In the Swiss ski area of Tschiertschen, the ski providers were about to close the doors. “Now it was really five to twelve,” ski instructor Hans-Peter Walser is quoted as saying in a current “Spiegel” report. The reason: The coffers of the mountain railways in the popular holiday region have become increasingly empty in recent years.
Recently, an average of 100,000 to 300,000 francs were missing. Ski operations in Tschiertschen are only secured for the time being thanks to the commitment of some residents and companies. They started a fundraising campaign – and collected 1.2 million francs. So that holidaymakers and residents alike will be able to race down the region’s 35 kilometers of slopes in Graubünden in the future.
This means that the Swiss could be a real role model for many other ski regions across Europe. Because a lack of snow and inflation are causing problems for many winter sports destinations. The sad forecast of a study from last year: around half of the ski areas on our continent could run out of snow in the next few years. And in terms of climate, ski holidays don’t have the best reputation either. A development that is already noticeable – also through lower booking numbers.
Reason enough for some ski resorts to work on new concepts. In Austria, for example, some smaller ski companies have closed, but new alliances have also been formed. Ski operators join forces to form large ski areas and invest together in lifts and artificial snow. Similar efforts are underway in France and throughout the Alpine region. More and more ski areas are focusing on more sustainability.
The EU-funded “Beyond Snow” initiative, for example, is committed to ensuring that ski operators resolve the conflict between climate protection and winter sports and switch to environmentally friendly offerings. This is not a project that can succeed overnight – but it is a good start. There is already an increasing number of winter sports areas that are discovering slow travel in addition to skiing. Instead of racing down the slopes, you can go hiking or biking with alpacas. Both work even without snow.
In many places, necessity is being turned into a virtue and skiing is becoming greener. But even with this, many operators’ hands are tied at some point. Moritz Nachtschatt from the NGO “Protect our winters” in Austria said in an interview with “Euronews”: “There are ski areas that already produce a large proportion of their own energy or only use renewable energy.” The biggest problem is the rising temperatures, which at some point made it impossible to use artificial snow. It is therefore important to find sensible and sustainable solutions as quickly as possible.
