Climate change threatens cross-country skiing in Switzerland

Changing winter conditions are profoundly transforming cross-country skiing. Year after year, the decrease in snow is leaving visible traces on this sport that was widely accessible in the past. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox “What we have noticed in recent years in Nordic centres located around a thousand metres above sea level, in particular in the Jura, is a steep drop in ski days. We are in a process of retraction,” notes Laurent Donzé, president of Romandie Ski de Fond (RSF), an association that brings together around fifty Nordic centres, during an interview with news agency Keystone-ATS. The observation is clear: “At 1,000 metres, we were skiing yesterday when we wanted, today we only put on the skis when there is snow. This change imposes a new mentality, based on reactivity and flexibility, and redefines the relationship with snow”, underlines the manager. Cascading effects Global warming has repercussions on several levels: “Less snow means ...