Styrian Niederalpl

Skiing operations suspended: “Disaster for landlords”

There is a lack of snow at Niederalpl and skiing has been suspended for the current season.

(Bild: Webcam Niederalpl)

The winter in Styria is far too dry. This now has consequences: Niederalpl has stopped skiing. Other ski resorts are also suffering.

The Viennese semester break was just about over, but it's over before the Styrian one: Niederalpl has closed its ski operations for this year. "We've only had the two small lifts in operation for a week. There is simply not enough snow," says authorized signatory Veronika Blahnik. "Economically, it's a disaster - especially for the hosts, hotels and hostels."

The season got off to a good start until the beginning of January, but then came the drought. "The little snow we had was blown away." The ski resort has seven small snow cannons, which will be used more intensively next year. "We are actually considered to have very reliable snow conditions," says Blahnik about the ski resort, which is located at an altitude of 1,200 meters and has twelve kilometers of slopes.

Basically, we are a very snow-sure ski resort.

Veronika Blahnik, Niederalpl

The current winter is extremely dry. Ubimet meteorologist Konstantin Brandes is also aware of this: "In the upper Mürztal, 75 percent of the usual precipitation is missing, in the Koralpen region two thirds. The situation is better in the Mur Valley, where there has been about half as much precipitation as usual at this time of year." There is no change in sight for the coming week. "It will stay dry," says Brandes, "but it will get cold at night. Over the course of the week, cold air will arrive from Eastern Europe and bring minus five to minus ten degrees."

You can't do without snow cannons
So skiing is currently only possible with snow cannons. All lifts are therefore in operation on the Weinebene. "We had minus eight degrees during the night and even made additional snow," says Johann Sturm. The situation on the Teichalm is similar. "Thanks to the snowmaking, we're doing well on the slopes, but everything around us is green - that's not much fun," says Steven Kletzenbauer. "But we're happy with the season so far and hope to see lots of guests during the energy vacations."

In Markt Hartmannsdorf, operations are currently paused. Although snow can be made on the small lift, it cannot be groomed, says chairman Thomas Kienreich. "Because it's so dirty all around. But it should be up and running soon," he says optimistically. The slope should be ready for children to ski on by the semester break. There has been no natural snow cover there all year.