As of: April 3, 2024, 12:13 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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In Switzerland, the “Föhn of the decade” swept over the Alps. For safety reasons, many lifts remained closed. Long queues formed in Zermatt.
Zermatt - In Switzerland, a strong foehn storm with violent gusts blew over the Alps on Friday: Storm gusts with top speeds of 190 kilometers per hour were measured above Andermatt late on Friday evening, as the weather service SRF Meteo reported on Saturday.
At times, Swiss ski areas had to switch off lifts for safety reasons - including Zermatt. The rush of winter sports enthusiasts there was particularly large on Good Friday. The result: long queues.
The Zermatt ski area on March 13, 2024. (Symbolic photo) © IMAGO / Jöran Steinsiek
“Föhn of the decade” in Switzerland: crowds at a few open lifts
Not all ski lifts and gondolas can withstand high wind speeds. Depending on the design, suspension and orientation, some have to close earlier and others later. “Many lifts are closed for safety reasons due to the strong winds. That's why winter sports enthusiasts concentrate on a few lifts," Markus Hasler, head of Zermatt Bergbahnen, explained to the Swiss medium
Blick
about the long queues on Good Friday. That is the problem and not the many visitors, Halser continued.
The guests in Zermatt were informed about possible restrictions at an early stage, said mountain railway boss Hasler. “We already informed you on Wednesday that there will be restrictions due to the weather and that some lifts will have to be closed from Thursday.” According to meteorologists, the stormy weather is expected to last until Easter Monday, with a slight weakening. The meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann wrote on Saturday in an article for the Swiss
Tamedia
newspapers about the “Föhn of the decade”.
There were also restrictions in other ski areas in Austria and Switzerland at the weekend due to storm warnings. Chairlifts in the Italian ski resort of Breuil-Cervinia opposite Zermatt were already swaying heavily on Thursday, as a video from the private Italian weather service
Il Meteo
showed, which was also shared by Italian media.
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Risks in alpine winter sports: Weather can be fatal
Even if the slopes are prepared and all sorts of amenities await winter sports enthusiasts in ski areas, skiing is still a natural sport. This also includes sometimes bad weather. While the risk assessment in lift operations rests with the operator, tourers are on their own. This recently proved fatal for a group of six ski tourers in Switzerland.
The group went skiing on March 9th and got caught in a snowstorm. Five men between the ages of 21 and 58 were found dead a day later. The search for the sixth person, a 28-year-old woman, has been discontinued.
(bme/dpa)