As the Alpine skiing World Cup season approaches, all eyes are on favorites Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt. However, amidst the excitement, the conversation is dominated by the ongoing climate crisis and its impact on winter sports.
Climate Concerns Take Center Stage
The traditional October start of the winter sports season is under scrutiny given the increasing global temperatures. This year, the World Cup will commence with two giant slaloms on a glacier in Austria, but many are questioning the sustainability of such early winter sports events in the face of climate change.
A Busy Season Ahead
This season, which isn’t interrupted by the Olympics or world championships, is set to be the busiest in the 57-year history of the World Cup, with 90 races planned from now until mid-March. New additions to the calendar include the first cross-border downhills from Zermatt in Switzerland to Cervinia in Italy in November.
Challenges and Changes in Venue
The reality of climate change is already affecting the choice of venues for World Cup races. Low altitude locations like Zagreb are no longer viable options due to difficulty in preparing suitable courses. In contrast, Soelden’s high altitude isn’t an issue, but the lack of snow is. This year, local organizers had to transport 45,000 cubic meters of preserved snow and employ 22 snow cannons for two days and two nights to prepare the course.
The Outlook for Winter Sports in a Changing Climate
The winter sports community is calling for change. Protect Our Winters, a non-profit organization focused on environmental issues, has demanded that the race calendar be adjusted to suit the changing climate. Furthermore, hundreds of skiers, including Shiffrin, have signed an open letter urging the International Ski and Snowboard Federation to be transparent about its strategy for the future of the sport in light of climate change challenges. As the season kicks off, the skiing world finds itself at a crossroads, facing the need to adapt to an ever-changing climate while preserving the traditions and excitement that define winter sports.
