Switzerland Today
Greetings from Zurich!
The ski season officially starts in some Swiss resorts this weekend – but a hotly anticipated World Cup race, starting in Switzerland and ending in Italy, is in doubt because of too much snow. You just can’t win sometimes.
But first, the other news of the day.
In the news: climate scandal costs top manager job, another bomb threat and a Cézanne auction.
The CEO of carbon offset company South Pole has been forced to resign following a scandal at its flagship Zimbabwe project.
A Zurich court was forced to evacuate for a second time in two weeks after a bomb threat – one of a series aimed recently at Swiss public buildings.
Three Cézanne paintings have been sold for $44.8 million during a controversial auction to raise funds to save a Swiss museum.
Snow jeopardises ski race
Last year, a new World Cup ski course connecting Switzerland and Italy was cancelled due to lack of snow. A year later, the same race is again in doubt – this time because of too much snow.
Practice was cancelled for a second day in a row on the Gran Brecca course, which starts near to the iconic Matterhorn in Switzerland and runs into Italy. A decision is still pending on whether the inaugural downhill race can take place on Saturday, with heavy snowfall forecast to persist over the weekend.
This is all very unfortunate for the weather plagued course. A lack of snow ruined the races last year. The saga is also unfolding against a backdrop of complaints from environmental groups that oppose the new course.
Elsewhere in Switzerland, the ski season will officially start in cantons Vaud and Valais, which have seen unexpectedly large dumps of snow of up to 60 centimetres.
This is exceptionally good news for the winter tourism industry following a patchy winter season last time around.
Of course, the success of the Swiss ski season is heavily dependent on the weather over the next few months.
Economic forecaster BAK Economics don’t foresee a flood of tourists coming this winter, in contrast to the highly successful summer season.
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