Activists in the Alps argue that it makes no sense to spend public money on snow-free locations. Instead, they want to invest in sustainable mountain tourism.
On an overcast October morning, local activists reached the top of Monte San Primo in northern Italy to oppose the renovation of a disused ski resort.
With a peak at 1,685 meters in the Italian Alps, just an hour from Milan, Monte San Primo offers a panorama of iconic Lake Como.
But the beautiful landscape is littered with deteriorating ski infrastructure. On the side of the mountain there are three ski lifts, now unused for years. Next to them, a snow cannon is surrounded by growing vegetation.
At the same time as the Monte San Primo protest, demonstrations were also held across the Alps and Apennines. All this in contrast to other short-sighted and invasive investments in Italy at a time when the climate crisis questions the sustainability of winter sports.
What do activists want?
Activists are protesting against the use of public funds to refurbish old low-altitude ski equipment. They argue that it will soon all be for naught anyway as global temperatures rise.
Local authorities plan to spend €5 million on new ski lifts, a bobsleigh and tubing area, a snowmaking basin and a larger car park.
“It’s not up to date. Even in terms of profitability these ski lifts no longer make sense”, says Roberto Fumagalli, president of the Coordinamento Salviamo il Monte San Primo. He brings together 33 grassroots organizations pushing to stop the project.
Activists want the old ski lifts to be dismantled. They believe the funds would be better used to clear hiking trails, improve public transportation and maintain surrounding woodlands, all while supporting slow forms of tourism.
Facing a future of warmer, snow-free mountains
Many ski resorts in Italy were built in the 1960s and 1970s. San Primo became popular shortly before, in the late 1950s, but fell out of favor as the years passed. Since 2013 they have hardly skied here anymore.
“Here we are just above 1,000 metres. Even if artificial snow is used, it takes a sunny day to melt it”, says Antonio Bertelé, a protester who learned to ski in the Seventies on the slopes of San Primo. “It’s simply absurd to invest in ski tourism here.”
In Italy there are 249 abandoned vehicles ski resorts, and 138 are temporarily closed. According to a survey by Legambiente, one of Italy’s main environmental NGOs, 84 are open only intermittently and 181 survive thanks to public funding.
“The plants at high altitudes will live longer, but they will still have to diversify. But those at low altitude simply live in the illusion of a big snowfall”, explains Vanda Bonardo, head of the Alps sector of Legambiente.
Last winter, at many Alpine ski resorts, tourists skied on strips of artificial snow that cut the grass. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2022 was the second warmest year on record in Europe. CNR-ISAC data showed that last year was the hottest and driest in Italy since 1800.
“If you look at time series since 1850, the general trend is towards increasing temperatures and decreasing snowfall. More and more warm years are breaking the records of previous years”, explains Antonella Senese, glaciologist at the University of Milan.
In the Alps, temperatures increased more than double the average. According to Legambiente, out of 224 mountain municipalities located in or near ski resorts, 22 recorded an increase of 3 degrees or more between 1961 and 2018.
As global warming intensifies, the permanence of snow on the ground is also affected. Between 2000 and 2019, snow cover patterns in the greater Alpine region above 3,000 meters showed a significant reduction with an average of minus 17 days per decade, explains Senese.
Artificial snow is not a solution
The mountain areas are intensively exploited to feed the ski industry. A few weeks ago, environmentalists staged a demonstration at Lago Bianco, an alpine lake located in a nature reserve, after bulldozers began drilling and digging around it to pump water for snow cannons at the Santa Caterina ski resort of Valfurva.
In Italy 90% of the slopes are covered with artificial snow. The percentage is much lower in the other Alpine countries, with Austria using it for 70% of the slopes and Switzerland and France for 70% and 50% respectively.
Artificial snow involves the construction of pipelines and reservoirs, impacts the environment, depletes water resources and increases energy costs.
Sustainable tourism is the answer
Instead of exploiting the mountain through ski tourism, some resorts have started to invest tourism all year round with snowshoeing, mountain biking, trekking, climbing or cultural activities involving local food and traditions.
Valpelline, a valley in the Aosta Valley, does not have ski lifts. Tourists can instead take advantage of family-run accommodations, refuges and businesses in which farmers, artisans and hosts collaborate to promote responsible tourism immersed in nature, respecting the local community.
Similarly in Piedmont, the Maira Valley is an isolated valley, long outside the radar of intensive tourism. The valley has no ski infrastructure and, after years of depopulation, is thriving thanks to sustainable practices.
“Sustainability it has three fundamental aspects: environmental, economic and social”, says Raffaele Marini, president of the commission for the protection of the mountain environment of the Italian Alpine Club. “Winter tourism must move towards diversification, avoiding peak flows concentrated in a few spaces and in a short time”.
But mitigation and adaptation are also required of tourists.
From the top of Monte San Primo Fumagalli indicates the area where the new ski lifts are planned. Then he looks at the lake and mountains around him before enjoying lunch after the long walk. “There’s no need for hit-and-run tourism here,” he says.
Image:Getty Images
