TOU-I-2: Snow cover for winter tourism | Umweltbundesamt

TOU-I-2: Snow cover for winter tourism

In Germany snow conditions have been subject to strong fluctuations in the course of the past five decades. For any of the ski-tourism areas in Germany, the number of days with a natural snow cover in depths of at least 30 cm does not show any significant trend. In the Alps and the eastern uplands snow-poor winters occurred only sporadically while in the two other upland regions, there were extended phases of snow-poor winters.

Uncertain snow conditions in the Alps and upland areas

Whether skiing or snowboarding, cross-country skiing, touring or snow hiking – snow-covered mountains, snowy forests and radiant sunshine are the ultimate ideal of many people when they think of winter holidays and winter sports. Whenever there is insufficient snow cover, the foundation for snow-related forms of tourism is undermined. Tourism destinations in high mountain ranges and uplands suffer distinct commercial losses if the snow cover is in decline, if guaranteed snow is more and more restricted to higher altitudes and if the periods of snow cover become inconsistent or if they shift. The amount of snow cover required depends above all on the specific activity and the type of terrain. Even just a few centimetres of snow cover can imbue a winter walk with a wintry atmosphere. For cross-country skiing, snow depths of 10 to 15 cm are usually sufficient. As far as alpine skiing operations are concerned, it is the specific character of a ski slope which determines what minimum depth of snow is required in order to prepare pistes, protect the soil, ensure safe skiing operations and provide the skier with a pleasant skiing experience. Generally, a snow cover of 30 cm depth is sufficient while 50 cm are considered good.²⁰¹ However, stony and rocky pistes may require a much deeper snow cover of up to 1 m depth to make them skiable.

An analysis of snow depth data recorded for the Alps and selected upland areas over the past (just under) five decades shows that the snow situation between 1970 and 2021 in all ski-tourism areas (‘Alps’, ‘Black Forest’, ‘Eastern Uplands’, ‘Western and Central Uplands’) was very changeable. A consistent natural snow cover in a winter season (15/12 to 15/03) of 91 days or, in a leap year, 92 days) is reached – with reference to the medium sea level applicable to relevant skiing areas – only in some locations of very few ski-tourism areas and that only in some years. Owing to the altitude, the overall best snow conditions prevailed in the skiing regions of the Alps, albeit with some strong fluctuations from year to year. In terms of the multi-annual average for the period from 1970 to 2021, the relevant skiing areas had 70 days per winter season, with a snow cover of at least 30 cm, calculated with the mean value weighted according to length of piste. For the eastern uplands, the multi-annual mean with a sufficient snow cover is roughly 60 days. Contrary to the Alps, the eastern uplands repeatedly have some very snow-poor years. In the Black Forest and especially in western and central uplands, including the Harz, Sauerland, Rhön, Thuringian Forest and the Fichtel Mountains, the prevailing conditions are fundamentally different. In those areas, the natural snow cover reached a multi-annual mean of only 44 days and only 23 days with a depth of snow of 30 cm. By comparison, the snow cover in the Sauerland or the Rhön upland area failed to reach those conditions in several years of the past decade.

It must be stressed that these data refer only to the natural potential of winter sports tourism in ski-tourism areas and their various regions. These findings do not permit any statements on the actual snow conditions in skiing areas. In those places the snow cover required for winter sports can be created or supplemented significantly by means of technical snowmaking. In response to phases with several consecutive snow-poor years, but also with a view to comparable activities offered by the international competition, the operators of skiing resorts have in some cases set up elaborate infrastructures for artificial snowmaking. Artificial snow is the most wide-spread measure used to extend the season or to maintain skiing operations when faced with strong fluctuations in weather patterns. On average across the Alps, it was possible in 2015 to use artificial snow in more than two thirds of the piste areas²⁰², in the Bavarian Alps the proportion of terrain suitable for applying artificial snow amounts to approximately one quarter²⁰³. In Bavaria, the entire terrain suitable for applying artificial snow increased between 2005 to 2020 by more than 500 ha to lately approximately 920 ha.

Nevertheless, applications of artificial snow are subject to physical and economic limitations. In order to produce artificial snow efficiently, a few degrees below -2 °C and a humidity below 80 % provide favourable conditions. Additives which facilitate the production of artificial snow even at higher temperatures are not certified for use in Germany. The costs involved in artificial snow generation (investment, operational and maintenance costs) are considerable anyway, and at rising temperatures or higher humidity, costs become disproportionately high. Besides, when infrastructures such as those in upland areas – owing to frequently snow-poor winters – are not continuously utilised to capacity, the profitability of such plant is seriously threatened. It is therefore obvious that – solely from an economic angle – such adaptation measures are subject to limitations of economics. Another limitation is that the application of artificial snow will affect nature and the environment owing to high requirements of energy and water and also in terms of the necessary construction measures – such as the installation of reservoirs and the building of access roads for the construction process or for piste levelling. This is one of the reasons why the alpine states who are members of the Alpine Convention²⁰⁴ – whose objective it is to achieve sustainable development in the Alps – have agreed that the generation of artificial snow is permitted only in cold periods, on condition that the locally relevant hydrological, climatic and ecological conditions be favourable.

If winter visitors frequently have negative experiences with lack of snow in German winter tourism regions, they may in future at least to some extent change their holiday activities or holiday destinations. In the representative population survey ‘Environment awareness in Germany’²⁰⁵ at least a quarter of respondents stated in 2012 that they would adapt their winter sports activities if required by the prevailing climatic conditions. While in the subsequent surveys in 2014 and 2016 the proportion was 17 % in both years, in 2021 this value had dropped to 14 %.²⁰⁶ These findings as well as the consistently high number of first-time users of cable cars, chair lifts and drag lifts during the winter season clearly indicate that German holidaymakers have not yet begun to give more preference to destinations in neighbouring European states when it comes to deciding on their winter vacation.

^{201 - Agrawala S. (Hg.) 2007: Klimawandel in den Alpen: Anpassung des Wintertourismus und des Naturgefahrenmanagements. OECD Publications, Paris, 131 pp.}

^{202 - Wind L. 2020: 7 Fakten zu künstlicher Beschneiung. https://marmotamaps.com/de/blog/7-fakten-zu-kuenstlicher-beschneiung}

^{203 - VDS – Verband Deutscher Seilbahnen und Schlepplifte e.V. (Hg.) 2022: Beschneiung – Verband Deutscher Seilbahnen und Schlepplifte e.V. https://www.seilbahnen.de/beschneiung}

^{204 - Alpenkonvention Protokoll Tourismus: Protokoll zur Durchführung der Alpenkonvention von 1991 im Bereich Tourismus – Protokoll „Tourismus“. https://www.alpconv.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Convention/DE/Protocol_Tourism_DE.pdf}

^{205 - BMUB & UBA – Umweltbundesamt (Hg.) 2017: Umweltbewusstsein in Deutschland 2016. Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Bevölkerungsumfrage. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit, Umweltbundesamt. Berlin, Dessau-Roßlau, 88 pp.
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/umweltbewusstsein-in-deutschland-2016}

^{206 - BMUB & UBA – Umweltbundesamt (Hg.) 2017: Umweltbewusstsein in Deutschland 2016. Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Bevölkerungsumfrage. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit, Umweltbundesamt. Berlin, Dessau-Roßlau, 88 pp.
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/umweltbewusstsein-in-deutschland-2016}