By CAROLINE COPLEY | REUTERS
ZURICH: Armed with snow canons and cut-price hotel deals some of Switzerland’s ski resorts, already beleaguered by the strong Swiss franc, are grappling with another obstacle — no snow.
A dry November has forced several ski resorts to push back the start of the season, the latest in a string of bad news for hoteliers who have struggled to fill beds as the soaring Swiss franc deters foreign holidaymakers.
Not to be disheartened, Davos-Klosters nestled in eastern Switzerland employed no less than 250 snow canons to get pistes ready for the season start — a week later than scheduled.
Some 3,000 winter sport enthusiasts trekked to the resort lying 1,560 meters (yards) above sea level last weekend to slide down the 6 km (3.728 miles) of pistes made from artificial snow, long white stretches on an otherwise brown and green landscape.
Despite the delayed start, Yves Bugmann, finance director of Davos-Klosters mountain railway, remained unperturbed for now.
“Financially, the losses so far are marginal and can be recouped through cost cuts,” he said. “Even so, a good start is the basis for a successful season.”
A patch of artificial snow from a snow cannon test is seen in front of Mount Rothorn (2,865 meters above sea level) during sunny autumn weather in the eastern Swiss mountain resort of
Categories: Europe, Switzerland
Winter in Europe in general seems to be having a ‘delayed’ start. The energy companies have also been affected with less energy consumption.