Say no to fake snow: the Austrian ski resort that likes to keep it real

Walking up a winding trail in the Dobratsch nature park in Carinthia, I followed ranger Birgit Pichorner amid snowy slopes dotted with pines. For residents of Villach this is their Hausberg, a much-loved locals’ mountain; until 2002 it was a ski resort. After successive bad winters the town faced the choice many Alpine resorts now confront: install snow guns and supplement natural snow, or chart a different path.

Maschinenschnee, artificial snow, is energy- and water-intensive and can introduce stress-tolerant bacteria to snow, meltwater and soils. Worried about effects on the mountain’s karst limestone system and their drinking water, residents closed the ski resort and developed a community-focused nature park instead.

The park offers affordable year-round outdoor recreation accessed by a €5 bus from Villach or by paying a slightly higher fee at parking spots, and it protects mountain hares, chamois, ptarmigan and black grouse while hosting schoolchildren’s educational classes.

Austria, Villach

dobratsch, carinthia, villach, nature park, artificial snow, snow guns, karst limestone, drinking water, mountain hares, chamois