Page 68 - The Economist Asia January 2018

The Economist January 27th 2018
52 International
2 trously snowless seasons between 1988 could get yet drier. Wind turbines may be boss. “We have more visitors, especially in
and 1990. Even as the climate has warmed, spinning on ridges in Chongli to provide summer, and we are more profitable.”
their ski season has lengthened. It may be the snow-makers with green power; but Perhaps in ever hotter summers more
no coincidence that some of the world’s the surreal white streakspainted on barren holiday-makers will seekthe coolness that
biggest makers of snow machines are mountains, as if by a calligrapher’s hand, high altitudes provide. Might mountains
based in the Dolomites. seem to spell “waste”. once again become summer retreats, as in
As for environmentalists’ accusations China’s golf courses, which also have the 19th century? Chamonix, the home of
that ski resorts are wasting water, not to an exorbitant thirst, face punitive water ta- mountaineering, makes almost as much
mention electricity, Mr Cappadozzi is un- riffs. The Chinese state regards golf as a moneyin summerasitdoesin winter. Chi-
moved. They account for a fraction of the source ofcorruption. But skiing is, for now, nese day-trippers, among others, are keen
water used for agriculture or industry, he clean middle-class family fun, and thus to glimpse Mont Blanc.
argues. Mostofthe snowismade in a short gets an environmental free ride. “It is white This is not a future which everyone be-
burst at the start of the season; the water is opium. It’s addictive,” pronounces He lieves in. Not every ski resort has an iconic
only temporarily held on the slopes before Huan, a gym instructor who snowboards mountain that looks wonderful in sum-
it flows back into streams and aquifers. at Wanlong, the biggest resort in Chongli. mer. And for all the golf, horse-riding and
Even so, Mr Cappadozzi reckons snow- Xi Jinping, China’s president, has spo- mountain-biking that may be on offer,
making accounts for about 13% of his ex- ken of 300m Chinese taking up winter nothing draws people quite like the thrill
penditure, a cost passed on to skiers. sports. Where the leader points, the state of snow, many resort officials say. Their
In some places water really is scarce. follows. Skier-days are growing by 20% a mantra is: “Skiing is not everything. But
The small Kaberlaba station in Asiago (alt. year; 78 new(mostlysmall) resortsopened without skiingthere is nothing.”
1,000 metres), in Italy, is on porous rock; in 2016 alone, saysBennyWu, a consultant.
water quickly drains away. Rather than “It could grow at this rate for another 15-20 On top ofthe world
make snow with expensive (and some- years,” he declares. Chongli is served by a Sooner or later (through regulation and
timesrationed) tap water, Paolo Rigoni, the four-lane highway; a high-speed railway carbon pricing, or global warming) resorts
manager, started to use treated municipal line will be completed by next year. Soon will have to rethink their model. Small,
sewage in 2010, an idea for which he re- Beijingers could live in the clean air of low-lyingstationswill have to find alterna-
ceived a presidential prize. Customers do Chongli and commute to the capital. tives to skiing or close. Rich ones in high
not mind skiing on recycled effluent, he in- Around the world, operators are hop- places and with good sources ofwater and
sists: “It’s not that different from water ing that just a fraction of the potentially electricity may thrive. Chamonix, though
treatment in some American cities.” huge cohort of Chinese enthusiasts will at just 1,000 metres, has pistes reaching
Beyond snow-making there is “snow one day travel to their resorts. That is one 3,300 metres. “If we will not be able to ski
farming”, as practised in the Austrian re- reason why most will not admit that they here any more, we will not able to ski any-
sortofKitzbühel. Atan altitude ofonly 800 face a bleak future. Many recognise it indi- where,” says Eric Fournier, the mayor. “We
metres, it is often regarded as the most vul- rectly, though, when they speak of diversi- may even attract more people.” That may
nerable of the big Alpine stations. The re- fying, particularly by expanding the sum- be a problem, too. The Chamonix valley is
sort stockpiles some snow in winter and mer season. In shrinking winters, they say, often shrouded in smog, the product of
covers it through the summerforuse in the ski resorts compete against each other; in wood-burning chimneys and the exhaust
autumn. Thisallowed Kitzbühel to open its summer they can take a bigger chunk of fumes of lorries rumbling to the Mont
first runs on October 14th last year, before the fast-growingglobal tourist market. Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy.
mostrivals; ithopesto keep skiersgoing for Anotherpossibilityis, like Johannes Ba- How paradoxical. Snow-sports enthu-
200 days, its longest-ever season. Is this a drutt more than 150 years ago, to lure win- siasts thinkofthemselves as great lovers of
marketingwheeze? No, smilesJosefBurger, ter visitors with no skiing at all. Rather nature and clean air, more conscious than
boss of the Kitzbühel lift company, it is a than invest in snow-making, the operators most people of the changing climate. Yet
strategy to draw keen skiers and athletes: of Stockhorn in Switzerland decided in their sport is becoming ever more man-
“The early bird catches the worm.” 2004 to build a restaurant at the top of the made, expensive and exclusive. Perversely,
ForCarmen de Jongofthe University of cable-car(alt. 2,100 metres) offeringvisitors it is also becomingmore polluting, produc-
Strasbourg, the headlong rush into snow- candlelit dinners overlooking Lake Thun. ing ever more emissions of greenhouse
making is costly, environmentally damag- On the slopes there is winter hiking, night gases to survive. That only hastens the
ing and ultimately self-defeating. “Many snowshoeing, ice-fishing, an igloo village melting of the snow and ice. As Victor
resorts are closing their eyes to reality,” she and more. “We changed from noisy skiing Hugo put it: “How sad to think that nature
says. She advocates a “deceleration” in the to soft winter,” says Alfred Schwarz, its speaks and mankind will not listen.” 7
winter-sports industry.
Nowhere are things more unreal than 50 km GERMANY Salzburg
in north-eastAsia. Pyeongchang, and espe- Schaffhausen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
cially the area around Beijing, are certainly
cold in winter, but are largely snowless. Kitzbühel
And with relatively low mountains, new Innsbruck
runs are being cut through forests to ac- Zürich St Anton Wilder
Kaiser
commodate the Olympic downhill races. Vaduz am Arlberg Wildkogel
Ski resorts are proliferatingin China, in- Sölden Zillertal Arena
cluding those in the Chongli district north- SWITZERLAND Ischgl AUSTRIA
west of the capital that will host some of Lienz
the sites for the Olympics in 2022. They are Davos D o l o m i t e s
covered completely with artificial snow. Alta Alpine resorts
Badia
This is despite the fact that the water table St Moritz Bolzano Marmolada 2°C rise in average temperature
in Beijinghas dropped alarmingly over the glacier Viable, with natural snow
SLOVENIA
decades, and enormous diversion works Bellinzona Val Gardena/ Viable, with snowmaking
Not viable
are sending some of the Yangzi’s waters to Trento Grödental Source: R. Steiger & B. Abegg
the capital. In a warmingworld things here