Guaranteed snow despite climate change: how we secure your skiing holiday

From 07.10.2024

Katharina Tagwerker

Guaranteed snow all winter despite rising temperatures - does that even go together?

Guaranteed snow despite climate change: how we secure your skiing holiday

We know that guaranteed snow is one of the most important criteria for your skiing holiday. You're probably wondering how we manage to guarantee snow from Christmas to Easter, even though climate change is not stopping at our ski resort. Hopefully you will find all the answers to your questions here.

Climate change and the impact on snow

Average temperatures in Austria have risen significantly since industrialisation - this applies to both the lowlands and the mountains. The special feature of the high mountains is that temperatures fluctuate greatly from decade to decade, which makes it difficult to accurately predict long-term trends. However, one thing remains clear: temperature has a major influence on natural snowfall.

Especially at lower altitudes below 500 metres, a significant decline in natural snow cover has been observed in recent years. Schruns, our starting point, lies at 690 metres, which means that we are already at a favourable altitude here. However, things look even better at higher altitudes: In regions above 2,000 metres, where many of our pistes are located, there has so far been no decrease in snow cover duration. 87% of our pistes are located above 1,500 metres, and 40% even above 2,000 metres - in other words, precisely at altitudes where hardly any changes are to be expected even with a warming of 2°C.

Technical snowmaking: Our guarantee for snow-sure pistes

Despite climate change, we rely on state-of-the-art snow-making facilities to offer you the best conditions. Currently, 80 % of the pistes in Silvretta Montafon can be covered with artificial snow. This means that we can produce enough snow to keep the pistes groomed even in fluctuating weather conditions. A modern snowmaking system includes snow guns (fan guns or snow lances), pipes for water, compressed air and electricity, as well as pumps and compressors. As a rule, the required water is collected in storage ponds on the mountain when the snow melts in spring and pumped to the respective snow guns via water pipes during the snowmaking period. You will also find storage ponds in our ski area - we also need the water from the surrounding streams, 100% of which ends up back in the respective extraction point after the snow melts. In this way, we ensure that there is enough technical snow to start the season on time and with a good snow cover.

What does this mean for the future of Silvretta Montafon?

For us as a ski resort, the expected rise in temperature means the following:

We are doing everything we can to slow down this rise in temperature by reducing our emissions.
We are adapting to the new conditions at an early stage.
More specifically, we are continuing to invest in the expansion and improvement of technical snowmaking.

With these strategies, we ensure that snow reliability and the quality of the pistes remain at a consistently high level. So you can continue to enjoy an unforgettable skiing holiday with us in the Silvretta Montafon in the future.