Oberaudorf
In many German ski areas, nothing works without artificial snowmaking. But this season it was already so warm that even snow cannons didn’t help. How about a topping that won’t melt away?
The kids think it’s cool. For the first time, they slide downhill on plastic mats instead of on snow. Snow is scarce this season. Green meadows and idle lifts – that was the picture in many areas for weeks.
It was often too warm even for flakes from snow cannons, with around 20 degrees at the end of the year. The Bergbahnen Hocheck in Oberaudorf are taking a new approach: operations have now started on a matted slope.
Plastic runway is only seen as a supplement
Just as the first guests, including children from the Top on Snow ski school, try their bows, it begins to snow. On Saturday (January 21st) the real slope should finally open. However, the mats are not intended as a full replacement. “It rounds things off, complements it,” says Hannes Rechenauer, Managing Director of Bergbahnen. Several media had reported on the Hocheck slope.
At first glance, it’s a cross between artificial turf and doormats, on which children and a few adult ski fans slide downhill. The approximately 800 square meter slope cost around 80,000 euros – measured against the endless slopes of Switzerland, Austria or France, a small speck in the landscape.
“I came here skeptically,” says the head of the ski school, Rupert Nagl. But after the test: “The skiing feeling is very similar to snow”. For beginners, this is a very good opportunity to practice. “Skiing experience, of course it’s not winter sports.” Little Veronika has fun with her friends, but: “I think it’s nicer in normal snow.”
The hope of Bergbahn boss Rechenauer: that ski courses with the mats will start as early as October and “beginners and those returning to the sport can try their first turns. You don’t have to switch to glaciers.” Shorter journey – good for the climate.
Mats bring ecological problems with them
However, environmentalists are not enthusiastic. They refer to energy-intensive production, microplastic abrasion and damage to meadows that are worthy of protection. “Mats also bring ecological problems with them,” says Martin Geilhufe from the Bund Naturschutz in Bayern. A farmer who manages a nearby pasture thinks: It’s an event, good for the region. But with a view to microplastics: “I can’t even get a plastic straw for the children anymore.” The manufacturers refer to documents that are supposed to absorb the abrasion.
Mats have been used in ski jumping for decades, in 2022 for the first time in the World Cup. The people of Copenhagen take turns on a waste incineration plant. There are also a few mostly small textile slopes in other countries and in Germany. British racer Dave Ryding only raced on mats as a child before competing on snow for the first time at the age of twelve. A year ago, in Kitzbühel, he celebrated the first ever World Cup success by a Briton in Alpine skiing.
People tend to be more reserved in the ski region of Bavaria. At the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn it is said that “up to now they have never thought about mats. “We don’t see that as an alternative to snow.” The Association of German Cable Cars also sees no trend. “The real winter business is skiing on snow, out in nature, in the fresh air and in front of a mountain panorama.” Now there is fresh snow and we are confident about the rest of the season.
Demand for the snow substitute is increasing
However, manufacturers are reporting increasing demand for the heat-resistant snow substitute, especially this season. “Our warehouse is empty. Goods are still going out every day,” says Jens Reindl, Managing Director of the Chemnitz company Mr. Snow, which calls their product, which is partly made of cotton, “textile snow”. Reindl’s customers include ski schools and clubs in Saxony, Sauerland, Kleinwalsertal and the Bavarian Forest. The carpets are white and green – depending on whether they should be left in the summer.
The Oberaudorf company Skitrax World sees an international future market. “We have projects in the implementation phase for new mat ski slopes ranging in size from 1,000 to 8,000 square meters and more,” says Managing Director Wolfgang Schmidt.
Arab states and countries in Asia are also interested
One is in contact with an Arab investment company for a mat slope in Saudi Arabia in the Trojena ski area, which can then be used all year round, says Schmidt. Above all, Arab states and many Asian countries are interested. In view of the bad winter in the Alps, he also expects further orders from European ski areas. There is a professional alternative for the snowless time – “but it is not yet socially acceptable”.
In Willingen in Sauerland, children at the Upland ski school have been sliding downhill on textile snow for eight years when there is a lack of snow. “There’s less and less snow and it’s often not cold enough – but I’ve always been able to open my ski school all the time,” says the owner. “I think the mats are very good.”
Most agree: the winter experience in a snow-covered landscape cannot be replaced by the mats. So winter sports enthusiasts and lift operators hope for the snow, which should finally come.
