#FutureProof: Snowfarming
CompanyTitlis cableways24.05.2024
The ski lifts may have been stationary on Titlis since 5 May, but it's still full speed ahead on the slopes. The glacier is being covered up to help it get through the warm summer months as unscathed as possible. During this time, our Ski Patrol employees become "snow farmers".
Combating glacial retreat with snow farming
Stefan Hallenbarter can understand a little bit of the frustration felt by snow sports enthusiasts. After all, when the winter season on Titlis officially came to an end at the beginning of May, the conditions were still fantastic. However, the Head of the Ski Patrol doesn't just have to think about what's best for the guests but also what's best for the glacier. And for the eternal ice at 3,000 metres above sea level, the early end to the season is a blessing.
Fleece saves two metres of snow cover
"Up by the glacier lifts, the snow is currently around five metres deep", explains Hallenbarter. "Around two metres of that would melt away by the end of May. The spring weeks make a huge difference." Instead of exposing the snow to the blazing sun, the glacier is being covered with waterproof and UV-resistant synthetic fleece. "We are covering a total area of around 90,000 square metres with fleece", says Hallenbarter. "This will prevent around two metres of snow from melting away over the entire surface area." Over the course of the summer, the fleece cover will save around 180,000 cubic metres of snow. This could fill more than 70 Olympic-size swimming pools.
10 people are currently "snow farming" on Titlis. The Ski Patrol began building up snow reserves back in January already. Using snow groomers, 1.5-metre-high snow banks are created around 6 metres apart. The wind blows the snow onto these banks, where it then remains. In this way, natural snow supplies are built up and can then be used for the igloo and snowtubing run in the glacier park in summer, for example.
Snow becomes firn and later ice
First and foremost, however, the purpose of snow farming is to slow down the retreat of the glacier and preserve the eternal ice for as long as possible. "By stockpiling snow and covering it up, we are helping to protect nature from the effects of climate change", says Stefan Hallenbarter. "In certain places, for example the ski slope area right at the summit, we're also systematically expanding the glacier by spreading and covering the snow there. Over time, the snow turns into firn and after around three years, it becomes ice.
The Ski Patrol employees will be tending to the snow supplies on the mountain until the end of June, when they will break for summer. However, preparations will begin already at the end of August for the start of the ski season in October. The fleece will once again be removed from the glacier, cracks will be filled in and the summit will be made winter-ready.
Then we cross our fingers. Stefan Hallenbarter and his colleagues will be hoping for cold temperatures and precipitation. For snow. For so much snow that it will see the glacier through the summer months for many years to come.