Snow-guns sky-rocketing

(10.01.03) The Christmas and New Year skiing holidays are now over. For several days the issue of artificial and natural snow made all the headlines, and snow-gun sales figures indicate there's been a run on this high-tech equipment. In the early 90s Switzerland's National Research Programme NFP 31 on the climate and tourism had shown that by 2050 only 63% of skiing areas would be able to guarantee snow, compared with 85% at present, a finding that applies likewise to Austria and Bavaria. A current study by Graz University/A shows that by 2050 no less than half the schi resorts in Austria will have to contend with a dearth of snow. One main reason is the comparatively low altitude.

After a good start to the 2002/2003 skiing season warmer weather conditions between Christmas and New Year meant that it was no longer possible to create artificial snow.

The cost of installing and maintaining snow guns will certainly weigh heavily in the accounts of small cable-car companies in medium-altitude mountain regions in particular. Absurdly the run on snow guns has become a vicious circle. The argument goes that artificial snow-making installations have to be installed because all our neighbours at the international level are doing it.

Meanwhile public-sector funding is slowly drying up. In response there are more and more calls in France demanding that the production of artificial snow be declared a "public service".

According to figures released by the French Institute for Mountain Tourism (Service d'études et d'aménagement touristique de la montagne, SEATM), French skiing regions invested EUR 46 m in artificial snow production in 2002, 24% up on the previous year. In addition EUR 25 m was spent setting up water storage basins and slope levelling. The SEATM has forecast that the total surface area requiring artificial snow over the next ten years is set to triple.

Sources:
alpMedia
Mountain Forum Europe
http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/pdf/bilaninvestissements2001.pdf

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