This season has seen record temperatures across the alps, from Chamonix to Innusbruck, forcing many resorts to close, or offer alternative activities to snowsports, as there was simply no snow. Over the Christmas period, the northwest area of Switzerland recorded a temperature of 20.9C (70F) - hot enough to get the deckchairs and tanning oil out instead of winter coats, skis and thermals. Only half of all France’s slopes were open over the holidays, and even altitude is no guarantee of regular snow, with the eastern Swiss resort of Splügen, long considered “snow safe” at 1,500 metres, forced to close this winter. The future of the skiing industry is not looking good, but why does this matter to people who don’t ski?
Over the Christmas period, the northwest area of Switzerland recorded a temperature of 20.9C (70F)
Indeed, for most people, skiing is simply a posh winter activity, where the apres is more interesting than the actual sport. There is no denying that skiing and snowboarding is definitely the realm of the rahs for the most part, but we cannot ignore the thousands of jobs that the industry provides, and which are endangered by the threat that climate change poses to the mountains. Being forced to close, many resorts will have lost a lot of money, which affects real people with real jobs. It also impacts natural diversity and threatens many unique habitats. Everyone has seen the photos of polar bears left to wander muddy flats instead of plains of ice - the mountains are no different. The dire conditions seen throughout this winter is only a hint of what is to come: a snowless future is what lies ahead of us. And if there is no snow on the mountains, what sort of state will the rest of the world be in?
Everyone has seen the photos of polar bears left to wander muddy flats instead of plains of ice - the mountains are no different
The struggle of the ski industry indicates the rising threat of global warming on an international scale - skiing is not the only thing dying out due to the world’s rising temperatures and scarcity of snow. It is time for the skiing world to start to own up and take responsibility for the risk that threatens it. And this is exactly what many athletes across snowsports are calling for: what can the ski industry itself do to stop its own demise?
The organisation Protect Our Winters (POW) has sent a letter to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), calling them to action to help preserve the sport and the mountains upon which it depends. It has been signed by some of the biggest names in snowsports including including Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), Travis Ganong (USA) along with Olympic cross-country skiing champion Jessie Diggins (USA), and the previous Freeride World Tour champions Arianna Tricomi (ITA) and Xavier de le Rue (FRA). Although the FIS has made commitments to helping the climate, like so many other big companies, these commitments are mostly words, and not actions with little evidence supporting their claims. Their response to this letter was similarly vague, refusing to reply to even the easiest of ideas to reduce the ski industry’s impact on the environment. For example, the simple proposal of changing the scheduling of the world championships to have only one trip from Europe to North America (reducing CO2 emissions), was ignored in FIS’ response. It is no good just throwing around terms such as ‘net zero by 2050’, ‘cutting carbon emissions’, ‘working towards a sustainable future’ when there is no evidence of anything contributing to this.
As individuals, and individual skiers, there is only so much that we can do to mitigate our own impacts on the environment. It is up to the big organisations like FIS to make the big changes necessary to save our mountains. Even small changes, like changing the championship timetable, helps mitigate the impacts that winter tourism itself has on our winters. Why would they continue to refuse to make such changes if they really were committed to protecting the climate? Or are the FIS simply another company focusing on greenwashing instead of stopping global warming?
The time for action is now, and companies like FIS must act to save the mountains.