up to 1,000 francs a round, he argues. Tourism expert Jürg Stettler from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts does not expect prices to be as exorbitant everywhere, but believes many Swiss will wonder whether winter sport is still worth the money. “Skiing is no longer the national pastime it was 40 years ago,” he told Radio SRF. About one third of the population still practises winter sport. “But people are heading to the pistes less often than they used to.” For families in particular, winter sport is becoming an unaffordable luxury. If you have two children, the cost of a week’s ski holiday soon adds up to several thousand francs. Ski camps – a dying tradition Learning to ski has also become less of a priority at school. Annual ski Grisons. The US ski giant, which owns and operates over 40 ski areas worldwide, also bought the Valais resort of Crans-Montana in 2024. In both Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana, Vail Resorts wants to invest a total of around 50 million francs in improving infrastructure such as snow cannons, ski lifts, and restaurants. The idea is that other investors will then step in and build their own hotels and holiday complexes at these resorts, attracting wealthy guests in the process. From national pastime to luxury activity Other ski resorts are also investing heavily in their infrastructure. Not only has this bumped up energy costs, but visitors now have to pay more to use the ski lifts. Depending on the size of the resort, a day’s skiing or snowboarding costs between 40 and 90 francs for an adult. Some lift operators employ dynamic pricing, which involves adjusting prices based on real-time market demand. Hence, the price of a single-day ski pass can sometimes exceed 100 francs in places like St Moritz, Zermatt or snowboarding mecca Laax. Laax CEO Reto Gurtner caused a stir last autumn when he said that prices had not yet reached their peak. “In ten years’ time, a day pass in Laax will cost between 200 and 300 francs.” Gurtner believes that resorts offering guaranteed snow will continue to grow in popularity – and enough tourists will be willing to cough up for the privilege. Golfers are already happy to pay camps were a staple of the curriculum in the 1970s but are now less common than they were. The current curriculum for German-speaking Switzerland merely sets the objective of children being able to move “on sliding equipment”, which can also mean ice skates. Youth+Sport, the federal government scheme to promote sport, subsidises winter sports camps that attract around 100,000 young people every year. Industry stakeholders also launched the Swiss Snow Sports Initiative in 2014 to attract more children and teenagers to the slopes, with the GoSnow website (gosnow.ch) offering schools and teachers inexpensive winter sports camp packages as well as a diverse range of instructional material. This winter, the platform is organising around 400 camps for over 18,000 participants. Former ski racer Fränzi Aufdenblatten, who chairs the initiative, says skiing is not only a sport but a part of Swiss culture. She cannot imagine children growing up in Switzerland and not going skiing at least once in their life. “That would be like living in Hawaii but never standing on a surfboard.” Snow cannons only work at icy temperatures of below 0°C. Photo: Keystone The future of the Crans-Montana ski resort is secure due to foreign investment: the Valais ski area was purchased by US conglomerate Vail Resorts in 2024. Photo: Keystone 7
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