After the joy of winter in mid-December, disappointment has followed the last few days: At least in Mittelland, there was nothing like a white Christmas. With the mild weather, some snow sports enthusiasts are wondering where to go skiing or snowboarding during their holiday break.
“You have to get high enough,” says Reto Vögeli, 38, CEO of weather service provider MeteoNews. “At over 2000 metres, conditions are good all over Switzerland.” At the moment there is snow from 30 to 70 centimeters, sometimes more. According to Vögeli, this corresponds to about 70 percent of the long-term average of ordinary profit amounts at this time of year. More snow is expected in the coming days. Good snow conditions can be expected almost anywhere at high altitudes.
But in some places landings are difficult or impossible. “There’s a very distinct snow line right now,” Vögeli says, “which means the valley is mostly green, but there’s a lot of snow in the mountains.” This is easy to observe at Andermatt UR (1400 meters above sea level) or Adelboden BE (1350 meters above sea level). Below 1700 meters there is little or no snow, between 1700 and 2000 meters there is residual snow. For this reason, not all chairlifts are open in various ski areas.
Limited offer at low altitudes
Lower ski areas struggle to sustain what they offer. They mainly live on higher slopes. In the Andermatt/Oberalp/Sedrun ski area, 12 of the 13 chairlifts are open and 50 of the 70 kilometers of pistes are mostly wet snow. In the Adelboden/Lenk region, 9 of the 25 ski lifts are open and only 26 of the 86km pistes are accessible, most of them on the snow in Sulz. In the Hoch-Ybrig SZ ski area, at an altitude of 1000 to 1800 meters above sea level. 5 of the 12 chairlifts are operational, that is, only 8 of the 50-kilometer track can be used. There is “cold” snow here.
At an altitude of about 1000 meters in Unterschächen UR, cross-country ski trails covered with artificial snow run through the green valley. The only child chairlift is closed.
“For the low-altitude ski areas, the New Year’s business is over,” says Vögeli. “Below 1800 meters looks bad for snow sports.” Snowfall is not expected at these points in the coming days. It’s not unusual for December to not have the most snow in the Alps. The greatest amount of snow is usually seen only in the second half of winter.
Andres Lietha (57), director of Engelberg-Titlis Tourismus AG, comments: “A winter atmosphere on the plains would certainly help for weekends and day trips.” But thanks to the webcams, snow sports enthusiasts will know what the conditions are like.
Optimal conditions in many places
There is comparatively more snow in the Valais and the Bernese Oberland. There has been a lot of fresh snow in the Appenzell Alps lately.
Those in charge say conditions are also relatively good in Graubünden. Among them, Viktor Prinz (47), manager of Samnaun GR mountain railways: “The snow and slope conditions at Silvretta Arena are excellent at the moment.” Due to the altitude of the ski area, which stretches to almost 2900 masl. up to 30 centimeters of fresh snow can be recorded despite the temperature drop over the last few days.
Snow conditions are better in Engadin than elsewhere – thanks to its altitude, the Graubünden region is one of the snowiest regions in the entire Alpine region. Engadin St. Jan Steiner (44) from Moritz Tourismus AG reassures: “The ski areas are mostly open and the pistes are in excellent condition.”
There is less euphoria at lower altitudes. Thomas Egger, 55, Director of the Swiss Association of Mountainous Regions (SAB), urged low-lying attractions to reorganize: away from snow sports, for example, to cycling. The fact that temperatures up to 15 degrees were announced at the beginning of the year also gives a further impetus to their statements.