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TV tip | Snow of yesterday - snow of tomorrow, or: Every winter begins in summer

An ORF documentary with a remarkably multi-layered view of the economic factor of winter sports tourism and its conditio sine qua non - the snow.

by Patrick Wehowsky 11/17/2017
The documentary "Snow of Tomorrow" was produced in 2016 and broadcast for the first time. By chance, I stumbled across a repeat in the 3sat media library yesterday, which can still be seen for a few more days. So if you have 70 minutes to spare at the weekend: it's time well spent, as the documentary offers a panoramic view of winter tourism in the Alpine countries.

The foundation for the success of alpine sports athletes in winter competition is laid in the summer training sessions. This is similarly true for the winter sports industry. The annual investment activities in new, more comfortable facilities, better snowmaking systems or ski area expansion correspond to the basic training of winter sports athletes.

The documentary "The Snow of Tomorrow" is worth watching in many respects. From the much-vaunted Arlberg to the eastern foothills of the Alps near Vienna, the commonalities of the sometimes contradictory are brought into focus. Whether a large ski area or a long-established small ski resort - the answers to the challenges of climate change and the annual tourism flows are shown from different perspectives and critically commented on. From local entrepreneurs to tourism experts and scientists from various disciplines, a wide range of perspectives and views on the phenomenon of winter tourism are discussed.

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An industry that has to deliver on time - keyword Christmas and carnival vacations - in order to maintain its attractiveness and thus future viability and to secure the service professions that depend on it, can and must no longer make itself dependent on nature. The consequences of snowmaking are well-founded from an industrial, economic perspective. Technical snowmaking - the specific technical term - is not always a consequence of the lack of snow, but a necessary basis for immunizing even snow-rich areas, such as the Arlberg, from the vagaries of the weather gods. Because only the denser artificial snow can ensure the consistency of the slopes for the daily tourist masses in a reasonably controllable quality. At least that is the problem analysis of industry-specific decision-makers, such as the "snow pope" of Lech am Arlberg. For him, natural snow is a nice addition or gimmick for a harmonious overall impression for winter sports enthusiasts, but rather a hindrance to ensuring high-quality slopes.

This reveals an inherent contradiction in mass skiing: on the one hand, advertisers never tire of touting the unique experience of nature alongside the technical innovations. On the other hand, this experience of nature, understood as an experience that derives its appeal precisely from the unpredictability of the prevailing conditions, is hardly possible in this highly technical and man-made mountain landscape.

In a slight variation of Max Weber, one could therefore speak of a "disenchantment of the experience of nature". Nature in the sense of a found, partly imponderable system is - at least in large parts of the industry - almost abandoned for a predictable service to optimize economic indicators.

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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