One of several traditional ski
resorts in the area that depend
on income from winter skiers
For the survival of their
many hotels,
restaurants and shops
In 2007, following
15yrs of unreliable
snowfall, it shut down
the local council is considering two
options to secure its future and provide
employment for the local population
to develop other forms of winter sports,
e.g. ski touring, snowshoeing and
snowmobiling that are less dependent
upon deep snow than traditional skiing
to develop its summer programme
of activities to include hiking, water
sports and mountain biking This
would enable the town to become
more of an all-year round resort
rather than just a winter one
New developments
the High Alps form a pristine
landscape rich in wildlife and
free from pollution. With low
level resorts in decline there
is considerable pressure
from developers to develop
these wilderness areas
however tourism
developments can
harm fragile
environments in a
number of ways
road construction and the building of ski lifts, houses and hotels
can have a bit impact on natural ecosystems and habitats
trees are often cut down to
make way for developments.
they have an important
function in binding the soil on
steep slopes and breaking up
avalanches
Overuse of slopes for skiing can strip a hillside of its natural
vegetation, which can take many years to re-establish.
mountain biking can
lead to gullies, which
can be enlarged
following heavy rain or
snowmelt to form scars
on the landscape
With increased levels of pollution (noise,
visual) the natural landscape loses some
of its appeal and this may reduce the
attractiveness of the area for tourism
In Austria new ski lifts and
cable cars are being
constructed to open up the
Gepatsch Glacier to skiers
above 3,500m
However with almost all
Alpine glaciers retreating,
there is no guarantee that
glacier skiing will last for long
At LIsenser
Fernerkogel new
cable cars and
pistes are being
developed
In other areas there are plans
to contrut cable cars to link
resorts, which would enable
lower-level resorts to remain
viable even if tourists have to
travel by cable car to another
higher-level resort to ski