Hot, too hot. The weather conditions penalize the activity of the ski areas, in particular those of the North West, while the plants of the stations in the Apennines are all at a standstill. Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany Region, speaks of a snow emergency for the Pistoia mountains such as Abetone and «it’s not a situation that affects only Tuscany – he says. I am thinking of a state of emergency that is simultaneously proposed by several Regions ». Even in Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo and Marche, the absence of snow affects the economic system based on skiing in these realities. On Wednesday, the meeting of the regional presidents with Daniela Santanché, Minister of Tourism.
«In Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto the situation recorded during the holiday period is very good, the same for Lombardy and Alta Valtellina. In Sestriere they are happy and also in Valle d’Aosta. In Piedmont and Val d’Aosta it rained a bit, but the situation in general held up and people were there – remarked Valeria Ghezzi, president of Anef (ski lifts) -. In Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany and Slovenia half of the lifts are open and with zero natural snow. Today, however, north of the Alps it is finally snowing». First the snow in the Dolomites where an average of twenty centimeters fell during the night, «then a very strong wind arrived, the one that carries snow north of the Alps, so we’ll see what remains….» concludes the president.
«The last snowfall was between 9 and 10 December 2022 just before the Alpine Ski World Championships in Sestriere and in about ten days the snow melted due to record temperatures and after three days of rain – he recalls Giovanni Brasso, president of the ViaLattea consortium -. Now you can ski quite well and last weekend, the Epiphany weekend, 35 lifts out of 42 were open». The raw material snow is scarce and day after day it retreats more and more while at night the high temperatures complicate the use of programmed snow. «The depth of the snow is around 30-40 centimetres, in other areas it reaches 60-70 where it was possible to resort to programmed snow but the recent perturbation did not solve our problem – continues Brasso -. There is water for the snow planned in the reservoirs but the real problem is the temperatures». To use the cannons for programmed snow at night, a temperature between -4 and -5 degrees would be needed in a very dry climate, or -6 if there is more humidity. But these conditions are struggling to materialize. As regards the period between Christmas and the Epiphany, the area saw the return of enthusiasts «to the levels of last season» concludes the president.
The situation in the Monterosa Ski Tre Valli area (Champoluc-Frachey, Gressoney-La-Trinité and Alagna) is quite different «where the perturbation of the past weekend has left a load of snow that required the slopes to be beaten – explains Giorgio Munari, managing director of Monterosa spa -. Artificial snow has strengthened, also thanks to the lowering of temperatures. To date there are 197,000 first admissions since the season’s inauguration. An excellent number, reached also thanks to the conditions of the slopes which, with the artificial snow programming, made in this and in past weeks, are holding up well, ensuring a truly optimal skiing experience».
La Thuile kissed by the snow, where temperatures in these days remain below zero even during the day and the rains fall copious. Thus on the slopes of the resort the snow depth varies between 25 and 95 centimetres. “It snowed a lot here and it’s still doing it. The low clouds at high altitude are preventing optimal visibility at the moment, so some slopes are closed but obviously this snow was eagerly awaited to guarantee the opening of the entire area once the slopes are all well groomed. At the moment the area is working at 70% of its usability but only, precisely, because you have to finish hitting all the slopes, after this last major snowfall». There are no problems and everything is open in the Dolomiti Superski area, which extends over an area of about 3,000 square kilometers in the Triveneto area with most of the winter ski slopes of the Dolomites, for a total of 1,246 km of slopes divided into 12 ski areas. «There are no problems with the snow even at low altitudes which for us reaches around 900 meters – they let the district know -. It snowed last night, 5 to 20 centimeters fell at high altitudes».