Snow cannons and floodlight spectacles are part of alpine skiing. Hardly any race can do without artificial snow and poor visibility sometimes forces the organizers to illuminate the slopes with bright headlights, even during day races.
Against the background of exploding electricity and gas prices, the organizers are threatened with enormous costs in the World Cup winter, which begins this weekend. The world association Fis is alarmed and wants to prevent cancellations.
World Cup start in Sölden
On the Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, the Alpine athletes traditionally start their new season on Saturday. In addition to the first appearance of the season by superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, the organizers should have been happy about the recent “45 to 50 centimeters of fresh snow”, which reduced the need for artificial snow. “It was snowed only to a very small extent. The remaining snow is old snow, which could be obtained from last year,” said a spokeswoman for the Ötztal Tourist Association of the German Press Agency.
Not all race organizers will be so lucky. The extent to which the energy crisis will ultimately affect alpine racing will only become clear as the season progresses. When asked by dpa, none of the World Cup organizers wanted to give any estimates of cost increases. The energy consumption is dependent on too many currently unclear factors such as the weather or the number of spectators.
What is certain is that winter will be hard again for the Alpine skiers after two Corona seasons. Fis therefore appealed to those responsible to reduce the use of floodlights to a minimum. “Reducing the lighting times or reducing the wattage” are other ways to save energy.
Cancellations are to be expected
Even those responsible at the world association are not convinced that these measures alone guarantee a smooth World Cup winter. General Secretary Michel Vion admitted that cancellations were to be expected, which meant that floodlight spectacles such as the night slaloms in Garmisch or Schladming came into focus. During the night slalom, the glaring lights illuminate the slopes for hours. “At the moment we don’t have a plan B,” said Vion.
At least in Schladming you stay calm. “The floodlights cost 4,300 euros all evening – that’s feasible and justifiable. The sport should stay alive,” said Georg Bliem, Managing Director of the Planai-Bergbahnen, of the “Kronen Zeitung”. The Austrian Ski Association accused the Fis of “scaremongering”.
Ski legend warns of winter sports lockdown
The former German ski racer Markus Wasmeier even warned of a lockdown for winter sports and advocated the complete implementation of the ski season. “If you switch on the floodlights in the Allianz Arena, Schladming probably only needs a fraction,” argued the two-time Olympic champion in BR.
At the latest, the cancellations in freestyle should have shown that the fears of the Fis are more than scaremongering. “The ski cross races in Alleghe and Megeve as well as the Big Air event in Falun were canceled before the start of the season. Various circumstances were cited, but all pointed to the increased energy costs,” said a spokeswoman for FIS.
The German Ski Association (DSV) described the coming months as a huge challenge. “Honestly, we would have liked to experience another winter without a crisis mode,” said DSV board member for communications Stefan Schwarzbach. If many slopes are not covered with snow, Thomas Dreßen’s squad might have to go abroad. An option that would be quite expensive in the long run.
But there is confidence in the German camp. “We are currently assuming regular training operations in our training centers,” said Alpine Director Wolfgang Maier. “We will certainly have to come to terms with restrictions. But since we do outdoor sports, we are used to reacting quickly to unforeseen developments.” Schwarzbach added: “In the past two Corona winters, we have proven that we are able to overcome such difficulties.”
