SThomas Ålander sits by the window of his home in Vasteras, central Sweden, wondering when the winter season will start for his outdoor adventure business. Do the North. “You have to be sure it's going to snow before you can plan your trip, and those departure dates are moving back at an alarming rate,” he says.
Every year, Alander's local ice skating club records the day its members first escaped on a frozen lake. In 1988, that day was November 4th. This year's prophecy falls on December 4th.
Across Europe, alarm bells are ringing over the current state of winter snowsports and concerns about the future. In France, the Alpes-du-Grand-Serre and Grand-Puy ski resorts have announced they will not open this winter, and the number is expected to rise, according to Pierre-Alexandre Métral, a geographer at the University of Grenoble. There have been 180 locations since the 1970s.
The closure of Alpes du Grand Serre is said to be due to a lack of funding to become a year-round destination as the snow season shrinks, while Grand Puy regularly closes its slopes due to a lack of snow. This has led to a decrease in the number of tourists and a decrease in the number of tourists per year. According to the local city hall, the cost is in the hundreds of thousands of euros.
The pattern of decline is now clearly established, and as snow lines and glaciers retreat, lower-level resorts are being forced to make difficult economic decisions, and many are claiming it's over. . In Spain's Sierra Guadarrama, bulldozers occupy Club Alpino, which opened in the late 1940s and is now regularly snow-free.
This situation is being repeated all over the world. study Of the 21 locations that have hosted the Winter Olympics in the past, it is estimated that only one (Sapporo) will be able to host them by the end of this century. Beijing in 2022 was operated entirely on artificial snow. of evaluation Johan Elias, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, said the ski industry was facing an existential crisis.
Richard Sinclair, CEO of Sno, one of the UK's largest ski holiday providers, agreed, seeing the vulnerability of smaller, lower-level resorts impacting on customers. “The demand is ‘guaranteed snowfall’. This means more demand for high altitude resorts like Valle Thorens and certain countries, especially the US and Canada.”
Mr Sinclair's concern is that the process of democratizing skiing that began in the 1980s could now be reversed. “We don't want to see skiing become the preserve of the rich again, or travel becoming more commonplace. Decarbonization and sustainability must be the way forward.”
And some analysts believe there is hope. German winter sports consultant Karl-Christoph Schrahe points to recent innovations, such as the use of snowmaking machines to recover lost heat and even generate electricity. “The flow of water in the pipes feeding the snow cannon is reversed and flows into the turbine.”
These snowplows are now a feature of all the big resorts in Europe and are the only way some low-lying locations can survive. Schrahe conducted his research at a ski resort in Sauerland, Germany. With a maximum altitude of 843 meters, this ski resort is on the verge of collapse. Instead, it is thriving.
Sauerland primarily serves local and Dutch skiers and uses more than 500,000 cubic meters of water to make snow. While artificial snow is sometimes seen as having a negative impact on the climate, Schrahe points to a bigger problem. “Economically it works well. In Germany no additives are allowed, so the water is clean. That water is not lost and goes back into the ecosystem. Renewable energy is used at the resort. In the countryside jobs and a great return on investment.”
At one of the lodges, called Schneewitchen, heat from snow plows helps warm the building. Other lodges are equipped with solar and hydroelectric power plants.
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The economic rationale behind snowmaking is also accepted in Slovenia. “It works,” says Matej Kandare, director of the Slovenian Outdoor Association. “We calculate that every euro spent generates six euros in the broader economy.”
But the country has also taken broader measures. “We are investing in summer activities such as gastronomy, cycling and hiking. We believe that the combined income from summer and winter activities will keep our 11 major ski centers afloat.”
Not everyone is convinced. a report Italian environmental group Legambiente points out that 90% of Italian resorts currently rely on large, unwieldy and expensive artificial snow systems that cannot cope with rising temperatures. “This is not a sustainable practice,” says co-president Vanda Bonaldo. “It's bad for the environment and a waste of public money. It's time to think about new models for winter tourism.”
Back in Sweden, he believes that innovation is more than just advances in equipment and technology. “We strive to bring something new every year. We never stop.”
This winter, he's planning a completely different expedition. On the map he points to a remote area on the Norwegian border. “There is a small herd of musk oxen in Sweden that is rarely seen. They slip in with everything they need on a sled and then spend a week looking for them.
“What we have to remember is that winter and skiing is about exploring in nature. That's why we love it.”
