European ski holidays may change
AFTER skiing resorts in Austria and Switzerland announced they’re mulling ideas on how to reduce energy costs next winter, lift operators in Germany say they have similar plans.
From skiing to snowboarding and tobogganing, the winter sports sector is a great source of revenue in the Alps and surrounding areas, but carrying hundreds of thousands of tourists up the mountains on a daily basis also requires a lot of energy.
Amid fears that European countries could run out of gas in winter due to a potential stoppage of Russian supplies, cable car operators in Switzerland and Austria said they were busy coming up with ideas on how to slash power consumption, including reducing the number of gondolas and scrapping the popular night runs.
Many skiing areas in Germany are working out similar plans.
Lifts could run more slowly, and operators could reduce lighting and heating, according to the industry association VDS.
While it’s not yet clear what implementation will look like exactly, all areas of cable car operation are under scrutiny, according to VDS vice president Peter Lorenz.
Meanwhile, winter sports enthusiasts in Germany should not expect seat heating in chairlifts next season, the VDS announced.
While this was arguably always a luxury, operators in some areas are also considering only offering cold water in toilet facilities.
Like in Austria and Switzerland, cable cars could also be run at a slower pace to reduce power consumption.
Meanwhile, operators might significantly reduce indoor lighting.
Environmental activists are also calling for an end to the use of artificial snow, demanding that the state government in Bavaria, home to many of the country’s winter sport resorts, set appropriate guidelines. Skiing areas need to adapt anyway due to climate change, according to the Bavarian Nature Conservation Association (BN).
Scrapping artificial snow could save 12 million kilowatt hours of electricity in one winter, as well as millions of litres of water, it said.
According to the VDS cable car association, Germany consumed around 556 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2018. This means that snowmaking in Bavaria accounts for 0.002% of Germany’s total electricity consumption. Moreover, artificial snow is mainly produced at night, when electricity is readily available, the VDS said.
A winter sport tourist consumes an average of 16 kilowatt hours per day of skiing including the use of cable cars and piste preparation, but excluding the journey to the resort – the equivalent of a medium-sized car driving for 22km.
The cable cars are already well positioned in terms of efficient energy use and savings, the VDS stressed, with restaurants heated with waste heat from the cable cars, and photovoltaic systems supporting the supply. – dpa