manchester holidays news
Thursday, 15th February 2007
Ski holidays under threatTHE traditional ski holiday could become a thing of the past as climate change looks set to decimate the slopes. In just 23 years the Alps could see a such a drastic drop in snow cover with the number of its resorts with good quality skiing and boarding slashed by up to 40%. These resorts could find themselves battling economic hardship or bankruptcy while Whistler in Canada, with a base station at 675 metres above sea level, could find itself redundant as a winter sports destination. The bleak picture of the winter holiday in 2030 is painted by Professor Bill McGuire at London's Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre in a report commissioned by Halifax Travel Insurance. He said: "Increasing global temperatures by 2030 could have a devastating impact on the winter holiday industry. "Those lucky enough to afford skiing in the restricted winter resort environments of 2030 will face increased risk from severe weather phenomena and unpredictable conditions.
Urgent "Unless urgent action is taken to combat the effects of climate change, the family skiing holiday could be consigned to the annals of history in less than a quarter of a century." He warns that winter sports enthusiasts may face higher risk from avalanches, whiteouts, rock falls and landslides. There will be unpredictable huge dumps of snow despite decreasing overall snow cover, it is suggested. A double whammy of reduced snowfall and increased extreme weather conditions in alpine regions will drastically cut the number of winter sports resorts while making it more expensive to visit them. In just 13 years the European Alps could see a 30% reduction in the total amount of snow as a result of global warming, rising to a 50% reduction by the 2050s, according to Prof McGuire. This would destroy the viability of world famous skiing resorts such as Kitzbuhel. The report claims the snowline in the Alps could rise by as much as 300m by 2030, leaving just 60% of resorts with reliable good skiing. The rising snowline will be compounded by snows arriving later, contracting the length of the ski season. Below around 1,200 metres winter snow cover is unlikely to be continuous. North American resorts at high altitudes could benefit from the Alps demise as a premier skiing destination. Most American Rocky Mountain resorts have very high base-stations and are less likely than European resorts to be affected by elevated snow lines. Resorts such as Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Lake Tahoe, Jackson Hole and Mammoth in the United States could find Europeans flocking to their slopes as the global climate changes, it was suggested. The findings are based on analysis of research from various sources including the Journal of Nature and reports by European Union, World Wildlife Fund and World Tourism Organisation.
Predicted It is predicted that the price of winter sports holidays could increase exponentially by 2030 as the number of resorts able to guarantee good snow conditions shrinks. This could lead to resorts at high altitudes introducing quota systems to restrict the number of visitors as demand for snow-sure pistes increases. And in turn quotas could drive up prices of holidays and ski passes. Resorts will need to invest additional sums in piste-bashing and snow-making machines to combat adverse weather conditions. Winter sports such as skiing, which have become increasingly mass market in the last decade, could once again return to an elitist hobby, it was claimed. The report suggests warning alarms should be signalled for parts of the French and Austrian Alps, areas of the Italian Dolomites plus low-lying Eastern European resorts. French resorts with access to glacier skiing and located at high altitudes are least likely to be affected by global warming, such as Val Thorens, Tignes, and Chamonix, it claimed. Other resorts that will be less affected due to their altitudes include Meribel, La Plagne, Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes, Val d'Isere and the higher parts of Courchevel resort. Half of the winter sports villages in Italy are below 1,300 metres and by 2030 will undoubtedly suffer badly as a result of poorer snow conditions, it noted. In Cortina d'Ampezzo and Canazei, the snow may prove less reliable at lower levels, especially late in the season. Andorra in the Pyrenees could escape many problems as resorts including Arinsal, Pas de la Casa and Soldeu have base stations above 1,500 metres.
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