German cartographer, Christophe Schrahe, claims that many ski resorts across Europe and the US are exaggerating the length of their ski runs. His findings suggest that on average resorts inflate the length of their runs by 34%.
The Four Valleys in Switzerland is said to be the worst offender. The area claims 362kms, but Schrahe’s research suggests that it’s more like 164kms.
On the other hand, many resorts in Austria are ‘millimetre perfect’.
The Sunday Times reports that when confronted by the measurements there were some interesting responses including “that skiers do not even ski arcs but zigzag across pistes from one side to the other, or that where a run was divided by a rock or trees it was in fact two runs and should be measured twice.”
Switzerland’s consumer authorities are reported to be considering taking action against some resorts.
Read full report: thesundaytimes.co.uk