Europe’s ski industry is confronting an uncertain future as warmer winters and unreliable snowfall threaten the viability of resorts across the continent. While major events like the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina this February still enjoy snow-covered slopes, the reality for everyday skiers is increasingly unpredictable.
Snow Is No Longer Guaranteed
Even in Italy’s famous Dolomites, snow is often limited to certain areas and increasingly reliant on artificial snowmaking. While this keeps slopes open, the process is costly and environmentally taxing, with the financial burden often passed on to tourists through higher lift ticket prices. For many Europeans, this means skiing is becoming less accessible as resorts struggle to maintain reliable winter conditions.
Climate Change Reshaping Winter Sports
The impact of climate change is now unavoidable. Temperatures across the Alps are rising, making natural snowfall rarer and threatening long-term ski conditions. A 2021 study by the University of Waterloo warns that, without swift climate action, only four previous Winter Olympic host cities — Lake Placid, Lillehammer, Oslo, and Sapporo — will remain viable by 2050. In a worst-case scenario of a 4°C global temperature rise, nearly all other former host cities would be unsuitable, with only Sapporo remaining by 2080. Even if global warming is limited to 2°C, fewer than half of past Olympic locations would be viable by mid-century.
Rising Costs and Resource Strains
Europe’s winter tourism economy, which earned roughly €180 billion in 2022, faces daily pressure from these changes. Snowmaking is extremely resource-intensive: producing just 30 cm of snow on a one-hectare slope can require over a million liters of water, comparable to a small city’s annual consumption. Electricity for snow cannons adds further greenhouse gas emissions, creating a feedback loop that worsens climate impacts.
As a result, skiing is becoming increasingly expensive. Lift ticket prices across Europe have risen an average of 34.8% since 2015, outpacing inflation, particularly in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. For many families, what was once a winter tradition is now a luxury they can no longer afford, forcing resorts to rethink how they operate in a warming world.
