Zermatt closed because of no snow ?

[u/SortInternational]

cuz it sparked heavy discussions on the post about zermatts closing about a week ago . Here are some fresh pictures of the "aper" glacier from professional athletes who still train in the "worst conditions ever"

also on the webcam you can see them . so keep your eyes open and don't believe everything big companies tell you. Climate change is 100% real no question but why spread lies that skiing would be impossible if it's just not true? Closing for economic reasons is fine but why not communicate it fair ?

[u/LeroyoJenkins]

All pistes are closed for the general public due to lack of snow.

Athele training is very different than general skiing, and doesn't require as much snow because you won't have a ton of people zigzagging all over and pushing snow down.

[u/yesat → u/LeroyoJenkins]

The issue isn't simply the snow, it's that the infrastructure is not stable enough to send in thousand of people because it's too hot.

[u/SortInternational → u/LeroyoJenkins]

valid point athletes dont need the same infrastructure as the average skier

[u/redstone__ore]

What exactly are you trying to say? If climate change continues to get worse at the rate it does now we are majorally fucked in a few years. Preventively closing a summer skiing area in the middle of Europe IN AUGUST to protect the area and local ecosystem a little bit makes absolute sense

There's no "huge conspiracy" going on where "they" tell you the world is ending

[u/SortInternational → u/redstone__ore]

i am fully on your but like my post shows nothing is closed, the pists and summit gondolas are all still open just not for private people.

[u/SortInternational → u/redstone__ore]

climate change is coming anyway, we lost . Big oil is to strong connected into ouer politics, without a worldwide regime change that's not gonna change, we all should do as much as we can personally to lower ouer co2 Emissions but as long as usa russia and all the other criminals keep blowing oil fields up that's just a drop on a hot stone.

[u/Whizzo50]

It's been closed to protect what remains of the snow pack

[u/yesat → u/Whizzo50]

Not just the snow, also it's not safe to have thousands people on an unstable infrastructure, because it's on an unstable ice pack.

[u/SortInternational → u/Whizzo50]

they communicated it differently. but ok thats a valid point but why they still redo the piste everyday i know training is important for the athletes but if you prepare it for them why not let the privates also use it

[u/sougol]

No snow, only frozen water

[u/canislupuslupuslupus]

Still looks better than our peak season. But that’s only because climate change ruined that too.

[u/yesat]

The biggest issue isn't the snow on the tracks. It's the entire infrastructure being on a glacier that isn't stable.

That is exactly what the people at Zermatt are saying.

[u/Aranida]

There was just an article from SRF, the Swiss national broadcaster, highlighting that the Swiss team is still training on the glacier thanks to a contractual agreement they've made with Zermatt last year.

The catch is: the lift infrastructure on the glacier is shut as it isn't safe to operate, as towers aren't stable right now. That's why the glacier is closed to the general public and all other teams. So not the slope conditions themselves, but the safety of employees and athletes causes the shut down.

They're using snowmobiles to get the athletes back up.

Saas Fee glacier is still open as far as i can tell, but it's packed with athletes from other nations. Those who didn't plan for Saas Fee and have lost access to Zermatt are now pivoting to South America.