Fight for every inch of snow

Snow fell late and infrequently. Even in the normally snow-covered Gotthard massif, Mother Hulda has hesitantly sugar coated only the immense peaks and stony valleys in the past few weeks. Less than usual this year.

Carlo Danioth, who has been safe on the slopes in Andermatt for 35 years, nods. “You can still see every rock as if it’s autumn.” All right, do your best.

Andermatt UR is symptomatic of a winter sports dilemma: climate change, water scarcity, nature conservation, dwindling guest numbers, lack of electricity, price wars: tough times for snowsports and bleak forecasts.

December marks the start of the season

And yet it should start soon. December is traditionally the start of the season. “The whole area is open at Christmas,” says Ignaz Zopp, 55, who has been in charge of the Andermatt-Sedrun ski area since January.

Everything should be ready. Snow or not: sporting goods and winter destinations are stimulating the market as early as possible. Among other things, ski races are closely followed after the Indian summer.

Like in Valais, where Olympic champion Didier Défago (45) ran a downhill run between Zermatt and Cervinia (I) in the snow. Nothing came out of the October premiere: the lack of snow hindered the ski party.

Snow cover will be at its peak in April

Christoph Marty, 54, climatologist at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Studies (SLF) in Davos GR, speaks of false promises and a paradox: “Everyone wants to go skiing at Christmas and in April when the snow cover is at its heaviest, no one else. He has a lot of Desire. As a result, a lot of energy goes into making snow in November.”

Half of the 120 kilometers of pistes in Andermatt can be covered with snow using snow cannons and spears. Artificial snow is the key to the start of the season. This requires energy and water – one expensive, the other rare.

The construction of one kilometer of snow-covered slopes costs one million Swiss francs. Operating costs for artificial snow are CHF 20,000 to 30,000 per kilometer per season.

prices are exploding

Due to the rapid rise in electricity prices, the costs of operating the systems and making a profit exploded in Andermatt as elsewhere: from CHF 1.2 million to CHF 2 million per season. And because water is limited in the mountains, Zopp and his team need to conserve precious water.

“We shouldn’t waste a drop, otherwise some slopes will stay dry,” says Zopp. timing is everything. It must remain cold, otherwise the expensive artificial white will melt away immediately. “With the current condition, only selective profit making is possible at the moment,” says Zopp – after all: according to the boss, you can close the shop right away without making a profit.

“Skiing in the fall doesn’t make much sense”

If there is no water, there is no profit, if there is no profit, there is no customer, if there is no money, there is no business.

Zopp says thoughtfully: “Of course, we also realize that skiing in the fall probably won’t make much sense in the future. We are considering moving the start of the season from October to November or even December.” However, nothing is ready for a decision.

The top 20 ropeway companies invest in the triple-digit million range each year. To secure its ski operations, upgrade existing systems and make artificial snow more efficient, Zopp also wants to invest an additional CHF 110 million in the coming years.

But next to all mountain railways, there is no financially strong investor. One in three cable cars can no longer cope with upcoming investments on their own and survive only thanks to subsidies from the public sector or private investors.

You see yourself as systematically important

But in Andermatt, Vail Resorts, the world’s largest ski resort operator, took over the majority of Samih Sawiris (65) at Andermatt-Sedrun ski resort this year, causing millions to lather. Zopp talks about a “luck stroke”. After all, one is “systemically relevant” for the region. A phrase the industry repeats like a mantra.

Not without reason: throughout Switzerland, winter tourism generates about five billion francs per year and is an important economic sector for the population of the Alpine valleys. One out of every five francs in the mountainous regions comes from tourism. One in four people in the Alps works directly or indirectly for tourism. In mountainous regions such as Valais and Graubünden, winter tourism accounts for more than ten percent of the gross domestic product.

Ski season will be almost a month shorter

However, the environment is not affected by ‘systemic relevance’. Climatologist Christoph Marty: “With global warming, the ski season should be half a month to a month shorter than today.” Especially at altitudes below 1,300 meters, a significant trend towards less snowy winters can be observed. Snow cover also gets thinner at medium and high altitudes.

What Hulda Ana couldn’t, Technoalpin’s snowmakers can now grow on slopes. Bozen (I), the world’s leading manufacturer of snowmaking systems, releases approximately 2,500 snowballs each year, which are used from Aspen (USA) to Andermatt.

Technoalpin board member Martin Hofer (42) is delighted that Switzerland is a particularly attractive market: “Many of the Swiss ski areas do not snow either gradually or not at all. In this regard, systems are often not yet at their limits in terms of possible performance.» While there is a chance to make snow on 54 percent of the tracks here, this rate has already reached 70 percent in Austria.

Objections and Complaints

However, building a snowmaking system is not child’s play: finances, permits, energy, water – the road is long and rocky. “It is not uncommon for eight years to pass between planning and executing a large multi-million dollar project,” Hofer explains.

Building a snowmaking system in Switzerland can also take a long time for other reasons. This is due to objections and complaints. Some major projects have been suspended for up to ten years.

So it was with Elm GL: The future of the small ski area was to be secured by the promising “Futuro” project. A reservoir, three pumping stations, 9.5 kilometers of pipeline and 110 to 130 snowmakers were planned. The new tracks should have been operational in 2020/21. Technoalpin provided materials and expertise. It would be…

However, WWF, Pro Natura and Birdlife accelerated the work for the million-dollar project. Nature conservation associations took the project to the administrative court. And it was stated: The expansion and the intensification of ski operations will lead to the indefinite disturbance of wild animals living in the non-hunting area in their habitats. The project is outside the region. Return to sender.

difficult situation

Phone call to Stefan Elmer, head of Elm sports railways. “We don’t want to talk about the project; We refuse to visit.” They don’t want to fuel the fire, the situation is very delicate. Maybe more can be said in the spring. Maybe.

It is possible that at some point snowmaking systems will no longer be needed. So when it’s too hot on Elm or earlier, when no one wants to ski anymore.

Laurent Vanat says this scenario could turn out to be a reality, although it may sound silly. He is the author of the International Snow and Mountain Tourism Report.

1.5 million overnight loss

Between 2010 and 2020 alone, winter sports centers lost 1.5 million overnight stays. One reason: Foreign guests are increasingly avoiding the Swiss Alps. The average number of foreign guests on the rinks fell below 40 percent. Vanat: “Also, the Swiss ski industry faces the same demographic problem as domestic and foreign customers. Baby Boomers are retiring, and the next generation is less enthusiastic about sports.” The long-term trend: fewer guests on the slopes.

You dreamed: Winter has come and no one is going skiing. On the other hand, snowballs will no longer help.