5 besides the lack of snow – according to a study by the Technical University of Dortmund. Not all the abandoned ski resorts have been dismantled. Rust-covered drag lifts, broken gondolas and abandoned mountain restaurants tell of what used to be. Their operators have gone bankrupt, leaving behind a derelict infrastructure as well as debt. Warmer winters Rising temperatures will also become a big challenge for resorts at higher altitudes in the coming decades. On Winters in Switzerland are now 2.4°C warmer than they were in the mid-19th century. Temperatures are likely to have climbed another degree by 2050. Ski areas below 1,500 metres will then be virtually without snow. non in 1978. Floodlit skiing was also popular, giving local snow worshippers the chance to cut shapes on the slopes after work. But mild winters without snow became more common at the beginning of the 1990s. “No one really talked much about climate change back then, but we could sense something was happening,” Hammer told “Swiss Review”. Closure of 230 ski resorts The number of days on which the pistes were open then dwindled – “from 20 to zero”. Hammer is hoping for a good final season. If Langenbruck is unable to attract a buyer, the definitive curtain call will come in spring 2025. The most galling thing for Hammer is that the lifts are “still in good condition” – and actually licensed to operate until 2031. He wistfully recalls past decades. “Entire families and generations grew up here on the ski slopes.” Langenbruck is one of many snow resorts to have thrown in the towel. Of Switzerland’s original 545 ski resorts and slopes, some 230 – or 40 per cent – have disappeared. Waning interest in winter sport as well as low profitability have also contributed to lift closures – western Switzerland. As a child, young Peter used to help out at the ski lifts in his free time. He has continued to work there ever since. “Seeing people happy is my motivation,” he says. Skiing boomed well into the 1980s in Langenbruck, which is situated only 30 kilometres from the city of Basel as the crow flies. There was still plenty of snow back then, not least thanks to the introduction of an artificial snow canSkiing down into the valley often requires artificial snow. The piste going down to Flims (1,000 metres above sea level) in Grisons, Christmas 2022 Photo: Keystone The time has come for Peter Hammer to close his Langenbruck ski lift. When it opened in 1952 (picture on the right), there was no shortage of snow. Photo: Volksstimme Sissach, Keystone Swiss Review / January 2025 / No.1
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