Ski Resorts open in Switzerland

Ace wrote in message . ..

Even if one accepts that climate change is happening to any
significant extent and that there's some sort of causal link between
it and 'man-made greenhouse gases', the time scales here are
completely unrealistic. Not even the most hardcore 'global warming'
nuts^Wscientists would expect that any change could possibly make
itself felt within ten years.


Published on Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Warming Reducing Snowfall at Ski Resorts
by Dan Whipple

BOULDER, Colo. -- The hard-pressed American ski resort industry could
be facing a serious problem in coming years if European researchers
are correct: less snow because of global climate change.

At a conference on sport and environment this week in Turin, Italy,
University of Zurich tourism expert Rolf Burki and colleagues
predicted the amount of snow falling at low-elevation European ski
areas will become increasingly unpredictable and unreliable over the
coming decades, because of global warming.


[A recent undated photograph of the Austrian mountain resort of
Kitzbuhel. The village, which is 2,493 feet above sea level will
eventually be cut off from its ski slopes according to a report by the
U.N. Environment Program released Tuesday Dec. 2, 2003. Austria's snow
line is expected to rise by 656 to 984 feet over the next 30-50 years.
According to the report, global warming is threatening the world's ski
resorts, with melting at lower altitudes forcing the sport to move
higher and higher up mountains.]

Burki also said ski resorts in North America and Australia will be
affected.

New research indicates that, under the worst-case scenario, none of
Australia's ski resorts will be economically viable by the year 2070,
he said.

In Switzerland, an estimated 15 percent of ski resorts already are
enduring unreliable levels of snowfall. This figure could increase to
between 37 percent and 56 percent in the coming decades. Impacts could
be even more severe in Germany and Austria. The study considered low
elevation to be about 1,300 meters, or about 4,200 feet above sea
level.

The Swiss study did not look in detail at North American, although it
did say that resorts may have to increase artificial snowmaking by 48
to 187 percent by 2070.

Though no comparable research has yet been conducted for the United
States, Mike Dettinger, a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological
Survey in California told United Press International his group has
"worked on changes in snowmelt-based stream flows across western North
America, as well as simulations and projections of how the snowpacks
could fare under global warming."

In California, Dettinger said, the snow line in this century could
retreat between 1000 and 1500 meters higher than it currently is,
although the volume of snow above snowline probably would remain
adequate for human water requirements. "The snowpack story hasn't been
entirely sorted out yet," he added.

Indications from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee are
not encouraging either. This week, apropos anticipating a white
Christmas, the laboratory reported fewer snowfalls are becoming the
norm between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

"Looking at states that typically get snow, 187 of 260 weather
stations have reported fewer days with snowfall since 1948," said Oak
Ridge meteorologist Dale Kaiser. The decrease in snow days has been
especially pronounced east of the Mississippi River, he said, which is
where most of America's low-elevation ski areas are located. The trend
toward fewer snow days has been most pronounced in the Northeast, but
many weather stations in the West showed increases in snow.

"Although this work shows real changes over parts of the United States
in snowfall days and temperature for this 30-day period," Kaiser
explained, "this cannot be used to draw conclusions about changes in
weather over the entire winter, nor do these findings necessarily
relate to the broader issue of global warming."

According to the U.S. National Ski Areas Association in Lakewood,
Colo., skier days, as they are called, have been fairly stable since
the mid-1980s, hovering a little above or below 52-million per ski
season. Lift ticket prices, however, have doubled during that period.

The snowpack issue has important implications beyond the ski industry.
In the West, much of the summer and fall water supplies come from
melting snowpack.

"Historically, over the last 40 or 50 years, there has been a
pronounced trend toward having the snow melt earlier in the year in
rivers from New Mexico to Alaska," Dettinger said. "And a general
summary would be that what we're seeing is a change in this streamflow
timing from a week to two weeks earlier than it did in the middle of
the 20th century."

These changes in streamflow timing appear to be connected to a general
warming of winters and springs over that time period, he said. "They
are in general agreement with changes in when plants get green, and at
least some changes in snow packs."

In the long-term, Dettinger said, the result may be more severe,
winter flooding in West Coast rivers, which is the season in which
most lives are lost and property damage incurred from flooding.

Dan Whipple covers the environment for UPI Science News.

"Simon Brown" wrote in message ...
Rule: stay high, avoid south facing slopes. It's getting warmer and not very
snow friendly.

What's Laax like at the moment? Would it be worth a day trip from
Zuerich (2 1/2 hours drive).

Cheers,

Gav

Steve Haigh wrote in message ...
Gav wrote:
Anybody got firsthand reports of where there's currently some ski-able
snow in Switzerland? I've got some time off work and wouldn't mind
some skiing but things look pretty grim doing the rounds of the resort
websites.

Grim? For the 1st week in Dec things are looking pretty amazing. Check
some of the other posts, it seems Zermatt and Verbier are well and truly
open for business.

I'm just thinking of last year when I was skiing in Davos around
now and Flumserberg was open, even. That was of course a very good
year so maybe I'm expecting too much.

Gav

Glacier looks excellent, as does the piste to the small gondola station
between Masegn and the Vorab.

Not many boarders out there - could be good (switches on mail abuse filters)
:-)

Tomorrow should be another nice warm day.

Anyone out there in the Italian alps - what's it like down there?
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch

"Gav" wrote in message
om...
"Simon Brown" wrote in message
-
What's Laax like at the moment? Would it be worth a day trip from
Zuerich (2 1/2 hours drive).

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:50:25 +0100, Ace wrote:

On 2 Dec 2003 02:45:30 -0800, (Gav) wrote:

Anybody got firsthand reports of where there's currently some ski-able
snow in Switzerland? I've got some time off work and wouldn't mind
some skiing but things look pretty grim doing the rounds of the resort
websites.

You missed my Zermatt post then?

Just missed it - it wasn't on my server at the time I posted.

Problem is that from the Website there doesn't look to be a lot
doing ... and since I don't know the place I haven't got an idea of
how much skiing there is from the runs marked as 'open'. Always good
to have a firsthand report.


Gav

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 12:32:54 +0100, "Simon Brown"
wrote:

Glacier looks excellent, as does the piste to the small gondola station
between Masegn and the Vorab.

Not many boarders out there - could be good (switches on mail abuse filters)
:-)

Tomorrow should be another nice warm day.

Sounds good - will be off in the car tomorrow for a half-days
skiing then (too lazy to get up ealier).

Easy pistes should be a good opportunity to try out the knee for
stability and strength ... All being well then next week it's Verbier
or Zermatt for a couple of days, based on reports here.


Gav

Glacier looks excellent, as does the piste to the small gondola station
between Masegn and the Vorab.

Not many boarders out there - could be good (switches on mail abuse
filters)
:-)

Tomorrow should be another nice warm day.

Sounds good - will be off in the car tomorrow for a half-days
skiing then (too lazy to get up ealier).

Easy pistes should be a good opportunity to try out the knee for
stability and strength ... All being well then next week it's Verbier
or Zermatt for a couple of days, based on reports here.

It seems like that the best conditions in Switzerland are in Ticino, places
like Airolo and Bosco Gurin have fantastic conditions.

Fore the big resorts the are quite good conditions in Engadin (St.Moritz),
where from tomorrow most of the lifts will be open!

Ciao

Nicola

Meanwhile 50 km from St. Moritz it's a bit colder but the sun is very hot,
clear blue skies and *very* dry. There's the prospect of some snow during
Saturday night, next week promises good sunny weather and slowly increasing
temperatures.
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch

"nicola cantaluppi" wrote in message
...

It seems like that the best conditions in Switzerland are in Ticino,
places
like Airolo and Bosco Gurin have fantastic conditions.

Fore the big resorts the are quite good conditions in Engadin (St.Moritz),
where from tomorrow most of the lifts will be open!

Ciao

Nicola

(Gav) wrote in message . com...
Steve Haigh wrote in message ...
Gav wrote:
Anybody got firsthand reports of where there's currently some ski-able
snow in Switzerland? I've got some time off work and wouldn't mind
some skiing but things look pretty grim doing the rounds of the resort
websites.

Grim? For the 1st week in Dec things are looking pretty amazing. Check
some of the other posts, it seems Zermatt and Verbier are well and truly
open for business.

I'm just thinking of last year when I was skiing in Davos around
now and Flumserberg was open, even. That was of course a very good
year so maybe I'm expecting too much.

Was at Flumserberg last Sunday. Conditions were much the same as the
same time last year - reasonable snow, just not much of it.
Flumserberg will be open this weekend. Don't think there's really been
any new snow since last week though.

--
Neil