ÖSV ski ace Julian Schütter: “If that happens, we’ll be happy if we survive”

In search of answers, mountaineering legend Peter Habeler, ex-ski star Benjamin Raich and downhill skier and climate activist Julian Schütter, among others, went to the high altitude of the Stubai Glacier at the Sports Media Austria conference on Monday. With a view to unchecked global warming, Schütter said: “Skiing will be the least of our problems in the future.”

One is currently on the way towards three to four degrees of global warming, said the 25-year-old. “If that happens, we’ll be lucky if we survive.” Skiing would then no longer be an issue, according to Schütter, who in February had provided a topic of conversation with an open athlete letter to the FIS, including demands for sustainable skiing.

Meteorologist Georg Haas stated that the global temperature was 1.2 degrees higher than in the second half of the 19th century. He sees the internationally targeted 1.5 degree target as unrealistic. “I don’t see a chance that we’ll achieve that with what we’re putting into the atmosphere.” The result is that over the past 50 years, the number of days with snow cover in the mountains has shrunk by a month.

“Even if that’s no longer possible in the Inn Valley at some point”

Ski areas at lower altitudes will have major problems in the future and will become economically unprofitable. “Up here on the glacier, skiing will still be possible for a long time,” said Haas. The two-time Olympic champion in Turin, Benjamin Raich, also sees opportunities here. “There are certain ways to go up. The glacier area will be our ski area in the future, even if the glacier is gone at some point,” said the 45-year-old with conviction.

Raich also recalled the importance of winter sports for society and the economy. “People want to ski. Even if at some point it’s no longer possible in the Inn Valley – the tourists, the athletes, the ski clubs come up and want to ski there. It’s also a big economic factor, many people make a living from it.”

The Pitztal appealed to everyone to do their part in the fight against climate change. Schütter, on the other hand, said that individual responsibility does not necessarily have to be the priority. “Don’t apologize that you came by car. Instead, demand a better expansion of the public transport system,” appealed the Styrian to the discussion participants for a holistic approach.

“What should we have done?”

Ingrid Schneider from the Tirol Tourist Board took up the point and underlined the importance of a better infrastructure in the field of mobility, since only a small proportion of guests are currently traveling by train. Schneider wants to establish Tyrol even more as a year-round destination.

The fact that the climate crisis also affects summer is evident in alpinism. “Because of the lack of permafrost, everything is crumbling away. We see it in the Zillertal or in the Ötztal. It has become even more dangerous on the edge of the glaciers. You have to be much more careful. We mountaineers make sure that we find new ways,” said Peter Habeler . Rockfall is now a ubiquitous issue due to the crumbling mountains.

When asked whether it was too late to take measures to combat global warming, Habeler was at a loss. “What should we have done?” asked the 80-year-old, who climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 1978 together with Reinhold Messner without additional oxygen. There was agreement that the influence of climate change on top-level and popular sport cannot be denied and that countermeasures are absolutely necessary. “The planet doesn’t care whether we live on it or not,” said meteorologist Haas. Ultimately, this also applies to winter sports.