The mountains of Europe had a fairly rough winter season this year. In Austria, for example, the mountains saw precipitation levels up to 45% below the long-term average. Deep, fresh snow was limited, epic freeride runs were few and far between, and snow depths remained well below previous record lows on some of the highest mountains.
But in another way this season was quite successful for the mountains of Europe. With 27% more hours of sunshine recorded, more winter guests in Austria were expected than ever before. 17 million people in total visited the country’s ski areas, supported by artificial snowmaking and grooming to keep the snow in good condition. European ski instructor Marius Quast took a look at the contrasting seasons, from the success of ski tourism to the dramatic lows of ski conditions.
It’s interesting to see a clear example of how the success of ski tourism is growing to be independent of condition quality. If the seasons continue to get worse and worse, will ski resorts be able to keep up their visitor numbers with snowmaking and grooming? Is there a cutoff where it won’t matter anymore?
