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For weeks one has been waiting in vain for snow or at least frost in the Bavarian low mountain ranges. Appropriately enough, the 5th German Winter Hiking Day will start in the Fichtelgebirge next week. Because hiking also works without snow.
Winter sports have hardly been possible in the Bavarian low mountain ranges for weeks. According to experts, this trend will continue in the coming winters. There is hardly any snow at the moment and it is too mild to produce artificial snow.
Alternatives are in demand – in the Fichtelgebirge, for example, the next Wednesday (January 18) will start 5th German Winter Hiking Day. “Interest in winter hiking will increase, it’s the perfect alternative to skiing,” said Jens Kuhr from the German Hiking Association (DWV).
Conditions for winter sports will deteriorate
Maximilian Witting, scientist at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich with a focus on climate change and winter sports, said: “The towns and regions in the low mountain ranges in particular have to adjust to the fact that the conditions for winter sports will continue to deteriorate. The snow line is already rising, this will continue. There will still be snowy winters, but they will be far less frequent than in the past.”
The demand for snowmaking is therefore increasing, but at the same time the conditions for snowmaking are deteriorating. At some point, artificial snowmaking will no longer be profitable.
“The trend will be that the season starts later and later. At the same time, the so-called optimal skiing days, i.e. days when the weather is good and the landscape is snow-covered, are decreasing,” Witting continued. In addition, the season is shifting further back – there may be snow when people actually no longer feel like skiing. “That will increasingly put the affected ski areas under economic pressure.” That’s why alternatives are important: “The earlier a region thinks about how to position itself for the future, the more likely it will have a chance.”
Winter hiking around the Ochsenkopf
In the Fichtelgebirge near Bayreuth, too, the lifts recently stood still. Instead, hiking enthusiasts from all over Germany are expected from Wednesday. Winter hiking around oxhead have now achieved a high status, said Andreas Munder, head of Tourismus & Marketing GmbH Ochsenkopf. The alternative winter sports and health offers in a healthy climate have proven themselves.
In 2018, the German Winter Hiking Day had already taken place in the Ochsenkopf region, with 2,500 people taking part. This year, 64 hiking tours are part of the programme.
However, not all holidaymakers and day trippers who have hitherto headed for the low mountain ranges should be won over by hiking when the pistes and cross-country trails are green.
One can distinguish different types of guests in winter sports, said expert Witting: “Guests who absolutely want to continue doing winter sports will move their vacation to another destination with more snow. But there are also guests who are very loyal to the place or the region.” They are more willing to engage in other activities such as hiking or mountain biking or to come at a later time when winter sports conditions are better.
There is also a group for whom sustainability and climate protection are important and who will no longer practice winter sports. This group will probably grow in the future.
“So it depends on the type of guest and the respective region, what you offer to use the natural space for tourism. That also depends on the role played by tourism as an economic factor for the region as a whole and how much the region is willing or able to invest in alternatives.”
