In the case of eco and winter tourism’t think most of the snow cannons and piste paths in the mountain forest, but what could you change easily.
By Titus Arnu Titus Arnu
Titus Arnu, Born in 1966, has been working since 2006 for the editorial Panorama. Previously, he was at the magazine, SZ, wrote for the SZ-magazine, mirror, Geo, National Geographic and Mare. He attended the German journalist school and studied Comparative literature and journalism in Munich. So far, bizarrster Job: a correspondent in Europe of a Japanese dog magazine.
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« Bigger, steeper, longer, »: The Zillertal advertises with records to the winter tourists. In the « largest Skital of the world », it is « the longest downhill run in Austria » – tens of kilometers, and 1930 in altitude by the transition from the yoke to Zell am Ziller. In addition, the « steepest slope in Austria » on the « action mountain » Penken with a 78 percent gradient. Also on offer: « the state of the art cable car in the world », 180 ski lifts, and 530 kilometers of slopes. From the most annoying traffic jam in Austria, the forms of beautiful winter days in front of the Board, in the case of tunnel at the Winxbet entrance, one reads in the superlative collection on the zillertal valley.at but nothing.
another world record-the project is in the Zillertal valley, already in the planning stage: A « Peak-to-Peak train » to run from the season 2020 with the « world’s largest ground distance of over 1000 meters » from uncle yoke to the weather cross peak. The cable car will connect the ski areas hochzillertal and Spieljoch. Further mergers are planned in Zell am see and Saalbach-Hinterglemm, on the Arlberg and in the Andermatt/Sedrun, in the process of Mega-resorts with Hundreds of kilometres of ski slopes.
Everywhere is modernised, expanded and in snow cannons invested. The winter sports industry is upgrading, climate change notwithstanding. Can you plan in the light of these developments, even, in good conscience, a skiing holiday in the Alps?
« If one defines the good Conscience, while you are skiing so that you can use natural snow pistes, you can ski today, actually, nowhere in the Alps, » says Werner Bätzing, former Professor of cultural geography in Erlangen and one of the most prestigious Alpine researchers. Because almost all ski resorts snowmaking to produce and have built in large storage lakes, to snow to the slopes for safety’s sake, artificially, once it is cold enough for it.
The biggest carbon polluters in the winter tourism? The Car.
the arrival with the car in the ski resorts – the climate balance significantly deteriorated. About 85 percent of the CO₂-emissions in the winter tourism is attributed to the arrival date.
Ralf Roth, head of the Institute for nature sports and Ecology at the German sport University in Cologne, has worked with the environmental consequences of winter sports in depth and comes to a differentiated picture. At each of the focal points in the Zillertal will be expanded massively, but according to the winter sports consume areas a total of with your backed-up slope is less than one per cent of the Alpine area areas.
Alpine researchers Bätzing has analyzed the consumption of land by ski resorts and found that the number of ski areas decreases. According to his research have set in the past 15 years, about 50 to 60 small ski resorts in operation, at the same time, major ski resorts expanding their Position more and more, so Bätzing, « because you have to put up with their constant innovation, Trends, the skier then quickly take for granted ». A gondola without Wi-Fi, and Popo heating effect today, quickly out of date.
Overall, is stagnant, the number of winter sports athletes – at a high level: In Europe there are over 40 million active skiers, in Germany there are about seven million. The winter sports guests « polysportiver », such as sports Professor Roth explains: « the core sports of Alpine skiing remains positive developments we have seen in the case of the Nordic motion cross country skiing shapes:, ski touring and winter Hiking. » And these sports can also be used in a fairly nature-friendly way to exercise. It is also the responsibility of the destinations and mountain Railways, sustainable development.
fits together, and Where « sustainable » and « winter sports » in fact,
There are places where sustainable winter sports is possible, but it are not necessarily those of the « state of the art rope » and « steepest slopes » advertise. Pfelders in Passeiertal valley for example, the largest winter sports centers is located away from the village is car-free and operates its ski lifts complete with electricity from renewable sources of energy, as 98 percent of all the ski resorts in South Tyrol. The energy needs of a winter athlete in the ski resort anyway is comparatively small, he spent 17 kilowatt-hours of the day, says Roth.
Pfelders is one of the « Alpine Pearls », have together committed to the conclusion of the 25 places to eco-friendly winter tourism. They offer good access to public transport, use renewable energies and only let in a certain amount of skiers on the mountain. In the winter sports industry areas such as Ischgl or Zermatt, the economic pressure of competition is so high that the capacity of the Railways is still increasing – the Giggijoch cable car in Sölden, for example, can carry 4500 people per hour on the slopes. Small ski resorts can no longer keep up and want to be there for a long time.
In the Tyrolean village of Mieming, for instance, that one has already decided, years ago, against the Alpine skiing. The renewal of obsolete ski lifts, on the Mieminger Plateau, would have cost millions. So, it was decided on the plants to reduce and to put on alternative winter sports. The Concerns of the Hoteliers, thus, the winter tourism is likely to perish, have not been confirmed. Long at least as many visitors as in the times of the Skibetriebs come back. It also goes without « action mountain ».
