Warmer winters threaten southern Swiss ski resorts

Ski resorts are suffering from a lack of snow Keystone / Anthony Anex

Ski resorts in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino are suffering acutely from a lack of snow. Southern Switzerland hasn't seen this little snow in a long time.

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Resorts where ski legends like Doris De Agostini and Lara Gut-Berahmi once learned to ski are now fighting for survival. Some Ticino resorts have already applied for short-time work for their employees, such as Carì in the Leventina valley.

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The ski resort, situated at an altitude between 1,650 and 2,300 meters, was still green at the start of January.

Officials say they are currently examining whether short-time work needs to be applied for employees. The situation is not much better further up the valley in Airolo. The ski resort is located at roughly the same altitude as Carì.

In Airolo, too, there was insufficient precipitation for adequate snow cover. Therefore, only a portion of the slopes have been prepared and are open. The Airolo ski resort has already submitted an application to the canton for short-time work compensation for its 40 employees.

The season also got off to a bad start over the Christmas holidays in the two other Ticino ski resorts in the Blenio Valley and in Bosco/Gurin.

“Over the Christmas holidays, we averaged about 250 guests. We had 320 once. That’s very few,” Giovanni Frapolli, owner of the Bosco/Gurin winter sports facilities, told Swiss public broadcaster RSI. “But that’s the reality we’re facing with this bizarre climate.”

Climate warming is being felt much more acutely in ski resorts in the south than north of the Gotthard Pass. Are the days of the Ticino ski resorts therefore numbered? They don’t intend to give up so easily.

New snowmaking systems were recently installed in the Blenio Valley, and a solar power plant and a reservoir are also planned in Bosco/Gurin to produce more and cheaper artificial snow. This should allow the season to start earlier – just like in the Blenio Valley.

Despite a poor start, Denis Vanbianchi, the ski resort’s director, told Tele Ticino that he is reasonably satisfied. Although they had to produce expensive snow with snow cannons, they were at least able to offer guests something. The ski resorts also receive support from the Italian-speaking canton. Most Ticino resorts could not survive without subsidies. The cantonal parliament therefore recently approved a new loan of almost CHF6 million francs for the next four winters.

Adapted from German by AI/mga

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