Hot air or the end of skiing?

Will a rise in the earth's temperature effect levels of snow and put the future of skiing in jeopardy?

After a very mild, dry autumn, the 09-10 season opened in Isola on the 4th of December with only 45-75 centimetres of snow, 25-60 centimetres in Auron a week later. Both had to create snow artificially. The resorts did at least open on time and were fully functioning: across the border the barely covered slopes in Limone were only operating at weekends .

Then the “big freeze” suddenly hit Europe and any notion of a snowless winter evaporated. Proper snow in Nice? In December? Hardly an annual occurance. Global warming is not a new concept. However, the increasingly extreme weather conditions are a terrifying reminder that our planet is changing quickly, and as a direct result of what we humans are doing.

Only a few weeks ago world leaders met in Copenhagen for the biggest climate change talks in history, aware of the danger posed to the planet. “Time is against us,” warned Nicolas Sarkozy, “let’s stop posturing.” In 2003 a report by the UN Environment Program stated that global warming was threatening the world's ski resorts, producing melting at lower altitude and forcing skiers higher. Later that year, at a conference on sport and environment in Turin, academics confirmed that snowfall in lower elevation European skiing regions was likely to become increasingly unpredictable. So, as we go into the twenty tens, how much are ski resorts really at risk?

According to Stewart Shepherd from Mountain Riders, it's difficult to make a straight link between global warming and snowfall. "We know that there has been a one per cent rise in the overall temperature in the Alps," he explains, "and that there is clearly a link between this and the concentration of Green House Gases (GHG). However, this doesn't necessarily affect the quantity of snow."

This is not to say that there is no link just that it is hard to prove. There is, for example, a study of snowfall conducted in the resort of Col du Porte showing that over a fifty-year period snow levels have reduced by 40 per cent. It is, Shepherd says, not conclusive but still might suggest that if temperatures continue to rise our skiing days could be over.

With livelihoods at stake, the ski industry is starting to take the environment very seriously. Rather than contributing to a problem that has a direct and detrimental effect on business, many resorts are developing sustainable systems and promoting more eco-friendly winter tourism.

"Our objective now is to develop the resort in a green way," says Pascal Lequenne, in charge of promotion in Isola 2000 and Auron. Even though a resort like Isola will always have snow, it has been making, over the past few years, a concerted effort to reduce its carbon footprint. "It wasn't something we thought about even five years ago," Lequenne continues, "and it takes time to change people’s mentality as well as the mechanical structures."

Shepherd agrees: "A lot of resorts want to become more sustainable but don't know where to start, that's why the Mountain Riders guide is important, it advises and encourages them into taking action." The French non-profit organisation has been, since 2000, raising awareness about environmental issues in the mountains.

In 2007 they conducted the first carbon footprint analysis of ski resorts and discovered that the main contributor was not ski lifts or artificial snow machines but the transport taken to get to the resort. This accounted for 74 per cent of GHG emissions. The next big contributor was energy used for heating buildings.

Transport then is a relatively easy thing to act on that makes a big difference. In Isola there is significant movement in the right direction with the introduction of cheap public transport in, to and from the resort. The one-euro bus from Nice is particularly important for Isola where 70 per cent of customers come just for the day.

The resort has also made other important changes, erecting solar panels and recycling bins, for example. The responsible disposal of waste is, of course, a major environmental issue and every spring, Mountain Riders organises a huge clean up, enlisting local children to pick up litter. Isola is one of the resorts partnering the project with young students from Nice coming up every May to lend their hands. Last year 30 tons of rubbish were collected in total; under each ski lift an average of 30,000 cigarette butts were found.

"There are organisations who lobby against the existence of ski resorts but we're more positive," Shepherd rationalises. "There's no point trying to stop people from skiing, because they won’t. It's more important to recognise the necessity of economic development and then find ways to do this both responsibly and sustainably."

With 6,500 ski passes sold in Isola over its opening weekend and pre-bookings up on last season, it doesn't look as if the region’s ski resorts are suffering too badly at the hands of global warming just yet. However, for the bounty of winter fun to continue, we should take action now. In the words of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, “If each and everyone does a little bit more then we can do this.” Forsaking a car for the bus is a small price to pay. And next time think before you throw a cigarette on the ground.

Hannah Marshall