Skiing into the climate crisis?
Glaciers are melting and snowfall is getting scarce. Often, the only way to keep the slopes fit for skiing is with snow cannons. What does the climate crisis mean for the future of winter tourism in Europe's Alps?
Transcript
00:00 The majestic Alps covered in snow.
00:04 But how much longer will it last?
00:06 According to calculations made by climate researchers,
00:10 by 2050 the average temperature in the Alps is expected to rise by 4 degrees Celsius.
00:16 What does this mean for winter tourism in the Alps?
00:19 I'm on the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain.
00:28 Lots of snow and skiers.
00:30 But how long will skiing in the Alps still be possible?
00:36 Simply wonderful.
00:39 Well-groomed slopes plus this amazing panorama.
00:42 Not bad!
00:45 Like me, many others enjoy the snow.
00:48 Will it always be like this?
00:50 My grandchildren will not be able to enjoy the ski and snow and the mountains in the way that we do.
00:57 I come from the Allgäu and something has changed there.
01:00 You can't ski like you used to be able to.
01:03 They're going to fight to keep their industry going.
01:06 Just going year to year with skiing, seeing how it changes, how the weather changes,
01:11 it gets so chaotic, the precipitation. Every time, yeah, it's a concern.
01:15 It might be the last generation to do it naturally.
01:18 Here on the Zugspitze it seems to be business as usual.
01:21 At least at first glance.
01:24 We're skiing here at an altitude of 2,600 meters.
01:27 It's the highest ski area in Germany.
01:30 But global warming has caused many changes here too.
01:35 To learn more, I meet with Verena Tanzer.
01:38 She works for Zugspitzbahn AG, the company responsible for operating the ski area.
01:44 These are our so-called plattlifts here.
01:46 This one runs directly above the northern Schneeferner Glacier and this glacier is melting and losing height.
01:52 It loses volume especially in the summer when it's warm.
01:55 And that means that the beautiful ridge of the glacier which we are on now is getting steeper and steeper.
02:00 And that's why the lift isn't working right now.
02:02 Lifts at a standstill.
02:05 This sight is increasingly common in European ski resorts, including here at Germany's only glacier skiing area.
02:12 What you can't see in winter is that the northern Schneeferner Glacier has melted drastically over the past 80 years.
02:20 Unlike in many other ski areas, here at the Zugspitze they don't make artificial snow.
02:27 This was a conscious decision made by the operators.
02:31 The ski area is at a high enough altitude that winter sports can take place without it.
02:37 To what extent have you already noticed changes on the mountain due to climate change?
02:42 Of course, in summer you can see very clearly that the northern Schneeferner is losing volume.
02:49 We've always had good winters and bad winters, that's normal.
02:52 For this year's opening here on the Zugspitze we've had the highest snowfall of 20 years.
02:57 But then you'll have another winter where you really say, wow, we really need snow now.
03:01 Otherwise we can't open the slopes, so it's a lot of back and forth.
03:04 Nature is currently still providing enough snow up here.
03:09 But what about in the Alps in general?
03:11 I would like to know what an expert has to say about this.
03:14 The KIT Campus Alpin is the oldest environmental research facility in Germany
03:22 and has been based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen since 1962.
03:26 Climatologist Harald Kunstmann is working on calculation models
03:29 that predict the effects of climate change in the Alps by 2050.
03:33 They conclude that the average temperature will rise by 4 degrees Celsius
03:38 and the periods during which snow falls will likely become shorter.
03:42 It's obvious that this is a fatal forecast for winter sports.
03:47 What does climate change do to the Alps in winter?
03:51 In fact, as temperatures are getting warmer and warmer,
03:55 that means that the level of snow line is getting into higher and higher elevations every couple of years.
04:02 And that means at lower elevations it becomes more and more difficult to go skiing under natural conditions.
04:08 What's going to happen in the future? Can you say that regarding snow?
04:11 There is no major skiing area that does not use artificial snowing.
04:18 The technique is getting more and more expensive, of course,
04:21 because you need to be more and more efficient.
04:24 And that also means as energy is getting more and more expensive,
04:27 that skiing itself is getting even more expensive than it was till now.
04:32 So you always have to make snow. Otherwise you couldn't ski here. Is that true?
04:38 The solution is not to expand snowmaking when it gets warmer.
04:42 It's just that if you don't have enough precipitation in the form of snow,
04:46 then you can say, if one night is super cold and you have good conditions,
04:50 then you can produce snow so that you can open the slopes.
04:54 Skiing is still possible, but the alpine winters show that things are getting tighter
05:00 for winter sports enthusiasts and the pressure on the tourism industry is growing.