behalf of ski lift operators and the Swiss national tourist board, climate scientists at ETH Zurich have produced forecasts for winters up until the 2050s. They say that the lack of snow in all ski areas below 1,500 metres will be increasingly acute. Winters in Switzerland are now 2.4°C warmer than when records began in 1864, says the ETH Zurich climate researcher Reto Knutti. “We expect a further increment of one degree Celsius by 2050.” Depending on CO2 emissions, the figure could change by one or more tenths of a degree – with corresponding knock-on effects. If winter temperatures increase by 1°C as forecast, the zero-degree limit – the altitude at which the temperature in Celsius drops to freezing – will be 300 metres higher than it is now. The zero-degree limit is a key indicator for winter tourists, indicating the altitude at which rain turns to snow. It has already risen by 300 to 400 metres since the 1960s, spelling the end for low-lying ski lifts. Pistes below 1,800 metres will soon be in danger, says Knutti. These areas are also finding it hard to produce artificial snow, because snow cannons only work at temperatures below 0°C. And the number of sub-zero days will fall by 10 to 30 per cent depending on altitude, the climate forecasts say. “It will be too warm for snow cannons, particularly in early winter from mid-November to mid-December.” Even more artificial snow Many winter tourist destinations in the Alps are located above the already critical 1,500-metre threshold. Yet even they have had to adapt their strategies to climate change. Of 100 ski lift operators surveyed by the University of St Gallen, over 75 per cent are expecting less snow and shorter ski seasons in the next 20 years. Nevertheless, most believe that skiing and snowboarding will remain popular in future, which is why they are investing even more in cannons that will pump out large amounts of artificial snow in a short space of time. Ski pistes will be relocated upwards, wherever feasible, incorporating additional ski lifts built higher up the mountain. These plans cost money. Millions of Swiss francs, to be precise. In some cases, foreign investors have come to inject the necessary capital. Two years ago, for example, US company Vail Resorts acquired a majority stake in Andermatt-Sedrun Sport AG, which controls and operates the Andermatt-Sedrun mountain resort situated on the cantonal border between Uri and Switzerland, the skiing nation “Alles fährt Ski... alles fährt Ski... Ski fährt die ganze Nation” – Vico Torriani’s 1963 hit was the sound track to the ski boom that reached its zenith in the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly everyone seemed to ski in Switzerland back then, thanks to a plethora of ski lifts around the country, not least on minor hillsides. The nearest drag lift was never far away, and almost every schoolchild regularly attended ski camp. The “golden days of Sapporo”, when Switzerland won 10 medals at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan, has pride of place in Swiss ski folklore. Bernhard Russi and Roland Collombin finished first and second in the men’s downhill, while Marie-Theres Nadig won two golds. Switzerland was a skiing nation. Winter sport – making the nation “fit for defence” In Switzerland, it was mountaineers who first discovered skis as a useful tool for their expeditions, writes sport historian Simon Engel in a blog for the Swiss National Museum. Switzerland’s first-ever ski club was formed in Glarus in 1893, while the Swiss-Ski Association was established in 1904. At first, skiing was largely the preserve of well-heeled tourists. Sporty upper-class Brits organised races in which the objective was to descend the slope as quickly as possible. Unlike the Scandinavians, they regarded skiing as “downhill only”. According to Engel, skiing’s “nationalisation” as a popular Swiss sport owed much to the two world wars that brought international tourism to a standstill. To get more Swiss out on the slopes, the federal government and cantons ploughed money into rescuing hotels and mountain railways as well as subsidising ski passes and ski courses. The 1940s saw the first cantons introducing the concept of an annual school break dedicated to winter sport. The armed forces also played a role. During the Second World War, General Guisan popularised the notion that the mountains and skiing provided young people with the ideal arena in which to develop the physical and moral strength needed for the country’s defence. This concerted propaganda campaign served its purpose, attracting domestic tourists to Switzerland’s ski resorts. (TP) Swiss National Museum blog: www.revue.link/skiing Looking back to the “golden days of Sapporo”: Swiss downhill Olympic skiing champion Bernhard Russi (no. 4) and Swiss Olympic number two Roland Collombin (no. 11) being carried by fans at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / January 2025 / No.1 6 Focus
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYwNzMx