs a ski area with a drag lift in Miesenbach near Birkfeld in Eastern Styria. In an interview with
orf.at
, he talks about his short winter season - and also how he wants to attract tourists and sports lovers to the area beyond the winter. Instead of skiers as usual, the lift will pull cyclists up the mountain in summer.
The lack of snow in many ski areas is not only annoying for passionate winter sports enthusiasts - for operators it is often a matter of their existence. © IMAGO/Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON
Summer operation as the only way out to avoid the death of ski resorts?
Together with the operators of the Austrian bike park Trailland, the ski area operator has created a mountain bike trail on the slope. This means the area can be used all year round. And Patrick Wiesenhofer is no longer just dependent on winter sports. This worked well last summer, as he reveals. From April to November he had 96 days of operation. From December to the first week of February there were 35. “So without summer use we would have no chance of continuing to operate the tow lift in winter, that has to be said quite clearly,” he concludes. A popular ski resort has already had to stop operations this year for these reasons.
Other ski areas in Austria have also already focused on summer tourism. This is also confirmed by Georg Bliem, managing director of the Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen in the popular Schladming ski area. Around 20 percent of annual sales there come from the summer. Of the approximately 430 employees in winter, 300 can now be employed all year round.
The lack of snow can be felt in many ski areas in the Alps. © IMAGO/Michael Kristen
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Studies show that climate change will change the situation for ski resorts so drastically
In order to avoid the death of ski resorts, a switch to year-round operation is almost inevitable. A study by the University of Bayreuth collected data on the world's most important ski regions. The conclusion: If greenhouse gas emissions continue to be so high, 13 percent of ski areas are likely to have completely lost their natural snow cover by the end of the century. According to researchers, snow cover in Europe's Alps will generally decline by almost half by around 2070. Even if ski resort operators can resort to artificial snow, the economic viability of many areas will decline. Another study also found similarly bleak prospects for ski resorts in the Alps.
(nbe/dpa)