Skiing to where?

But climate change has changed the snow situation faster and more dramatically than we would all like. Almost nothing works without machine snow these days. The picture in the OÖN from Hinterstoder shows the sad truth, and in the foreseeable future the wintry white will be scarce below 1500 m. All of this was predicted 20 years ago.

But the lift operators plan and build as if nothing had changed. In Hinterstoder, a new gondola lift with a capacity of 3200 people per hour was put into operation at Christmas. On the Wurzeralm, the planned new railway to the Frauenkar will carry more than 2000 people, partly through the nature reserve. How is that supposed to end? Without the meaningfulness, such as e.g. B in Salzburg, the state of Upper Austria has promised funding of approx. 23 million euros up to 2030. More money is made from construction than from operation.

Apparently nobody cares whether it is still responsible. The responsible state politicians make short-sighted decisions, driven by the next election date, and pour millions into questionable projects as if there weren’t any more sensible perspectives. In comparison, the alpine clubs get peanuts for maintaining the huts and paths. There is no change in the warm weather situation in sight until mid-January, when the first main season will have ended, but the gondolas will continue to turn, even if hardly anyone is sitting inside. We’ll all pay.