From Kahler Asten to the Zugspitze - it's time for winter sports in Germany

Twitter helped spread the glad tidings - particularly in the Netherlands: "Dat lijkt wel sneeuw in Winterberg," was the message, meaning there is plenty of snow in Winterberg. The Skiliftkarussell resort, by the town of Winterberg in a mountain range in the Sauerland region of North Rhine-Westphalia, was covered in a quantity of snow on the second weekend of Advent that many other ski resorts in higher locations still dream of. Downhill skiing was possible on four of the 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) around the best-known mountain, the Kahler Asten, a mere 842 meters high. This was a welcome start to the season for skiers and snowboarders from the flat neighboring Netherlands, as well as winter sports enthusiasts from cities along the rivers Rhine and Ruhr.

The Mittelgebirge, with a height of up to 1,500 meters, are usually late starters in the annual battle to attract their share of skiers in Germany. Apart from the Sauerland, there are noteworthy pistes in the Harz, the Ore Mountains, the Bavarian Forest, and the Black Forest. But this year, altitude is not necessarily all that it takes to make a winter. On the Feldberg, which is 1,493 meters high, they are hoping that the first snow will stick around so that the ski season can start on time for the third weekend of December. After all, this ski resort in the Black Forest, with some 55 kilometers of slopes, is the largest of Germany's Mittelgebirge.

Piste tourists in the Bavarian Alps

Germany is not a Mecca for skiers and snowboarders - it can't compete with Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Nevertheless, there are many slopes in the German Alps from Berchtesgaden to the Westallgäu that offer great winter sports fun. The location also has its advantages: a huge range of very different places and features in a small area not far from Munich. All of the ski resorts can be reached within an hour or two's drive from the Bavarian capital.

Although the weather is still too mild in the Bavarian Alps, altitudes above 2,000 meters promise ideal winter sports conditions in the coming weeks. These days it doesn't even have to snow to ensure winter sports fun, as many places can cover slopes using snow cannon, so long as it's cold enough - only then can the water droplets dispersed over the slopes be turned into snow crystals.

Most of the Bavarian ski resorts would not survive without this artificial snow. The size of the family ski resort of Sudelfeld, for example, is to be doubled with man-made snow. A water reservoir the size of two soccer fields was built, at a cost of 12.5 million euros ($10 million), despite protests from environmentalists, to ensure winter snow cover for the region for the next 25 years.

Climate change and winter sports alternatives

But there is a need to stop and think whether it is sensible to do all the things that it is technically possible to do. At least, that's a criticism voiced by Thomas Bucher of the German Alpine Club. After all, he wonders, who would enjoy skiing down narrow slopes of white while surrounded by green? "A real winter cannot just be conjured up by snow cannon," he said. A recent study commissioned by the German Alpine Club found that in the long-term, there will likely only be two snow-cover-guaranteed ski resorts in Bavaria: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, including the area surrounding the 2,962-meter Zugspitze, and Oberstdorf, with the 2,224-meter Nebelhorn mountain.

The Alpine Club, which happens to be the world's largest climbing association, campaigns for sustainable winter tourism by backing snowshoe and ski-hiking. But the growing popularity of ski-hiking could become a burden for the environment too. If ski-hikers begin crowding the mountains from morning till night, there is a fear that grouse and other wild animals may be disturbed or even frightened away. Therefore the Alpine Club, together with municipal authorities, forest owners, and foresters have developed nature-friendly hiking routes for 180 mountains and hills. At the moment, however, ski-hikers have to be patient, as there is also a lack of snow on their hiking routes.

Natural snow only on glaciers

"We need a proper cold front and one meter of snow," says Verena Lothes, of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn mountain lift. Only then can the entire area on the Zugspitze, the only glacial ski resort in Germany, be opened. On the second weekend of December only one of the twelve slopes could be used. In the two previous years, the winter sports season didn't get started until the end of the year.

Visitors are guaranteed to find natural snow on the highest plateau, the Zugspitzplatt, because snow cannon are banned there. Tourists will reach the summit a lot faster in future too. After 50 years of service, the old Eibseeseilbahn is to be replaced with a newer and bigger cable car. Construction work for the new hill top connection, which is set to lift three times as many visitors into the lofty heights, is due to begin in spring next year.